Gorilla Trekking Safaris

Encounters with mountain gorilla families in the Virunga Volcanoes and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park...

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Overview

Cedarberg-Sanctuary-Gorilla
The rare and elusive Mountain gorillas live in small family groups in the high-altitude cloud forests of equatorial central Africa. They live in only two areas. One is the Virunga Volcanoes which straddle Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The other is the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest  in Uganda. We offer gorilla trekking safaris to both the Virunga and Bwindi rainforests.

Their numbers declined dramatically in the last few decades of the 20th century. This was mainly due to the erosion of their habitat. However, since they have been protected, their numbers have increased by over 40% since 1989. So now there are over 1,000 mountain gorillas roaming wild.

Gorilla Trekking Safaris & Conservation

Gorilla trekking tours, with small numbers of people, play a vital role in this form of wildlife conservation. It allows for a carefully managed and minimally-intrusive encounter between you and a few gorilla families. Ever since the mountain gorilla research of Dian Fossy, the pioneering primatologist, people want to emulate her close encounters with these most charismatic apes. These gorilla family are somewhat habituated to humans, but the encounter is still very carefully regulated.

Gorilla trekking terrain

So the gorilla tracking permit prices are deliberately very high ($1500 in Rwanda and $800 in Uganda). As this vital revenue is what enables environmentalists to preserve the remaining unique montane and bamboo forest. The forest would be destroyed, if not for the gorilla trekking fees and the tourism dollars which go to the local communities. They would be forced to plough up or burn the forests to create more land for subsistence farming.

Why it's worth the price!

Gorilla Trekking Tours in search of Mountain Gorillas

Despite the high fees, people snap up the gorilla tracking permits many months ahead. For the committed world adventurer, devoted photographer or wildlife lover, there is nothing to beat the thrill of an encounter with a male 'silverback' gorilla. An hour passes in a flash but you won't forget your time with them. Perhaps it is the fact that mountain gorillas are notoriously hard to capture on camera? Or the challenging trek to get to them? It all combined to reinforce what an incredible privilege it is!

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"Peter put together a superb holiday for us. He found out what sort of things we liked and then tailored the holiday for our needs. Whilst working the logistics out! " - Mrs Helen Severs
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"Without ever meeting us, Kate and Tash from Cedarberg Travel & African Safaris created a winning itinerary for my friend and I! The itinerary was well-balanced in its schedule, activity levels and locations. We started in Cape Town with several tours and an excellent tour guide named Tobi. Tobi quickly clicked with us, laughed with us, and answered all of our questions about aspects ..." - Mrs Myers
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"Cedarberg and specifically our specialist Peter, have been excellent. Really communicative and just very on the ball. From the planning and payment, all the way through to arriving back home. The transfers, hotels, everything was spot on. Couldn’t have been happier with how our honeymoon went. " - Mr Clark Hoy, UK
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"Cedarberg were really great to deal with. The Drakensberg mountains were spectacular. We most enjoyed Victoria Falls that literally took your breath away.  The river boat cruises at Livingstone were well worth it.  Also getting so close to the animals at Umlani in the Timbavati, even the lions and leopards. " - Mr Martin Butler, UK
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"They were very informative and helpful. Milandi in particular helped us with car hire and when I lost my wallet on arrival in Cape Town. Milandi was always available to discuss and change anything required. Emails were replied to promptly. " - Mr Chris Jones, UK
 
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Gloria Darvall

AFRICAN TRAVEL SPECIALIST

Hi I'm Gloria, I'm here to help you plan your ideal holiday experience GET IN TOUCH