Guidelines on Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

Trekking mountain gorilla can be done in any period of the year in the two countries, Uganda or Rwanda. Gorillas in habit mountainous and forested areas that receive dense rainfall throughout the year, due to the much rainfall received in the gorilla destinations (rainy season), most tourists prefer trekking gorillas in the dry season that ranges from June to September and then December to February which receive a relatively low rainfall.

In Volcanoes National Park-Rwanda, the first rainy season in the year starts in late February to May and therefore a few tourists tend to book their Rwanda gorilla tours during this period however some come to experience the once in a life time event of trekking mountain gorillas. During the rainy season, gorillas are easily found and in large numbers because they run away from the higher areas due to the much coldness and slope down to the lower areas. This means that mountain gorillas keep on the lower slopes during the rainy season where they find it warmer and also getting food easily. If trekking gorillas during the rainy season, you’re most likely to have a short trek since they are near on the lower slopes of Volcanoes but quite challenging due to the muddy trails. During this season, trekkers are most likely to find gorillas in a short period of time of not more than 2hours hike and by 2pm are back from trekking however this can’t be guaranteed as sometimes they may move to far places up the Volcanoes.

It is almost the same in Bwindi impenetrable National Park- the gorilla destination in Uganda. Rains are more frequent in the months of March, April and May make the trekking a bit challenging on the steep slopes landscapes of Bwindi. During the rainy season, rain comes for about 1-2 hours in every after 2-3days and the sun comes out. We have also realized that even in the dry season, rains also come in so you shouldn’t guaranteed that there won’t be rain since your trekking in a dry season.

The seasonality in trekking gorillas, (Peak and low seasons) can also be brought about by the weather changes/ seasons in the visitors’ country of origin plus the nature of their jobs. For example in Europe, when it’s a winter season, we receive a high number of tourists who come to tour Rwanda or Uganda and more so trekking the mountain gorillas and the numbers reduce when it’s a summer season.

However, there some who come to experience the once in a life time adventure of trekking gorillas when there are seasonal discounts on the gorilla permits. A clear example is of recent when the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) gave a discount of 30% on the Ugandan gorilla trekking permits thus making a price of $350 for a permit to the nonresident for the period of November 2012, April, May and November 2013.
Different accommodation and hotels in and around mountain gorilla destinations always make a discount on their lodging rates in the above months.
Whatever case it may be, trekking gorillas is done at any time, day by day and year to year regardless of the weather changes

Cabinet ministers from different countries- Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya have permitted the use of national identity cards as travel documents and the use of a single tourist visa.
They made approval at the closure of a two days conference that meant to solve some issues under the tripartite arrangement.

While in the meeting of the heads of state which was held in June, in Entebbe Uganda, Rwanda was selected to lead in the Single tourism visa, single custom territory and also the use of national identity cards. The ministers adopted the use of entry cards that will be used together with the identity cars. The cards will work as an entry stamp and they also authorized the use of a single tourist Visa.

All the documents will be presented in a table form to the heads of state from the three countries meeting which will be held in October for the final approval. This flame work is excluded to the other East African Community member states- Burundi and Tanzania. Speaking to the media after the summit, Francois Kanimba- the minister for trade and industry said that the uniting (the use of a single tourist visa) will ease the implementation and running of some projects by the East African Community (EAC).

“The EAC agreement authorized more than one partner state to assimilate as they wait for others to catch up and this is exactly what we are doing. We want to be aware of the aim of the regional integration for the smooth trade and cooperation” he noted.

Kanimba added that programs for example the use of a single tourist visa and the national identity cards  have been there but some countries are not interested in implementing them, just because that Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda  decided to speed up the process.
A fee of $100 will be paid for a single tourist visa at the entry point and this will be valid for only 90 days. A fee of $30 will be shared by each of the three member countries and the extra of $10 will be received by the country that processes the Visa to link up the administrative costs.

Visa Sticker Design
The single tourist visa will be green in colour with the national emblems of the three countries, places of validity, common wildlife, a distinctive visa number and some space for personal data.

