A visit to the endangered silver back mountain gorillas at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is the most amazing experience that one wouldn’t miss while on the African trip. Many people think of mountain gorillas as being hard or something that would be like provoking a fight encounter with the primates in the wild. But staying with the gorillas there is anything that could scare you to visit the gorillas. In Rwanda, people treasure a visit with the endangered silver back mountain gorillas, which are surprisingly playful and relaxed in the presence of humans. You can experience these unforgettable memories while on your Eco tours in Rwanda and staying in the most relaxed Eco-friendly safari lodges and camps in and around the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.
Rwanda’s luxury Virunga Eco-luxury lodge include the Virunga Safari Lodge and the Sabyinyo Silver Back Lodge, they have done much effort at promoting Eco-tourism and community development living near and far the park.
For all guests staying at these lodges sign up for a two-hour hike for a life-changing encounter with a gorilla family in the Volcanoes National Park. A percentage of proceeds from gorilla tourism, certain percentage of dollars are allocated towards community programs for the surrounding villages, which include beehive initiatives, agricultural support and education. If you are an animal lover or simply enjoy adventure travel, gorilla tracking will prove to be a most memorable experience. Gorilla tracking is recommended for people ages 15 and older.
Rwanda is called “the land of a thousand hills,” a green undulating landscape of crops, gardens and tea plantations. The country is also home to a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, which attracts Rwanda’s largest tourism impact and at the end supports the country’s economy.
The hikes into the Volcanoes National Park start with a brief orientation, where groups of eight are guided up the volcano with the assistance of a tracker, guide and porter. Depending on where the group starts their hike, trekkers may encounter fields of crops, which are used by East Africans as a natural insecticide. During the hike (which could be muddy), the guide describes the surrounding flora, and how certain species are used as medicines by the indigenous Batwa tribes.
Mountain gorilla families can include between 10 and 30 members, with a fully grown male silver back at the head of the family. Because the gorilla families constantly move around the forest searching for food, the hike could take from one and two hours, depending on their current location in the forest. When the magical moment arrives of finally encountering the family, the primates will be grooming, playing and eating, as if they never noticed the arrival of curious human onlookers. The guides use certain vocalizations around the gorillas that researchers like the late primatologist Dian Fossey have found to convey a message of peace.
Appeased by the lack of threat, the gorillas will come out from their perches and rub past you as they play or look for delicious stalks of bamboo or one of the 142 varieties of plants represented in the silver back’s diet, including celery, nettles, thistles, succulent herbs, and wild berries.
Playful baby gorillas roll past visitors or even touch pants legs if they get close enough. One of the most interesting parts of watching the gorillas in their natural habitat will be witnessing their human-like emotions and mannerisms.
