Understanding the difference between gorilla tracking and gorilla trekking is important when planning your gorilla tour.
Many people often confuse gorilla trekking with gorilla tracking, but there is a small difference between the two.
Gorilla trekking involves tourists being guided by a ranger in search of mountain gorillas in the wild.
This activity includes hiking and requires physical fitness because the gorillas live in high-altitude areas of the Virunga Volcanoes, which stretch across Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda.
Gorilla tracking, although often used to mean the same as trekking, is slightly different. It refers to the work done by rangers and researchers to locate a specific habituated gorilla family before the trekking begins.
Trackers go into the forest before the tourists, using signs like dung, broken branches, and leftover food to find where the gorillas slept or moved the day before.
Once the trackers find the gorilla family, they inform the park headquarters, and the tourists are then guided to begin the trek.
Trackers usually follow the gorillas based on their location from the previous night and their feeding areas.
Gorilla trekking begins early in the morning. Visitors are first given a briefing about the rules and what to expect. Tracking, on the other hand, starts even earlier to help make trekking easier.
Tracking helps make gorilla trekking more successful because the gorillas are already located before tourists head into the forest, increasing the chances of finding them quickly.
Gorilla trekking is done in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, and Virunga National Park in Congo.
The cost of gorilla trekking depends on the country. In Uganda, permits cost $800. In Rwanda, the price is $1500. Congo offers the most affordable permits at $400.
Gorillas are the largest living primates in the world and are divided into two species: eastern gorillas and western gorillas.
These species are further grouped into eastern lowland gorillas, western lowland gorillas, mountain gorillas, and cross river gorillas.
