Some of my friends are planning to go gorilla trekking in Uganda and they invited me. I'm a little embarrassed to say that if the name wasn't self explanatory, I probably wouldn't know what they were talking about. I did some research and wow! Maybe i'll join them, maybe I wont... who knows. However, if you were planning on going gorilla trekking or like me never heard of it, here is what I know so far.
Coming face to face with a gorilla sounds scary but it also sounds like a once in a life time experience. I guess that should be reason enough to try it, for an adventurous person this would be a safari highlight. Through my research I discovered that there are less than 1000 mountain gorillas in the world and can you believe that about half of these are found in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mahinga Gorilla National Park. The rest are found in Rwanda and Virunga Gorilla National Park in DR Congo.
You can opt to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda, Congo or Uganda all year round but due to rainy seasons most people prefer to go between June to September and December to February. I guess that means it would be cheaper to get a gorilla trekking permit during the rest of the year.
The gorilla trekking permit goes for about 60K ($600) in Uganda, this permit offers you an hour in the wild with the gorillas for a group of 8 people. Only 80 people are allowed into their sensitive habitat each day. You are encouraged to book your permit through a travel or safari agent as it might end up being pricier and slower if you try to do it yourself.
When it comes to accommodation you could spend as much as 90K or as low as 7K (that's $9000-$70) obviously depending on how fancy the place is. Don't forget that you will be trekking through a muddy cold in the evening area so carry appropriate clothes and shoes.
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