About Gorilla groups in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park- Gorilla tracking in Rwanda takes place in Volcanoes national park which is sometimes referred to as Parc National Des Volcans in French. The park is unique and a key destination to Rwanda’s tourism industry since most of the popular activity of gorilla trekking in Rwanda is done in this park.  Volcanoes national park forms part of the Great Virunga conservation areas with sister parks of Virunga in Congo, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, and the Mgahinga gorilla park lying in the southwestern part of Uganda. Virunga covers an area of 160 square kilometers and it harbors both birds and different primates with the prominent primates being the golden monkey and endangered Mountain Gorillas. Volcanoes national park also features over178 species of birds that are made of swamp bird species, bamboo forest, and savannah grassland. Volcanoes such as Sabinyo, Karismbi, Gahinga, and Bisoke are also available in Volcanoes National park, and these offer opportunities for hiking experience to the traveler/tourists.

In Rwanda, endangered mountain gorillas are only found in Volcanoes National Park located in Musanze town. Volcanoes national park features ten (10) habituated gorilla families which are available for gorilla trekking. Most of the visitors prefer taking mountain gorilla trips to Rwanda and it is the only country where one can do gorilla trekking in just a single day or two days because of the easy accessibility of the park near the capital city Kigali. One drive for only two hours from Kigali to volcanoes national park and can trek gorillas and if he or she wishes to go back home on the same day but we encourage you to have more time in the country to explore more wildlife safaris.  Gorilla trekking is a popular activity that is done in Volcanoes National Park and this is the reason why most visitors are attracted to volcanoes national park.

How to get to Volcanoes National Park

In Rwanda, Kigali international airport is the major airport where you land and then proceed to volcanoes national park for just 2 to 3 hours on good tarmac roads. You can trek gorilla one day and go back home to Rwanda. Please feel free to contact Africa adventure vacations for more information about gorilla trekking in all of these countries. Volcanoes national park is found in the small local village of Musanze which was previously known as Ruhengeri. A 4×4 vehicle to and from Volcanoes National park is the best recommended for you to use while taking a safari to volcanoes national park. You should make sure that you make it on time at the headquarters before 7:00 am such that you can link up with a briefing be of the actual gorilla trekking activity takes place. There are no flights directly from Kigali to Volcanoes National park so the only option available is for you to use a luxurious vehicle with well-installed luxurious services which will make it easy to move comfortably to access the park. Visitors can also access Volcanoes National park from Uganda and a longer gorilla trekking trip to Volcanoes and journey from Kampala to the border of Rwanda is around 9 to 10 hours and connects to volcanoes National Park. With this round, you can visit other places such as Lake Mburo National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park, Kibale forest National Park, Queen Elizabeth national park, and Kibale forest national park. The Aero link Uganda /Kampala executive Aviation operates flights from Entebbe international airport to Kisoro /Kihihi airstrip and from here you can connect to Volcanoes National park using Four any four vehicles for easy and comfortable movements.

Gorilla permits in Volcanoes National Park.

Like Uganda, Rwanda gorilla families are well habituated which means that they are open for trekking by the visitors. Each gorilla family is visited by a group of 8 people per day meaning that there are 8 available gorilla permits in Rwanda the fact the country has 8 habituated gorilla families Gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda are got from the Rwanda Development Board and you have to follow the rules given by the authority.

Price of the Gorilla permit in Volcanoes national park

Rwanda has the most expensive gorilla trekking experience of the all gorilla countries of Uganda and Congo. Gorilla trekking takes place in Volcanoes national park located in Musanze. The gorilla trekking permit cost 1500 united stated dollars in Volcanoes National Park for all time of the year however there are gorilla permits discounts to 30% as the relief to tourism travel operators. This means that it is possible now to pay United States dollars 1,050 between November and May and this has been done to attract more visitors to volcanoes national park. The condition attached to this discount is that you must have spent at least three days in Rwanda and have visited either two parks in the country including Akagera National Park and Nyungwe National Park at your own cost. Compared to her neighbors, the cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is 700 United States dollars per person per trek and the 400 United States dollars for Congo gorilla trekking permit. At Africa adventure vacations we book and secure for you the gorilla tracking permits to these countries if you contact us.

Gorilla Groups of Volcanoes National Park

There are different groups of volcanoes national park and these include among the following;

Susa Gorilla Family in volcanoes National park

This gorilla family obtained its name from the Susa River and it is known for its rich history. The Susa gorilla group was studied also by Dian Fossey between 1967 to 1985.  This is the largest guerilla group in Volcanoes national park and hardest to track because it dwells on the high altitude of Mt. Karisimbi.  Currently, the group has got 28 individual gorillas however at the time of its habituation the group had more than 42 members, the group lives with 3 silverbacks, and it is well famous for its twines named Impano and Byishimo. So strenuous to track the gorilla group but so adventurous.

