How does Gorilla Trekking Compare with Gorilla Habituation? Mountain Gorilla trekking is Strictly a 1-hour affair that costs $700 per person, while Gorilla Habituation which can only be done in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a 4-hours experience limited to only 04 tourists and with the Permit costing $1,500 per person. Let’s now give you an in-depth understanding of how Gorilla Trekking compares with habituation.
First, we need to understand a few factual definitions of each of the words; Gorilla trekking & Gorilla Habituation
- What is gorilla trekking? Gorilla trekking is a fully active adventure experience that involves hiking up uneven terrain, and mountains, through tangled vegetation cover hacked by rangers and porters using machetes to create a temporary passage to the gorillas. The type of gorillas you are trekking to see is the rare mountain gorillas.
- What is Gorilla Habituation? Gorilla habituation is the process of “taming” a group of naturally wild gorillas and getting them used to human visits. From the moment mountain gorillas were discovered, humans became interested in visiting to observe them at a closer distance. However, because wild gorillas can be very aggressive, a plan to slowly get them used to human visits (habituation) then became necessary before humans could risk being attacked and killed by the gorillas – it’s this process that we now call Gorilla Habituation. The habituation process usually lasts a period of 2-3 years and involves a team of qualified researchers and veterinarians (accompanied by the locals for extra support). The team sets out on a long-term mission to visit a selected wild gorilla group whilst closely studying its behavior and getting used to humans getting gradually closer and closer till the group accepts and gets tolerant to human visits.
How does Gorilla Trekking Compare with Gorilla Habituation?
Time Spent with the Gorillas:
- Travelers doing the traditional gorilla trekking will only be allowed a maximum of 01-hour to view, photograph, or film the gorillas. This excludes the time taken to get to where the gorillas are located. Learn More about: Why is gorilla trekking limited to 01-hour?
- For travelers that sign up for Gorilla Habituation, you’ll get to enjoy up to 04 hours in the presence of a group of wild gorillas still undergoing the habituation process. Learn more about the best way to spend your 04 hours with a group of wild Gorillas.
Locations:
- Gorilla Trekking can be done across three (03) countries; Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo. However, because of the ongoing political unrest in DR Congo, we only recommend choosing to either trek gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda. In Rwanda, Gorilla Trekking can only be done at Volcanoes National Park while in Uganda, it can be done at two different National Parks; Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
- Gorilla Habituation unlike Gorilla Trekking can only be done in the Rushaga Region of the greater Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda.
Cost of Permits:
- Gorilla Trekking permits in Uganda cost $700 per person. Learn more about What is included in the Price of the Gorilla Permit?
- Gorilla Trekking permits in Rwanda cost $700 per person. Learn more about What is included in the Price of the Gorilla Permit?
- Gorilla habituation Permits Cost $1,500 per person. Learn More about What is Included in the Price Of a habituation Permit?
Group Size:
- Gorilla Trekking admits a maximum of 08 tourists accompanied by a group of rangers, porters, and interns. Learn more about Why gorilla trekking is limited to 08 tourists.
- Gorilla Habituation unlike trekking admits only 04 tourists accompanied by a group of rangers, porters, and interns. Learn more about Why gorilla trekking is limited to 04 tourists.
