Around the world, there are very few destinations that offer the remotest and authentic touch of wildlife experiences except Africa. Despite the incredible people, Africa is credited for its dramatic wildlife species that for long have left a life time memory in the minds of a million travelers. There is nothing more exciting in African safari than sighting at the rare mountain gorillas, Eastern Lowland and the Western Lowland gorillas relaxed in the jungles of Africa. A face to face interaction with these spectacular wild creatures for just one hour indeed comes with the most unforgettable experiences of a life time. Gorillas are in Africa and the most important thing of all is that, mountain gorilla trekking is only done in the greater Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Just along the Western army of the Great East African Rift Valley, is where you can find these remarkable and remotest national parks. All gorillas are listed as endangered species but one unique thing is that a few of them are enlisted in the IUCN red book as the critically endangered except mountain gorillas. Currently, it is estimated that only 950 mountain gorillas are still surviving in the world and only found in three of African countries.
Mountain gorillas are only found in the wild especially between altitudes of 2400 kilometers and 4507 kilometers and hence their name. Karisimbi is the highest peak in the Virunga region and despite inhabiting the critically endangered mountain gorillas, there is also a lush green bamboo zone around the Virunga. Whereas Bwindi Impenetrable Forest that lies in south-western Uganda, comes with its misty valleys and the most challenging hikes given the fact the thickness and hence the difficulty to penetrate through the forest hinders photo taking and clear views, visitors are then offered opportunity to spend more than a single day tracking mountain gorillas.
While looking at the comparison between single and double gorilla trekking, visitors ought to understand the following:
Single gorilla treks denote that visitors have a chance to only one gorilla permits (pass). This is relatively affordable for visitors, for single day trekking experiences as they cost $1500 per visitor in Rwanda, $600 per visitor for foreign non residents, $500 for foreign residents and shs.250000 for East African residents in Uganda and $450 in DRC. The experiences thereafter are equally the same and in most cases having a second trek (double) the next may not be necessary as the cost may also double. However, visitors can still go to view the mountain gorillas twice as it offers a comparative advantage. In the first trek, visitors can easily find mountain gorillas relaxed, lazy and resting or even feeding in the dense vegetation which also makes it challenging to take photos clearly and thus a hindrance to visitor’s encounters.
Visitors who get into mountain gorilla habitat the next day can easily be rewarded with more experiences although this also comes with a higher cost compared to single gorilla trekking. The advantage with double gorilla trekking is that visitors have higher chances to experience much about mountain gorillas and hence more memories to share with dear ones.
In terms of photo taking:
Most travelers who go for single gorilla trekking have higher risks of missing flights, falling sick or ill and hence retrieving gorilla pass and this can be termed as a “No show” which also means that such a visitor can also miss out on the first trek and hence double gorilla trekking is worth for such a person to achieve his or her dreams.
Visitors should also note that not all gorilla groups have the same gorilla members or family size; some gorilla groups are larger than others in size and it will be the visitor’s unfortunate experience to find him or herself tracking a gorilla group with very few female gorillas or black backs or baby gorillas. This comes with an impact as it reduces on the level of visitors excitement in the jungle compared to a person who travels for two gorilla treks where he or she has higher opportunities of experience a lot of excitement and fun as well as clear photographs in the jungle with mountain gorillas.
Although many travelers wish to go for double gorilla trek, it is a bit costly as a visitor has to double the figure for instance in Rwanda $1500 times 2 or $600 times 2 in Uganda.
Visitors who go for double gorilla trekking safaris have a wider array of options to choose a gorilla family to track after going through the first trek an example can be gorilla families like Sabyinyo which is competitive in terms of accessibility since every one can be struggling for it but if a visitor goes for the first trek and this means the second or double gorilla trekking is inevitable.
Mountain gorilla trekking is incomparable to any trekking bit it trekking mountain Everest or trekking in Naples. For mountain gorilla trekking, it is the rarest experience of a kind as many visitors can even wish to go for as many times as possible. Visitors tend to choose a double day adventure with mountain gorillas because the first day the trek can easily be affected by rains or bad sighting.
In conclusion, mountain gorilla trekking is the most spectacular experience that rewards travelers who wish to achieve their long time dreams. Tracking mountain gorillas requires visitors to be physically fit to hike through the tropical rain forests in Uganda, Rwanda and DRC. You can choose to track these rare species for one day or two days. The single day is mostly associated with photo taking then the second day can be for actual watching. It is important that you arrange your safari for both treks to help you make your comparisons thereafter.