Entry Card
This card is marked by the flags of the three member states arranged in the alphabetic order and it should contain the following areas: name, nationality, ID/ voter/ student card number, an emblem of the issuing country the background. The card will be expiring after 6 months. The use of this card and the single tourism visa will come into use with effect in January next year.

Uganda’s deputy minister for internal affairs- James Baba said that this program is about easing tourism in the three countries.
“We have come to a conclusion that countries with national IDs will be used as the travel documents but on the side of Uganda, Our IDs are not yet out and it will take us about a year to get them. Member countries have allowed us to use the voter’s card for the mean time until the time when Uganda processes their National IDs” he said.

Baba added that when tourists visit the three countries, it will be very easy to access all the countries by the use of a single tourist Visa. “We want to ease work when travelling tourists, public among other people to the three countries across borders”

Kenya’s principal secretary for interior- Mutea Iringo the will enhance free trading of goods and services within the member states. “We have started as three countries which are very cooperative and other EAC members will join in the long run upon some principles that we shall agree upon”  He noted. “We look forward to use and sharing the same data base of the essential documents so that we don’t get problems such as rabbles and criminal abuse in the process.”

Thousands of both local and foreign tourists gathered at Owiny Primary school in Pakwach, Nebbi district to watch the once in a life time hybrid solar eclipse. The historical event occurred at around 5:23pm when the sun was totally shielded by the moon hence resulting into a magnificent temporary darkness for some seconds.

The crowd that was highly waiting for the incident to happen as scientists where updating them on the time left for the eclipse to occur as well as the percentage by which the moon was covering the sun during the eclipse time.

At the time when the moon was crossing the sun, there was a decrease in temperatures and as it continued to cross, a temporarily darkness was created which lasted for about 1:14 minutes. During this moment, people at the scene started cerebrating and some were seen kneeling down praying to the almighty saying it signified a spiritual moment.

Even though several announcements were made warning people not to use their necked eyes but this dint stop may people as they risked and watched the eclipse minus any protective gear. Surprisingly up to now, no case of eye complications where raised by any one after the eclipse event.

The President of Uganda-Yoweri Kaguta Museven was also among the crowd who came to witness the historical event. During his speech before the event, he said that we need to protect as well as preserving the eclipse site so that it attracts more tourists to the country as this will promote our economy.

He added that the tourism sector employs over 500,000 people in the country, therefore it should grow. “However, tourism can be used by the rabbles and terrorists as they can pretend to be tourists. On this note, l will say sorry to our beloved tourists for the strict checks they went through as this was made to ensure safety as we watch the hybrid solar eclipse.” He said.

The viewing equipments where not enough due to the high influx of people at the viewing site. Some people improvised by the use of some local means such as black polythene while others shared the glasses.  Before the watching time, people scrambled to get the 600 sunglasses that where donated by the Total E & P Company which were not enough due to the big number of people who were looking forward to watching the eclipse.

This type of eclipse- the hybrid is one of the rare types that occur after a long period of time and changes from the annular to the total eclipse along the orbit. Eclipse occurs when the moon passes in the middle of the sun and the earth there by casting a shadow on the earth’s surface.

Scientists from the National Aeronautics and space Administration said that only seven of the same type have happened since the beginning of the year A.D and the next of the same kind is expected to occur in June 3, 2114.

This was a rare eclipse in that it was a hybrid which was turning between an annular and total eclipse. According to the scientists, a total eclipse occurs when the moon totally covers the sun and in the annular, the moon is at its farthest from the earth and it doesn’t completely shadow the sun.

As we are getting closer to the day of solar eclipse, people in and around Pakwach plus all those in Uganda are now counting days which are less than a week! The expectation is in each and every one in the country plus those who specifically came to witness the one in a lifetime event. Therefore it is the tourism sector along with the tour operators’ responsibility to ensure that all visitors enjoy and have a nice stay during this memorable solar eclipse period.

According to the Chairman of AUTO- Association of Uganda Tour Operators, Boniface Byamukama says that over 30,000 tourists are expected to come to Uganda and all the accommodations in and around the viewing area are fully booked.
This is the peak season of the month as people have an opportunity of marketing the country as an ideal place that one should visit to see the magical solar eclipse.