Sabinyo Gorilla Family in volcanoes national park

Sabinyo gorilla group in volcanoes national park stays in Sabinyo Mountain and it was named after this mountain. Remember that mount Mgahinga and Sabinyo are shared by both countries Rwanda and Uganda but the gorilla family lives on the Rwandan side, most tourists have found this gorilla family easy to track because it is located just near the volcanoes National park headquarters. The group features the hugest silverback known as Guhonda which weighs around 220 kilograms which scared his main challenger Ryango out of the family. There are 3 females, then 3 juveniles, and again 3 adults making it so interesting to trek.

Karisimbi Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

The group stays in Karisimbi Mountains and this is where it got its name from and it is headed by silverback Nyagakangaga. It was after disagreements Susa Gorilla Family in 2009 that leads to the formation of the Karisimbi gorilla family and this explains why the Susa group remains has 26 members yet it started with 42 members. At first, this group was called Suso B but later the name was changed to Karismbi gorilla family and it lives with 11 members with 3 females, 4 silverbacks, a black back, and 2 infants.

Amahoro Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

Headed by dominant silverback Ubumwe, the Amahoro gorilla family has got 18 members that include 2 silverbacks, two black backs, five juveniles, 5 females, and four young gorillas. The word Amahoro means peace as the Rwanda word and this is one of the peaceful gorilla groups in Volcanoes National Park. For visitors to see this mountain gorilla must trek and the slopes of Mountain Bisoke because it’s where the gorilla family is located and somehow somewhere you will need to be physically fit to have it.

Umubono Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

 This the gorilla group in volcanoes national park that is led by a dominant silverback called Ubumwe which stands for togetherness and the group lives with 13 members and 2 silverbacks. The gorilla family broke away from the Amahoro group and was led by Charles by then but later died and was replaced by Ubumwe.

Agashya Gorilla Family in volcanoes National Park

This gorilla group in volcanoes national park was first called 13 groups because it was composed of 13 members who had lived together as the group however because of better conservation measures, the group has expanded and now it is composed of 25 members with 1 silverback, 12 females, 3 Juveniles and 7 young gorillas with Agashya as the head. It is located on the foothills of mount Mgahinga and Sabinyo.

Kwitonda Gorilla Family in volcanoes National Park

This is a group that originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo as it moved to Rwanda in 2003 because of the pressure from other gorillas groups in Congo for territory acquisition and also wandering looking for food. The group is led by Akerevoru who was the younger silverback after dismissing Kwitonda from the group. Kwitonda the original silver head was found dead 10 days after running away from the group in 2012, and it was natural death following the postmortem results that were released. The group now has 23 members.

Titus Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

Titus was born at a time when Dian Fossey was still doing her research at Karisoke Research Center, the entire family died by poachers acts, and Titus the silverback by then was left alone, he endured a lot of hardships, he was drawn in by another family at a very young age, he grows up to become a very dominate silverback and later broke away with other males like Beetsme and 5 females to form their group that is now known as Titus. Titus fathered 20 children and but they kept breaking away as he grows old, Titus died at the age of 35 years. This group is the most successful story of the Volcanoes National Park recalling the humble background of Titus to where the group now is. The group is set aside for research purposes and only available for tracking just in case of a shortage of permits and if it’s a special request and authorized.

Hirwa Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

This is one of the latest gorilla groups and currently has 16 members with a silverback, this group was formed by members who got away from the other two groups of the Sabinyo family and Group 13. Hirwa gorilla family is found in between Mgahinga and Sabinyo Mountain. The name Hirwa means the lucky one and it is also one of the gorilla families with twins.

Bwenge Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

Dwelling around the mountains of Visoke, the Bwenge gorilla family has 11 members and it is one of the easiest gorilla groups to track especially for the elderly visitors or those who are not physically fit. Bwenge is the dominant silverback who moved away from his group and started his and later joined by two females. The group experienced a dark time when 6 of his infants died at once. It’s also another easy group when it comes to trekking.

Ugyende Gorilla Family in Volcanoes National Park

This group has 11 members with only one silverback. The name Ugyenda means “on the move”, and this implies that the family is so Mobile and it is always moving, the group resides around Mount Bisoke and roams these areas. This group gives you a relatively harder trek because it lives high on the slopes of Mount Bisoke

For more information on how best to trek the above-mentioned gorillas just contact Africa adventure vacations for booking and all the inquiries that you would want to do.