Are you looking for mountain gorilla and golden monkey trekking safari experience in Uganda and Rwanda? If you have a free extra day on your safari after seeing mountain gorillas, you can enjoy golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda and Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. This article gives you detailed information about gorilla and golden monkey trekking in Uganda and Rwanda. A gorilla permit allows you only one hour with the mountain gorillas and it comes along with the park entrance fees and the guiding fees. Only people aged 8 and above are allowed to trek mountain gorilla and they are grouped into 8 to trek one gorilla family per day and they must all attend the pre-gorilla briefing before setting off early in the morning to look out for gorilla in their natural habitats.

Depending on the location of gorillas, the nature of the terrain and the speed at which you are trekking, trekking can be difficult or easy. A group of trackers are the first to go to the forest very early in the morning to trek mountain gorillas starting from where they slept the previous night. When these trackers find the mountain gorillas, they use walkie talks to communicate to the other guides about the location of the mountain gorillas so unsuccessful tracking is almost unheard of.

In Rwanda gorilla trekking can only be done for $1500 in volcanoes national park while in Uganda gorilla trekking can only be done in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park with 19 habituated gorilla families and in Mgahinga gorilla national park with only one gorilla habituated families open for tourism. The gorilla permits for foreign non-residents go for USD 700, USD 600 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for citizens of east Africa.

The best version of experience is called gorilla habituation experience where a permit buys $1500 for foreign non – residents, $100 for foreign residents and UGX 750,000 for east African citizens. This permits allows you stay with mountain gorillas for a maximum of 4 hours with the semi- habituated mountain gorilla families as you observe or take part in the gorilla habituation process as you make them get used to human beings. In all the national parks with mountain gorillas, gorilla habituation happens in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in Rushaga sector.

Rwanda gorilla permits can be got from Rwanda development board and in Uganda from Uganda Wildlife Authority reservation offices. It’s wise to buy your gorilla permit in advance most especially if you are planning to visit in the high season.  The high season happens in the moths of June to September and December to February. Obtaining a gorilla permit is always hard but you can work with Africa Adventure vacations to buy it for you in advance.

In Mgahinga national park, you find one habituated gorilla family called Nyakagezi open for gorilla trekking. The gorilla family has the highest number of silverbacks among all gorilla families in all gorilla national parks. Nyakagezi gorilla family used to move to Rwanda and sometimes DR Congo but that used to happen many years back.

Bwindi impenetrable forest national park has 19 gorilla habituated families open for tourism in 4 gorilla trekking regions. The regions are Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. But Buhoma sector is the most famous being the oldest of all sectors.

Mgahinga gorilla national parks is open for gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking experience and it’s the only national park where these two tourism activities can happen or the only park with golden monkeys in Uganda.

In volcanoes national park Rwanda, there are 10 habituated gorilla families that are open for gorilla trekking experience. The same park is where you find golden monkeys with Kinizi being the main park gate. For those interested in golden monkey trekking and gorilla trekking, contact Africa Adventure Vacations for more information and we help you plan your African safari accordingly.