Democratic Republic of one of the off the beaten track safari destinations in Africa, despite of the political climate in the Eastern democratic republic of Congo Virunga National Park has remained one of the renown diverse wildlife destinations in west Africa, the park is a World Heritage site which is a home to the endangered mountain gorillas and Chimpanzees, and also the area has one of the world’s active volcanoes the Nyiragongo active Volcano.
Gorilla trekking in DR Congo offers truly exclusive wildlife encounters, with few tourist numbers gorilla trekking in the Virunga national park is one of top activities a long side visiting the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage, besides mountain gorillas DR Congo is also blessed with Lowland gorillas, the Eastern lowland gorillas live in the forest areas of Kahuzi-Biega national park across Lake Kivu.
A visit with a mountain gorilla family is a life changing experience. Mountain gorillas are highly intelligent, good natured, and fascinating to observe. The silverback’s powerful presence is awe-inspiring, yet his calm clearly earns him the title, “gentle giant”. People are equally struck by the tenderness and care that mothers show their young. And then, of course, there are the juveniles who spend most of every waking hour at play and never cease to make visitors smile. We believe your time with Virunga’s mountain gorillas will leave you feeling changed for the better.
All treks are led by park rangers and usually depart from Bukima patrol post. Treks usually require 1-2 hours of hiking in each direction, depending on where the mountain gorillas spent the previous night and the difficulty of the terrain.
To safeguard the health of Virunga’s gorillas, visitors will be required to wear surgical masks (provided) when in the presence of gorillas. Children must be 15 years of age or older to go on a gorilla trek. Time with the gorillas is strictly limited to one hour. If you don’t feel well at the time of your scheduled trek (i.e. you have a cold, fever, diarrhea, or persistent sore throat) – please cancel. Mountain gorillas are extremely susceptible to human illnesses. Gorillas have died after being exposed to human respiratory viruses and other common ailments.