It begun long time before eclipse became a common word to everyone in the world.  “We started discussing about the eclipse event when we were in a World Travel Market (WTM) in London telling it to the potential customers/ tourists because by then Uganda was identified as the country with the best view of this coming solar eclipse!” he said.

“This promotion which was even made at the international Tourism Board conference in Germany and Berlin was mainly marketing Uganda as a prime destination but also emphasizing that some regions within the country will have a clear view of the eclipse because they lie directly in its path.” He added.

“We were mainly selling Uganda as a destination but those who showed further interest in other specific tourist attractions were referred to different tour operators who would satisfy their very best needs” The chairman of AUTO said.

The “We” which is marketing Uganda at the international tourism affairs includes Tour operators, Ministry of Tourism, wildlife and Antiquities, The Tourism Board among others
Boniface said that at the end of the two world forums, tour operators went on with the marketing mainly through social medias. “We had also tried to inform people about the event through the Face book, our websites and later the press”

Silently, different tour companies also came in and promoted the country by introducing the eclipse tour packages.
One of the tour operators said that the idea in these packages is very simple and they are not so different from the normal itineraries but instead they make sure that on 3^rd of November that person will be in Murchison falls National Park which is one of the identified areas with a perfect view of the eclipse.

Sights and Sounds
Begumisa Wilber from Africa Adventure Safaris said that the best plan is to arrange a 12-15 days itinerary including visits to other destinations within the country such as Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National park among others. “Most of the visitors are arriving within the country on 1^st November” He went on and said that arrangements were not all that way easy as the government and UWA did not invest much as we expected, given the chances this magical event had brought towards our country specifically its tourism sector. “It would have brought over a thousand visitors who could start other investments within the country.” He added

Nevertheless, Bwamukama says that they expected around 30,000 visitors but now, there about 10,000 tourists which are even more than what AUTO expected. We are looking forward to receiving at least 20,000 visitors since we had marketed the resource. That is the main reason as to why hotels and tour companies have full bookings and also stake holders in the sector have used this chance to take benefit from the extras.

“Some hotels have expanded but putting up more premises so as to accommodate more people however other new hotels have been put in place to also take advantage of this once in a life time event” he said.
Para Safari lodge is among the accommodations that have expanded so that they accommodate more visitors, and also Pakuba Lodge which was still under construction has been completed in time so that it accommodates a flood of tourists.

Amusingly, the much investing due to the eclipse is not only to companies and lodges in and near the places with a clear view, but also lodges and other enterprises in other places within the country such as Kyaninga Lodge which is situated in Fort portal- western Uganda. Through the social media, they are marketing an eclipse view event as one will be able to see magnificent and beautiful phenomenon over the Rwenzori Mountains before the sunsets. Still there some clients who pass over at there lodge to watch the event.

Benefits
Bwamukama says that for anyone in the tourism sector to benefit in the eclipse event, it depends on how fast he or she started promoting the event. “Those who begun earlier will highly benefit and those who started late will share a small benefit” he said.

He also revealed that some tour companies have made more booking of about 150 visitors by one company. This sounds like a small number but it’s quite a big number for a tour company to receive such bookings on a single event.

Some companies in Uganda with agents in different countries where most of these tourists come from made their work easy by only making ground preparations of reserving lodges, meals and transport means. This revealed that not only tour operators benefited from the 3^rd November total solar eclipse but also other businesses are boosted by the event.

Anthony Njeroge- the country manager of Aero link that offers flights to some country’s prime destinations said that he has already laid several strategies to tap the eclipse occasion.
“We have now made a promotional offer of two flights each day from 1^st to 3^rd November from Entebbe to Pakuba which is a few hour drive to the viewing place but we shall go back to the normal schedule after those days” He said

However, people are reserving the booking for the flights, but still they are not yet fully booked. Njoroge said that most of the visitors wish to transfer by road to the best viewing places of Pakwach, Arua among other places which are in the path of the eclipse.

