Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are the only three countries in the world with mountain gorillas. Due to their scarcity in the world and their uniqueness both in appearance and behavior, mountain gorillas have continued to attract the majority of East African wildlife safaris. However their presence in these 3 neighboring countries has brought up a kind of debate among travellers regarding which one of them has got the best gorilla safari experience. Now that Gorilla tracking safaris in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park are no more after security issues led to immediate suspension of all the tourist activities in the park, the great gorilla tracking debate battle remains between Uganda and Rwanda.
A lot of factors come into play when it comes to debating about gorilla tracking safaris of Uganda and Rwanda, these may include gorilla-trekking destinations, number of mountain gorillas available in each destination, mountain gorilla families in the destinations, gorilla permit prices, gorilla tracking rules and regulations, intensity of gorilla tracking hikes in each destination, quality of accommodation facilities around gorilla tracking destinations, other wildlife safari activities available apart from gorilla tracking as well as other tourist attractions near the gorilla tracking areas, distance from country entry points to gorilla tracking destinations and the condition of roads leading to the parks and security concerns in general.
Gorilla-Tracking Destinations
Uganda has two Mountain-gorilla-tracking destinations in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park both found in the South West of the country. Rwanda has only one mountain-gorilla tracking destination of Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Vocans) found in the volcanic region in Northwest of the country. The park is part of the region’s conservation area of Virunga Conservation area sharing borders with DRC’s Virunga national Park and Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Therefore when it comes to tracking a variety of mountain gorillas, Uganda has got a slight edge over Rwanda since tourists can be assigned to track gorillas both in Bwindi and Mgahinga at the same time. This is a very big advantage to Uganda especially in the high season when gorilla permits are limited due to a high demand
Number of Mountain Gorillas In Each Destination
When it comes to the number of mountain gorillas, Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park possesses an off the beaten track record. The dense forested park inhabits more than half of all the mountain gorillas in the world, which you must not miss out on your Uganda safaris in south western region. Today the world’s population of mountain gorillas is estimated to be around 1000 meaning that 500 plus mountain gorilla live in Bwindi. The rest of mountain gorillas are shared among the other 3 destinations of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC. With such a huge number of mountain gorillas, Bwindi Gives her visitors a big opportunity to see a variety of mountain gorillas while on their safari which gives such an amazing wildlife experience.
Mountain-Gorilla Families Available In Each Park
While discussing mountain gorilla families, it is important to note that not every mountain gorilla in these parks has been habituated to belong to a family. Some of them are still living in the wild on their own without belonging to any of the habituated families. In terms of gorilla families, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park still ranks higher than the rest with up to 13 families with the average of 15-20 individuals per group. The families include Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura, Orugozo, Bitukura, Nkuringo, Nshongi, Mishaya, Kahungye, Bweza, Busingye and Kyaguriro gorilla family. Mgahinga gorilla national park inhabits only gorilla family of Nyakagezi with about 10 members. The group is starting to stabilize in the park after being commonly known for switching parks around all the 3 countries. Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda has up to 10 gorilla families. These include; Susa, Karisimbi, Sabyinyo, Amahoro, Agashya, Umubano, Kwitonda, Hirwa, Uganda and Bwenge family groups.
Gorilla Permit Price
There is a big difference in the price of gorilla permits between Uganda and Rwanda. It was not until May 2017 when the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) decided to double the price of Rwanda’s gorilla permit from $750 to $1,500 with the aim of making Rwanda a high-end tourism destination and to promote conservation by limiting the number of travellers who visit the gorillas. On the other hand, the price of Uganda’s gorilla permit did not change and it has been stable at $600 for foreign non-residents and $500 for foreign residents. In this regard the choice would be so easy, if you are looking forward to track gorillas from a country in the process of transformation into a high end tourism destination, then Rwanda will happily receive you, whereas if you are economically conscious and considering a medium cost gorilla tracking destination, Uganda eagerly waits for you.
Gorilla-Tracking Rules and Regulations
In both countries the rules and procedures governing the gorilla tracking exercise are quite similar. A maximum of 8 people is allowed to track a gorilla family in a day for duration of an hour. It may take you between 1 and four hours to reach the gorillas depending on where the group you were assigned may be. Before the actual tracking starts, all trackers assemble for briefing at around 7am and then grouped and allocated gorilla families to track.
