Dian Fossey hike and gorilla trekking in Uganda: Born in 1932 in the United States, Dian Fossey became a primatologist and conservationist who dedicated her life to researching and conserving the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. She came to the world stage after her strong campaigns across the world for mountain gorilla conservation. She dedicated 18 years of her life to significant studies on the mountain gorillas in the Virunga area.
She arrived in Virunga National Park at Schaller’s base in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She served in this park for over 6 and a half years before fleeing to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. On 24th September 1967, Dian Fossey set up her command center at the Karisoke Research Center in Volcanoes National Park. The center is located between Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke and the name of the center was gotten by combining the names of these two mountains.
Although she faced a lot of huddles from the local poachers, she worked through it all to glory. It is because of her efforts that the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park received recognition and funding hence their protection and conservation. This earned Dian Fossey the title “mother of mountain gorillas”. Her love for the conservation of mountain gorillas grew and marketed the Volcanoes National Park to the world stage. This attracted a lot of visitors to the park and funding from donors to facilitate her work in fighting poaching.
Dain Fossey’s work didn’t all attract positivity from people as the poachers saw her as a stumbling block in their poaching works. It is unfortunate that on 26th December 1985, Dian Fossey was brutally murdered in cold blood and buried at Karisoke Research Center. Although Dian Fossey was killed, her legacy and vision of conservation and protection of endangered mountain gorillas still live on.
Visitors on a trekking experience of mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda combine their adventure with a Dian Fossey hike. This hike takes visitors to the gravestone of the late conservationist and primatologist Dian Fossey. Visitors also explore the Karisoke Research Center as they reflect on the works that Dian Fossey did.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda
Gorilla trekking in Uganda involves searching for the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. This is done only in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park. Mountain gorillas are the most popular tourist attractions in Uganda. Mountain gorillas are an endangered species of primates only located in the Virunga conservation area. This conservation area encompasses Uganda’s two popular national parks Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks.
In Uganda, surveys were made in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park during the 1980s and was found worthy for the conservation of the mountain gorillas as well as other endemic species. The ancient Mubwindi forest was later designated as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 1991 receiving its first gorilla trekking in 1992 with the Mubare gorilla family in the Buhoma sector. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park was designated in the same year as a forest reserve.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four gorilla sectors, Buhoma, Rushaga, Nkuringo, and Ruhija. These sectors are distributed in the different compass directions across the park which eases and widens the trekking adventure. The Buhoma gorilla sector is the most popular sector having been the first sector to be formed in the northern part of the park. This was after the first gorilla family Mubare was first sighted in the park. The Buhoma sector is the closest sector to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Rushaga gorilla sector is also highly visited yet located in the far southern region of the park. This is because the Rushaga sector is the only sector where gorilla habituation in Uganda is offered. The Nkuringo sector is also located in the southern region of the park with incredible views of the Virunga Mountains in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ruhija sector is located on the far eastern side of Bwindi and offers a more secluded gorilla trekking experience hence it harbors many gorilla families. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park houses over 50 gorilla families with only 26habituated and available for trekking Gorilla families are groups where mountain gorillas socially live together under the leadership of a dominant male gorilla called a silverback.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park with over 100 mountain gorillas and one habituated gorilla family, the park is a popular gorilla destination in the country. The park is located in the southern region of the country bordering the Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda. Gorillas in Mgahinga National Park can be explored starting from Ntebeko. Unlike Bwindi, gorilla trekking adventures in Mgahinga take primate enthusiasts on a search for the Nyakagezi gorilla group.
What is the best time for gorilla trekking in Uganda?
Uganda does not limit visitors on when to travel to enjoy gorilla trekking. But the ideal time to travel to Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks to trek mountain gorillas is any time around the peak dry months. Depending on your travel calendar, the dry season in most of the gorilla and chimpanzee destinations falls in June, July, August, September, December, January, and February.
This is because the dry peak months receive little or no rainfall patterns hence leaving the trekking trails dry and navigable unlike during the muddy and slippery trails of the wet season. The vegetation is also sparse allowing the visitors to spot the primates without hindrance of visibility from the dense vegetation in the wet season.