However, he is hopeful about the return. “We expect a lot of bookings after the eclipse as many people will wish to explore other destinations in Uganda there by yearning for the quickest means to those places as one way of minimizing their time in the pearl of Africa- Uganda ” He added. As the once in a life time event comes closer, the tourism industry now ready and well equipped to receive the visitors within the country.

“The establishment of the electric faces in plan with the government as on way of reducing community conflicts with the park administration. The government will work hand in hand with the park administration to ensure protection of the surrounding communities and their properties from the wild animals. This will create a strong relationship between the people around the national park and the park administration since these people play a big role in conserving the wild life as well as tourism development” The head of Tourism and Conservation at RDP- Rica Rwigamba said.

The construction of the electric fance was begun in 2011 by the TNH-EME, registered in Rwanda. The fance is backed up by the solar energy, a natural resource which is in plenty along with power energizers.

During the speech at the launch, Mussa Fazil Harerimana the minster of internal security said that the fance has marked the end of conflicts that had become a critical issue in the matters of human wildlife conflicts. The people in the surrounding communities will now yield the maximum from their gardens without any threat from the wild animals. He added.

The people around national parks that are greatly affected by the wild animals such as destroying their property have been compensated basing on the compensation law that was passed last year. Before the closure of the fence, water was provided to the farmers who used to fetch it from within the park in the areas of Rwimiyaga, Karangazi and Ndego.

Akagera national park hosts a variety of wild life including Buffaloes, Hippos, warthogs, elephants, Lions, leopards, Zebras, Baboons and many more. Many of these animals were a threat to the surrounding communities before the construction of the electric fance  as they used to cross the boundaries and destroy their plantations. It is expected that the reintroduction of some animals like the Lions will increase on the number of tourists the visit the this park due to the presence of the Big five. Building the fence was one of the conditions as to why some animals were introduced with in the park; RDP and AMC will find ease in tracking these animals.

From Kigali (the capital city of Rwanda), it’s a 2 hour drive to volcanoes national park through dramatic views of the land of a thousand hills. You must start off the transfer as early as possible to get/ arrive early at the ranger station for briefing. Or you can spend a night at a near by hotel or cottage to the park headquarters which makes it easier and simple to get early for the gorilla trekking briefing.

However, it’s different from that of Uganda where a gorilla group is indicated on the permit booked. But in Rwanda, gorilla groups are assigned to clients/ trekkers on the trekking day! Making it incredible plus giving a chance to the tourist to select the gorilla group he or she will trek. This is usually done by your guide where he arranges for you the gorilla group according to your interests and capability such as much hiking among others. As he arranges, you may enjoy some dances and performances from the local people. This entertaining is really interesting.

After the briefing about the dos and don’ts when with gorillas, you will head to the starting point of the trek where they provide you walking sticks and where you can hire a porter who is highly recommended.

The hike is not all that way simple, they can help you with the hike and you support some locals). The costs for a porter is $10.-, off course you can pay a bit more because they do a lot of work for you.

The stay at the gorillas is a maximum of 1 hour and is really great and awesome.
It’s quite a lot of money you have to pay but it is really worth it. The best experience is to go more than once and enjoy this memorable experience of gorillas in their natural habitats.

After the hike, you have to return to the ranger park headquarters where you will receive an award of a gorilla trekking certificate with the name of the gorilla group you have visited making it too professional.

Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda provides 10 gorilla groups which are open for Gorilla trekking. However, some times some groups tend to cross the border to either Uganda or Rwanda leading to the reduction in the availability of Gorilla groups to be trekked.
You can also buy some nice craft work such as mats, baskets, capes, and many more which are sold at the park headquarters and at some hotels in or around the park.

The trek to gorillas in Volcanoes national park is very adventurous and tiresome and finally you’re able to make it to the magnificent gorillas!

The group we trekked has about 18-20 gorillas, and we probably saw 12-15 gorillas, including about 7 adults or 8 babies/toddlers (up to 3 years old) and the head of the group known as the silver back gorilla. The hike there is always said to be simple and easy, but it wasn’t really that easy unless you are used to hiking at 7200′ altitude or doing some exercise or gym work before the tracking period. There are porters whose work is to carry client’s backpack as well as help them up over the rough spots and that why they are made a available for us.