The Intensity of Hikes While Tracking Gorillas
Mountain gorillas in both countries like living in high and steep-rugged ranges. Tracking gorillas in Bwindi requires you to go through the thick forest with no clear trails while ascending to higher altitude of the Kigezi ranges where the park is located. In both countries you will have to take on serious hikes through some steep and forested slopes before reaching gorillas. Rwanda may have some better tracking trails than Uganda though to some travellers even the process of clearing for trails in the dense forests of Bwindi is taken as part of the tracking experience.
Other Attractions In Parks Besides Gorilla Tracking
Other tourist attractions to enjoy while on your gorilla-trekking safari in Bwindi include; chimpanzee-tracking, golden-monkey-tracking, bird watching and cultural tours in the surrounding communities. In Mgahinga travellers can crown their gorilla-tracking Safari with Sabyinyo Volcano hike, golden monkey tracking and the Batwa trail. At Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, after tracking mountain gorillas, tourists can also do golden monkey tracking, Karisimbi Volcano Hiking, Bisoke Volcano Hiking, Lakes and Caves Tours, Dian Fossey Tomb Visit and Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village Tour. In Uganda, away from the gorilla tracking destinations, visitors can embark on other fantastic wildlife safari activities like game drives, birding and chimpanzee tracking in the Kyambura sector of the nearby Queen Elizabeth National Park. In Rwanda such activities save chimpanzee tracking can also be done in the Akagera National Park, which is a bit closer to Volcanoes National Park compared to Nyungwe Forest National Park in the far South.
Quality of Accommodation Around The Gorillas
Around the gorilla tracking destinations there is a variety of accommodation including lodges, hotels, hostels and camps. These facilities are in luxury, mid-range, and budget statuses. The slight difference Rwanda and Ugandan accommodation facilities is in the pricing. Rwandan accommodation tends to be a bit pricy than in Uganda. However the difference in pricing may even be brought up by the difference in strength of their currencies where the Rwandan Franc is a bit stronger than the Ugandan Shilling in comparison with the dollar. (RWF1=UGX4, and USD1=UGX3670 as per Aug 2018). However, majority of the accommodation managers especially luxury in both countries tend to charge their fees in US dollar.
Distance From The Airport (Capital) to Gorillas and Condition of Roads
In terms of distance from the airport to the gorilla-trekking areas, travellers in Rwanda cover a shorter distance than their counterparts in Uganda. By road, from the Kigali international Airport in Kigali to Volcanoes national Park takes you about 3-4 hours. In Uganda, from Entebbe International Airport near the capital Kampala, you drive for about 8-9 hours to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park the main gorilla tracking Park in the country. In both countries, the roads to the park are well constructed with bound surfaces, sometimes you may be held up for a couple of minutes through traffic before you leave the capital though this is more intense in Kampala than Kigali.
State of Security Around the Gorillas
The security agencies in both Uganda and Rwanda have tried their best to beef up security in all the conserved areas where wildlife safaris are carried out. There are no security threatening concerns that have been reported in any of the safari destinations of Uganda and Rwanda in recent years. These two countries have fought hard to fend off the insecurity that has antagonized the neighboring wildlife park of Virunga in DRC. Within the parks, there are several well-trained and equipped rangers who are always ready to protect the tourists from any threat including the ones from the dangerous wild animals.
The Verdict
Each country as described above, may have a cutting edge over the other in different areas as far as gorilla tracking is concerned. For example, in terms of low cost and variety of mountain gorillas, Uganda is deemed to be doing better than Rwanda. However, when it comes to offering high quality services, shorter distance from capital to gorilla tracking areas and more developed infrastructures in roads and accommodation, Rwanda comes ahead of Uganda.
In conclusion, both destinations offer a fantastic gorilla tracking experiences to their visitors since they have more in common than differences when it comes to tracking mountain gorillas. Many travellers who have been to both destinations for the same have given applauding testimonies of how they enjoyed the experience in both countries. With the above guidelines, we believe that our best decision regarding a destination for tracking mountain gorillas is to leave the choice to your discretion.
