Cost of Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda
Cost of Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda: Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is home to mountain gorillas. Volcanoes National Park shares boundaries with Mgahinga National Park in Uganda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The park is well-known for its golden monkeys, endangered mountain gorillas, and other species. The five Virunga mountains—Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga, Sabinyi, and Karisimbi—are also found there. The park’s 160 square kilometers are covered with rainforest. It was Africa’s first park to be established.
The park eventually served as a base for Dian Fossey, who consistently conducted mountain gorilla research at the Karisoke Research Center, which is located between Visoke and Karisimbi. The park turned into a battlefield in 1992, and many tour activities were halted until 1999, when all visitors could safely enter.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda costs $1500 USD, and a reliable tour operator must purchase a gorilla permit from the Rwanda Development Board.
Additionally, a gorilla permit used to cost 750 USD for gorilla trekking, but now it costs 1500 USD.
Nonetheless, visitors who intend to remain for three days or more and trek the mountain gorillas and other national parks, such as Akagera and Nyungwe Forest National Park, along with other tourist attractions, will receive a 30% discount. A 15% discount is available to visitors who have traveled for conferences but would still wish to trek the mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
High-end tourism in Rwanda seeks to support community development initiatives for the locals in the neighborhoods surrounding Volcanoes National Park. This includes funding local schools, hospitals, business ventures, clean water supplies, and other improvements to their quality of life.
The goal of the $1500 USD gorilla trekking trip in Rwanda is to support the economic empowerment and development of the local community.
There are only about 1000 mountain gorillas remaining in the world, and they are in danger of going extinct. Nonetheless, conservation initiatives have been put in place to safeguard mountain gorillas in parks that are adjacent to the Virunga ranges, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park, Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park, and Volcanoes National Park. The mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are regarded as a subspecies of the species.
The number of mountain gorillas has increased by 60% in the last year since the conservation effort began, and there are now ten habituated gorilla families.