The road to get to the trekking point is very rough, but it is all worth it when you ultimately get close to the gorillas. It costs only $750 for a gorilla permit per person to visit these critically endangered species. On meeting the gorillas,  you are allowed to stay with them for a maximum of one hour with a five meter distance from the gorillas. The gorilla tracking charge fee not only goes to maintenance of the game reserve but also to the near by communities as a share of revenue which is used to provide funds to schools and other facilities in the area along with compensating the damaged property of people by the gorillas.

You are supposed to stay about 5 meters away, but there are times were they get close to you! You definitely should not allow the babies to come up to you as they are very curious, but the guides are rightfully meticulous about not allowing human contact and germs.

The gorillas are gentle, totally non-threatening, and will look you right in the eyes, which is not common and the sane to all other wild animals. The biggest (dominant male) silver back was asleep under a tree, and one of the toddlers was jumping off a vine onto his back and sliding down–and he didn’t move a muscle. Looking to be an excellent grandpa, I think.
The transfer from Kigali takes about 2 hours, very winding but pretty drive with dramatic views of a thousand hills that make up Volcano Mountains, lots of people walking on the roads so drive carefully. However, since you arrive at the headquarters not later than 6:30-7:00 a.m. for briefing, it is better to spend the night in a hotel around or near the pack headquarters. From there it makes it simple in that it’s about a 30-minute drive to the headquarters. If you want to be successful in the trekking, you get into an “easy” hike group, with plan to arrive early at the tracking point.

Many clients/ tourists go gorilla trekking in June to October which is the pick season and in the low season usually clients are few making it extra ordinarily for visitors in that season. Volcanoes national park offers 10 gorilla groups which are being visited by tourists each being trekked by 8 people making up a total of 80 trekkers a day! It’s involves strenuous hikes of 2-3 hours to get to the gorillas.
Definitely along with water plus some snacks like energy and Luna bars, which are very good to have since breakfast is always being enjoyed so early. There is also coffee and tea at the headquarters for free which you may enjoy as the park rangers are grouping visitors into trekking groups.

I also recommend the climbing Mountain Bisoke ($75) for scenic views and a great workout. The trek is quite steep hike and will take at about 3 to 5 hours a round-trip, you also may also get to see golden monkeys during your trek, and a great time with your guide. The trail is always very muddy in March; definitely wear waterproof pants and maybe gumboots as well while going for the trek. Putting on a light raincoat may lead to the stinging nettles to penetrate and cause some serious pain to on your arms and hands; putting on durable clothing and gloves is a good idea to prevent such incidences during the trekking.

Rwanda has been all a long considered as a destination for gorilla tracking, and more so, even today, gorilla tracking is one of the most important tourism activity that attracts visitors for an experience. The tourism planners at the Rwanda Development Board’s Tourism and Conservation Department though have in recent years worked hard to showcase more of the country’s attractions and sights, and progressively added more destinations to visit and activities to undertake.

Birding trails outside the three national parks were launched with guides available from local communities who assist in spreading some of the tourism wealth down to the village level. The Congo Nile Trail along the shores of Lake Kivu was launched in late 2011 while the canopy walk, which was officially opened in 2010 inside Nyungwe Forest National Park, has turned into a real crowd puller and shouldn’t be missed out on Rwanda safari. The opening last year of the Nyanza King’s Palace has attracted wide attention and special features and exhibitions by Institute of National Museums of Rwanda have added a great attention on the country’s history and culture.
Considering the annual Festival of the mountain Gorillas, aka Kwita Izina, has RDB given invited media representatives an insight into two new options for half day tours out of Musanze, either ahead or after tourists have enjoyed tracking the rare mountain gorillas or the golden monkeys, which can be found in the Volcanoes National Park.

