The Virunga Mountains: the last refuge of the mountain gorilla
The gorilla has not always enjoyed the fame it deserves. Having King Kong as a reference is not exactly a positive example. The film showed him fearsome, enormous and monstrous. Reality is something else. The reality is more related to the image of Tarzan's affable friends.
Large mountain gorillas are calm and sociable beings. They live in communities made up of around a dozen individuals. They follow a fundamentally herbivorous diet, feeding on bark, roots and fruits; and despite his imposing presence, the man, apparently weaker, has taken over his ground. Human settlements close to their habitat have relegated them to very isolated, although not inaccessible, areas.
Thus, in a mountain range in East Africa, the Virunga Mountains, you can live the incredible experience of coming face to face with gorillas weighing approximately 200 kilos. This mountain range extends along the northern edge of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is home to an intricate jungle where the last specimens of this species take refuge.
I propose four National Parks located between these three countries so that you can enjoy this incredible ecotourism experience.
The (almost) impenetrable forest of Bwindi
Bwindi National Park is located in southwestern Uganda, on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a mountainous area of more than 32,000 hectares occupied by one of the oldest and most biodiverse forests in the country.
But what makes this place really famous are the 340 mountain gorillas that live there, approximately half of the specimens of this species left in the world.
The first thing you should know if you want to go see gorillas in Uganda is that you need to request a special permit on the website of the Uganda Wildlife Authority. It is advisable to have it several months in advance and costs between 450 and 600 dollars depending on the season.
When applying for the permit, you are assigned to a family of gorillas that can belong to any of the 4 sectors of the Park: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. Only one visit per day per family is allowed, in groups of 8 people.
If you are planning to travel to Africa on your own, you may have trouble finding the entry point to your assigned sector, as these are sometimes not clearly indicated. For this reason (among other things), it is recommended to book the visit through an agency. They will help you apply for the permit and take you to the right place.
Although the Park can be visited all year round, most people prefer to go between June and September or between December and February to avoid rainy seasons. Please note that Bwindi is in a remote location and access is difficult due to poor road conditions. From Kampala, the country's capital, it can take up to 8 hours by bus.
If you're not up for that much traveling, but you still want to get started with wildlife observation, why not start with a guided outing to observe the Iberian wolf in Zamora? I'm sure you'll get a taste for it and end up taking that plane to Uganda.
Mgahinga Gorilla Sanctuary
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is also in southwestern Uganda, near the town of Kisoro. With just 3,400 hectares, it is the smallest National Park in the country, but also one of the most important, being one of the only two places in Uganda where they can be found. mountain gorillas.
Its entire area is covered by dense vegetation and crossed by numerous streams. On its horizon, you can distinguish the craters of three extinct volcanoes: Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura. The last two have separate lakes in their craters.
A single family of gorillas lives in Mgahinga, so seeing them can sometimes be a difficult task. But don't worry, the guide who will accompany you knows all the habits of this group and will take you to the safest places to find them. In addition, Mgahinga keeps other faunal treasures, such as a rare species of golden monkey which can only be seen in this part of Africa.
But it is not only important for fauna. Mgahinga National Park is also a place recognized for having been home to the Batwa, a tribe of indigenous pygmies who are dedicated to hunting and gathering.
The Park is located about 55 kilometers from Kabale, the most important city in this area, from where you can take a bus to Kisoro. If you are coming from the Central Region, you can also take an Entebbe-Kisoro flight.
Like Bwindi National Park, Mgahinga experiences two rainy seasons a year: between February and May and between September and December.
The resilient Virunga National Park
Within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the oldest National Park in Africa, founded in 1925, is the home to about 200 mountain gorillas.
The political situation in the country and the interest of large oil companies have threatened it for years, even causing it to close its doors. But despite all the conflicts, the Park reopened to tourism in 2014. Expeditions to spot gorillas are the most popular activity and, perhaps, the only hope to safeguard these primates in serious danger.
This enormous protected area includes an incomparable diversity of habitats: jungles, steppes, lava plains, savannahs and volcanoes. And, above all this, snowy peaks at more than 5,000 meters high.
The Park is divided into three sectors: the northern sector, dominated by the Rwenzori mountains; the central sector, where Lake Edward is located and the largest population of hippos in the world lives; and the southern sector, where the gorillas are found, on the slopes of the Mikeno volcano.
On the expeditions, you will be accompanied by the Park rangers, who know these primates best. You will walk a couple of hours in search of them, depending on where the gorillas slept the night of the previous day, and then you will have an hour to observe them. To safeguard the gorillas from human diseases, it is mandatory that all visitors wear a mask (they will give it to you on the spot).
The most common way to get to the Park is to take an international flight to Kigali, in Rwanda, and from there take a taxi to Goma (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in three hours. From Goma there is official Park transportation to the entrance point.
Volcanoes National Park, the “Switzerland of Africa”
Dian Fossey, a famous naturalist who studied gorillas in situ for 20 years in Rwanda, made this National Park famous. His work, staged in the film Gorillas in the Mist, served to found the Karisoke Research Center, which has been working for the conservation of these primates for half a century.
In the Volcanoes National Park, much less conflictive than the neighboring Virunga Park, live 4 families of gorillas perfectly accustomed to the presence of humans. Only 32 daily passes are granted for visits, as always in groups of 8 people, and you cannot spend more than an hour with them.
The walks to find them begin very early and take you through a spectacular environment, through bamboo forests and tropical jungles, where you can also observe a multitude of birds and other primates.
The Park is an extraordinary place. In addition to its lush mountains, it is home to 5 of the 8 volcanoes in the Virungas. If you are going to spend several days in the area, it doesn't hurt to take advantage of one to visit the tomb of Dian Fossey at the base of Mount Sabyinyo or even to try to climb to its summit.
The closest city to the Volcano Park is Ruhengeri. From Kigali there are buses and the road is paved (a luxury compared to other areas of Rwanda). The trip does not last more than 2 hours.
From Ruhengeri to the entrance of the National Park, public transport is not used, so the options are limited to renting an SUV or contracting the visit with an agency, which is, without a doubt, the most recommended option.
You now know where to find the giant of Africa. Do you now dare to go in search of the largest mammal on the European continent? do it with this activity to photograph bison in Poland.
Darwin thought of him as an overweight man, but the truth is that the gorilla is the calm of the forest. He is not a broad-shouldered hippy, but a peaceful creature that lives slowly because in the jungle, except for the cheetah, hurry is not good. A piece of advice: if Ibiza night is your thing, it's better not to make this trip.
