In 2019 I had the wonderful honour of being invited to visit the Land of a Thousand Hills. Travelling around Rwanda and experiencing this beautiful (and extremely clean) country was a great experience but the highlight of the trip was one of the ultimate wildlife experiences – mountain gorilla trekking.
The Virungas mountain range, a range of extinct volcanoes straddling Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is the home of the majestic mountain gorillas. The Volcanoes National Park, part of the Virungas, located in northwest Rwanda is where the largest primates live.
Concerted efforts are being carried out to ensure these critically endangered primates are protected and thrive, and as a result their numbers are steadily increasing. There are now approximately 1,000 gorillas living in the wild. To see and experience these majestic animals was a magical unforgettable experience and one that is forever etched in my heart.
My Gorilla Trekking Experience
We had driven to the small town of Musanze, the gateway to the Volcanoes National Park the day before, staying at the quaint, luxurious Bishop’s House. After a good night’s rest it was an early morning wake-up call, a wonderful breakfast and off to the park headquarters by 7am for our trek briefing. It was a beautiful morning, perfect to go gorilla trekking. I hired a pair of gloves and gators at the headquarters, had a cup of the most delicious coffee and found out my allocated group of gorillas was the ‘Agashya’ group. A briefing by our guide on what the trek would involve, the do’s and don’ts, our group got into the vehicle for a short drive to the starting point. We arrived at the starting point where we found the porters waiting for us. I would highly recommend hiring a porter as they are so helpful – carrying my backpack, assisting when the climb got steep, teaching some kinyarwanda (the official language of Rwanda) and occasionally taking my photo!
We started our trek through the farms of potatoes and white flowers, and a stunning view of Mt. Sabyinyo, in the distance, climbed over the stone wall marking the edge of the national park and proceeded up through the forest. Our guide pointed out various flora and regaled us with stories of our gorilla group. Thankfully the gloves and gators helped me get through the bushes of stinging nettles safely.
After a while, some of the gorillas got up, moved away and we too followed them everywhere they went. Though aware of our presence, the gorillas ignored us, however, we were careful to remain as quiet as we could and keep our distance. A Blackback gorilla got up, rushed past us, smacking me on the thigh in the process! This was really a close encounter! The huge Silverback finally got up and followed his family.
It is so easy to get carried away and keep clicking the camera to capture every single sighting, but with only an hour to spend with the gorillas, I was fore-warned to put my camera away after a while and enjoy the experience – good advice!
Sadly the hour passed all too quickly and it was time for us to leave. How I wish I could have spent the whole day with these beautiful animals. We picked up our backpacks from the rangers and trekked back down silently in awe of this wonderful encounter, forever etched in my heart and mind.
-Kalpana Jai
