After an early rise you will have a hearty breakfast to give you enough energy for the gorilla tracking. Your driver will take you to park head-quarters in Kiningi for a briefing explaining gorilla viewing etiquette such as to never make eye contact with a silverback. Armed guards are with the groups 24 hours and advise the warden of their locations. The guides will then take you through the bush pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas. Each visitor group is usually led by a park ranger/guide, two trackers and two armed personnel. Porters are available for extra charge to carry your personal items such as lunch, drinks and cameras. We highly recommend the services of a porter, not only to help with the steep and muddy stretches, but also to support the local community with extra income. Once a gorilla group has been spotted by the guide he will calm them by making low grunting sounds and imitating their picking and chewing leaves. You will then be led closer to the group. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas. A mature silverback male gorilla may weigh as much as 440 pounds, or 3 times the overall weight of an average man. The males are referred to as the silverback because as they mature the hair on their back turns somewhat silver, hence the name Silverbacks. However the anxiety of being close to these majestic apes normally disappears once you set eyes on the group. Normally the gorilla group will be scattered over a small area of thick vegetation. They will carry on with their interactions and even feed without any concern of their human visitors although they will be observing you with interest. Sometimes a playful youngster will boldly approach you with inquisitiveness, at times coming really close that you will need to move away. You are not allowed to move less than 7 meters close to them; this is to safe guard the gorillas from contagious human diseases. You are allowed exactly one hour with the gorillas before returning to the base station. We must also stress that, while you have a very good chance of seeing gorillas, success is not guaranteed (although chances are around 96%! A fascinating fact is that Gorillas and humans share 98% of their genetic composition.
Tours in Uganda and Rwanda