Gorilla Trekking Briefing – Key Things to Know before Trekking

Gorilla trekking briefing means giving relevant information to visitors at the park offices prior to setting off in the morning to the jungle in search for the mountain gorillas. This briefing aimed at preparing guests for the trek is attended by all tourists in a particular trekking sector who later disperse to begin the adventure to their allocated gorilla families. The briefing, carried out by the park staffs and guides is also witnessed by the rangers who later escort the trekking team into the forest. The gorilla briefing emphasizes mainly on the gorilla trekking rules and regulations to be followed on the way, while with the primates and return.

When visiting Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo to see the endangered primates, the gorilla trekking briefing is a must for every tourists to attend. Anyone who misses it may not not be allowed to enter into the park to see gorillas. This briefing mainly focuses on the safety guidelines put in place to protect the gorillas and humans beings visiting them. The gorilla trekking rules and regulations must be followed strictly for the safety of both humans and the gorillas.

The briefing starts early morning after all the gorilla visitors have converged at the park offices. At the park offices, visitors present their passports for registration. This registration helps Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to record and track data regarding the number of people that visit Uganda, age bracket and their countries of origin. The wildlife authority is able to know the number of people that each country in the world sends to Uganda.

In all the gorilla national parks including Bwindi Impenetrable forest, Mgahinga national park, Volcanoes national park and Virunga national park have age limit standards. So the gorilla trekking age limit is one of the things confirmed during the registration and briefing exercise in the morning.

Also during the briefing, the weaker elderly people and the physically weak ones also get advised to hire porters who help them by carrying important items during the trekking adventure. In case your age or body strength does not favor you in hiking, then you can request for porters with sedan chairs to lift you up for a fee.

During the briefing exercise, it’s when UWA staffs are able to tell whether or not the gorilla permit you are holding is valid for that date. Gorilla permits are issued for specific dates before or after which, they make the holders ineligible to trek gorillas. The gorilla permit your book must indicate the trekking dates, the gorilla trekking region of Bwindi so that you are at the right place at the right time. For instance, if you book a permit for Ruhija area and end up in Nkuringo sector, you are not eligible to see gorillas in Nkuringo. Even though you might be exceptionally to trek gorillas but it would be an inconvenience by allowing an extra person to add on the group of 8 persons.

In Rwanda, the briefing about Gorilla trekking is slightly different from that of Uganda. Rwanda gives some interesting cultural performances plus a cup of coffee/tea to the waiting visitors. This adds some excitement to the trek. Bwindi Impenetrable national park has four gorilla trekking sectors and four briefing points whereas Rwanda has only one briefing point from where all trekkers get briefed and then disperse to visit the different gorilla families in the Volcanoes National Park. At Gorilla Trekking Services, we assist in booking a gorilla tour by securing a permit for you in time once a confirmation deposit is made to us. Please contact us for more details.