Most people would always like to travel for holidays with the entire family and this includes parents and kids but it’s unfortunate that some activities like gorilla trekking will be limited to only adults in the family because the gorilla trekking age limit is 15 years and above.
Trekking mountain gorillas with your family is a little bit tricky especially if you have kids under the age of 15 years old but never the less parents can handle gorilla trekking with a family in a way that one parent treks gorillas on a given day while the other parent stays behind at the lodge with the kids and the parent who stayed behind can trek mountain gorillas another day and the one who trekked can take care of the family.
In situations where both parents would like to encounter mountain gorillas together, there are hotels that have well trained nannies or maids that will take care of your children while you trek mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking normally takes between 1-7 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family and the phase of the trekkers.
Children who are about to make 15 years of age might be allowed to trek mountain gorillas but this can happen on ground during the day of gorilla trekking. The child will be interviewed by the park warden at the headquarters and if they pass the interviews then they will be allowed to trek gorillas though they must be physically fit.
When trekking mountain gorillas with your family, it’s always good to family cottage rooms in the hotel where you will sleep in so that you will stay together as a family and not be put in different rooms. Children under the age of fifteen years old can also go for an easy hike with a Batwa pygmy hunter who will show them local traditional hunting methods that they used to use while living in the forests years ago before they were gazetted s national parks.
Children staying behind while their parents trek mountain gorillas can also go for cultural encounters and get entertained local traditional dances and songs, learn how to make crafts or even visit one of the community schools.
In conclusion trekking mountain gorillas with your family is so possible but you must communicate to your tour operator or the lodge you sleep in about the age of your children so that they can plan what suits them in advance.
