Gorilla Trek
Volcanoes National Park
Kinigi, Rwanda
The only place in the world to experience mountain gorillas is in the mountains of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. Of the roughly 1,100 in existence, about 380 mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Mountains of Volcanoes National Park (VNP) in Rwanda.
Eighteen gorilla families in VNP receive tourist visitors. Each day groups of eight tourists trek to visit one of twelve of the families. Your tour group is led by a highly trained guide and each trekker hires a porter to help carry gear, provide a hand, and cut through the jungle vegetation.
A group of three trackers leaves early each morning to locate the family unit assigned to a group. We were assigned to the Sabinyo gorilla family, a group consisting of 17 members.
This group is led by the silverback Gihishwamwotsi (pictured here) who officially took over from his Father Guhonda after the latter left the group in January 2020.
Our time with the gorillas was THE highlight of our Africa experience.
But first…..
The streets of Kegali; our lodging in Kinigi
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
& the Kinigi Women’s Village
The Gorilla Trek
“Hand me your phone,” the guide said, “let me photograph you so people will know you took these photos.”
I am forever grateful.
Golden Monkey Trek
Our final experience in Africa was to venture back into Volcanoes National Park to see the Golden Monkeys that live there. It was a relaxing way to wrap up our visit.
A final goodbye
As we wrapped up or Monkey Trek I saw this little boy jumping rope up the hillside. A few moments later he appeared atop another hill. It felt like he was wishing us safe travels home.
