Where to Go for Lowland Gorillas in Africa

Congo Gorilla Tours

Africa is a continent with popular and top destinations to visit with unique and special attractions you should never miss to visit & see which is a great experience to steak in your mind. Africa is bordering Mediterranean Sea in the North, Atlantic Ocean in the West, Indian Ocean in the East; this is really a great destination to include in a list for your travel plans because it is very rich in Wildlife, Culture plus adventure tours.

Back to Point Low land Gorillas are brownish huge ground dwelling apes herbivorous in that they feed on leaves, stem, foliage and some fruits. They are tailless and when compared with Mountain Gorillas and the lowland gorillas are bigger in size, they are brownish in color with whitish hair on the head and in the chest, which is not the same case as for Mountain Gorillas which are very black in color except for the silver back which has brownish hair at the back. The life span of these Gorillas is normally between 35 and 40 years, they weigh up to 250 kilograms and they can reach two meters by height when standing. They are grouped in categories named Western Lowland Gorillas and Eastern Lowland Gorillas.

Africa is popularly known for both Mountain and Lowland Gorillas which are found only in three countries located in the Eastern part of the African continent named Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo but for these Low land Gorillas are only found in Democratic Republic of Congo. Today it is much possible with the some of the knowledgeable safari companies offering trips that now can offer combined safaris and with the Ugandan tour you can experience gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda and after cross easily to Virunga and Kahuzi Biega National Parks in Democratic Republic of Congo and experience the mountain and lowland gorillas in the mist at a very affordable price.

How to reach Democratic Republic of Congo?

Currently its better you access Democratic Republic of Congo via Rwanda in this way I mean that you will land in Rwanda at Kigali Airport and you will be picked from the airport by your local tour operator for us we used Eco Tours Rwanda up to your hotel of residence in Kigali or if you did not make a program to be picked by the local operator you will use an airport taxi/curb up to your booked hotel of Residence for some resting, dinner and overnight stay.

Next day you will be picked by the driver of your operator up to Goma border clear up with officials at the border and you will be picked and transferred by Virunga Safari jeeps up to your booked hotel of residence for check in as the driver of your local operator is waiting for you at the border the other side of Rwanda depending on the days you will spend in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Talk about the Visa

To a void inconvenience at the border if you are to land in Rwanda and cross border to Democratic Republic of Congo its better you apply for a multiple Visa which will allow you to cross border to Democratic Republic of Congo then back to Rwanda, this multiple visa costs $ 100 USD per person.

Now am in DR Congo where should I find the Low land Gorillas? These huge brownish ground dwelling herbivorous apes are found in Kahuzi Biega National Park which is the second Gorilla hosting destination in Democratic Republic of Congo when you try to put Virunga National Park aside.

Kahuzi Biega National Park is a protected area located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo near Bukavu town, it borders the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwanda border and it covers 6000 km2 of Area.

It is mostly known for Eastern Lowland Gorillas, the trekking usually takes approximately three hours and after discovering them in the jungle you are allowed to stay around them for only one hour while sharing with them, seeing them playing and feeding, taking photos of them but always do not use flush cameras when taking photos as you may scare these apes and force them to attack you.

If you are also interested in seeing Mountain Gorillas of Democratic Republic of Congo you can only find them in Virunga National Park which is the Oldest National Park in Africa, it was formerly named the Albertine National Park which covers 7800 km2 of Area stretching from the Virunga Mountains in the south to the Rwenzori Mountains in the north.

The permit for seeing Gorillas in Democratic Republic of Congo costs $ 400 USD per person and this is a must pay if you are interested, this money is paid in advance and once paid most times it’s not refunded unless you have a clear and burning reason presented which can satisfy the responsible authorities.

To highlight more this money paid for permit portion of it is used in the conservation programmes through funding the conservation organizations like Gorilla Doctors which take part in conserving the lives of these apes plus habitats where they live for future generation, other portion for labour like the rangers, officials at offices plus other logistics.



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