One of the two attractions, still not yet open to the public though – the formal launch is expected to take place soon – are the Musanze Caves which is an underground formation caused by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago, long known by the locals but only more recently ‘discovered’ as a tourism attraction and being opened for a regular number of visitors. In fact several tube caves have been discovered in the wider area of Musanze, but this one is easily accessible for about 2km from the main Gisenyi – Musanze highway which made it easily to be made a tourism site.

On the arrival of visitors, they are given all the necessary gear to put on, such as gum boots, waterproof jackets and the quintessential helmet plus a safety briefing by the guides which is so essential, and no unaccompanied entrance into the caves is allowed and the do’s and don’ts must be understood before embarking on the descent to the cave mouth and the walk through to the exit.

Today, mountain gorillas are on the point of being extinct from the world, Rwanda has given great importance to protecting and preserving Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, and this comes along with a series of celebrations rooted in the African culture- the naming ceremonies- locally known as ‘Kwita Izina’

In the local African society, once a family has a new born baby, the naming ceremony is one of the initial communal events that are carried out as a way of initiating and making a statement that the new child is now part of the community.

Kwita Izina was conceived as a way to promote and respect the conservation of the critically endangered mountain gorillas in the volcanoes national park, by celebrating new births. Rwanda is one of the few countries with these gentle giants in the wild, along with Uganda and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile, the role of local communities in conserving Rwanda gorillas and other wildlife is paramount, as the biggest threats to mountain gorillas come from poaching snares and habitat encroachment by farmland. Local communities around protected areas receive 5% of the tourism revenue generated by these destinations – so they have a vested interest in protecting the species.

Through sharing tourism revenue, various community projects receive funding around the country. This year, a maize mill and a women’s maize production cooperative near Nyungwe Forest National Park will be unveiled, in addition to the traditional gorilla naming ceremony itself near Volcanoes National Park.

Growth of tourism through the mighty gorilla naming

Starting in 1994, the government of Rwanda put considerable effort into developing a clear tourism strategy. With private sector and UN input, the government successfully drafted a tourism strategy focusing on high-end tourism with conservation at the core of its plan. The strategy also outlined the need for diversification of tourism to international conferencing, birding, and other animals. An international marketing campaign was launched to improve the image of the country abroad, while a domestic campaign aimed to increase local acceptance of tourists. Several market-based reforms were also adopted–namely, near-complete privatization of the hotel and leisure sector.

Gorilla Safaris in Rwanda has proven highly successful and done in a very organized and mature manner of recent years, generating local employment and tourism-related revenue. In a 2010 census, Rwanda had a 26.3 percent growth of mountain gorillas for 2003 which was amazing in just seven years.

Many Christian all over the world came by air, they came by bus, they came by car and they came by foot, in their thousands, to attend the annual Martyr’s Day celebrations at the Namugongo Shrine neighboring the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

This is done every year, Catholic faithful with a close affinity to the celebration of the Uganda Martyr’s, who were declared Saints of the Church by Pope Paul VI during his visit to the Uganda in October 1964, come from all over Africa and in fact around the world to Uganda to pray and pay tribute to their favorite saints. Hundreds of believers in fact walk to Namugongo – to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, from within Uganda and as far as Tanzania, the journey often taking weeks to complete the journey.

Travelers coming from abroad are very much increasing year after year as religious pilgrimages have been turned into religiously motivated travels by the marketers of the Uganda Tourism Board, and the private sector. Such tours are now a growing market segment which originally sprang from the Christian’s pilgrimages to Rome, and to the Holy Land, the Hindu pilgrimages across India and the Islamic duty to attend Haj or perform Umrah visits to Mecca and Medina.

In the past, few people knew about the Ugandan martyrs were burned alive on the 03rd of June 1886, but with the onset of the new media, the social media, the instant global news business and the need to diversify the tourism attractions in Uganda beyond the rare mountain gorilla tours, it was only a matter of time before this event had become a major attraction to showcase to visitors.

This Monday will be a public holiday in Uganda, celebrated ever since Pope Paul VI’s proclamation of sainthood for the 22 Catholics among the victims of Kabaka Mwanga II. For those from abroad, it is a warm welcome from us all and enjoy your time in the Pearl of Africa.