Welcome to Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa where you find the oldest African national park and from here you can experience mountain gorillas and the active Nyiragongo trek. All treks are led by park rangers and usually depart from Bukima Patrol Post and Kibati patrol. 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. Time with the gorillas is strictly limited to 1 hour.
Within the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mountain gorillas are found in Virunga National Park which is also a UNESCO Heritage site. This park is situated in the eastern side of Democratic Republic of Congo and boarders both Uganda and Rwanda. The park covers an area of 7800 km2 and is home to over 200 gorillas mostly situated in the southern part of the park.
Gorilla trekking regulations in Virunga National park
Congo gorilla trekking in the Virunga National Park has some strict rules and regulations that are supposed to be followed by the trackers on their Congo gorilla trekking expeditions. These include; group size, the groups to track per day as well as the time allowed spending with the mountain gorillas. This is also done to ensure the well being of these endangered animals. This is because the gorillas are susceptible to many human diseases due to the great closeness between the humans and the mountain gorilla.
Gorilla Safari Group Size: It’s only a maximum of eight individuals per day that are allowed to trek, this helps to reduce the spreading of diseases from humans to the mountain gorillas.
Restrictions on Age: It’s only 15 years and over individuals allowed to trek
Hours of Visiting: gorilla trekking takes place during day time and it’s between 8:00am to 7:00 pm
Time limit with gorillas: It’s strictly 1 hour allowed to spend with the mountain gorillas.
The gorilla trekking experience starts from the Bukima point and this experience takes like 6 hours in the jungle and most of the tourists do this experience and thereafter cross to the Rumangabo point where they later experience the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage center in the evening and after have an overnight at the Mikeno Lodge.
From the Rumangabo point to the Kibati point where the extraordinary Mount Nyiragongo hike begins from it is like 45 minutes’ drive and upon arrival at the Kibati point get prepared and you can get your Mikeno package if you are traveling with the arrangement of the Virunga foundation, get your porter at $ 24 dollars if you cannot lift your package and the walking stick at $ 5 dollars and by 10 – 11 am start your hike to the summit of the active volcano. This walk takes like 8 – 9 hours as you will have some stopovers to refresh and stretch the legs and after like 4 stopovers you will reach the climax of the mountain and from this point where the porters always stay you will take a meandering walk towards the cabins and upon arrival you will have the unforgettable view of the volcano boiling and when you reach here it becomes more cooler and you have to be with your warm pants and jackets among others.
Have your view and take amazing photos and videos and later you will have your dinner and then to your cabins and due to the coldness to the summit bathing becomes out of the activities of the day and also if you want a loose point you will see rope and then find out way to reach it down and coming back to your cabin. Then in the morning have your early breakfast and after descend down and by 11 am you will be at Kibati point and your jeep will be available to transfer you to your next destination in Democratic Republic of Congo or Rwanda.
