Many travelers before purchasing their gorilla trekking permit on their Africa safari often pose a question to us!

What are the chances of seeing Mountain Gorillas in Uganda on our gorilla trekking tour in Uganda?.

The fact is that no Uganda gorilla safari tour operator will assure a traveler a 100% chance of seeing Mountain Gorillas because these are wild animals so no one controls them.

However, the chances of tracking mountain gorillas and interacting with them is about 99% assured due to the fact that the gorillas are known to live in specific places and conserved.

Ever since Uganda gorilla tours started in the early 1990’s, there no travelers who have failed to see mountain gorillas on their safari in Uganda.

Mountain gorillas are ever on move and their movements cannot be controlled but travelers are assured of seeing the mountain gorillas.

If the gorillas are always on the move, how then are trackers able to see them? The park management of both Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park where mountain gorillas are found have a very well-coordinated management is this is what is done to ensure every gorilla trekking tourist see Mountain Gorillas.

What is Done to Ensure You See These Mountain Gorillas?

An early Mountain Gorilla search is done by Park rangers

Every day, before tourists start their gorilla trekking safari in Uganda experience, an advanced team of rangers sets off into the forest to find where the gorillas are.

They normally start from where the gorillas slept last night following their footsteps until they find them. Rangers do this to make it easier for tourists to find them.

Gorillas are always on the move as they are searching for food or water. Sometimes, if there is a fight between habituated and non-habituated gorillas, they will tend to move far and sometimes become hostile.

The work of this advanced team is to establish the state in which these gorillas will be and then, they will communicate to the Park Head Quarters to tell them where the gorillas are.

Tracking are therefore taken to where the gorillas are making chances of seeing gorillas approximately 99%.

Gorilla Families Are Allocated According To Physical Ability

Gorillas live on a high altitude however, not all of them are in the same point, some might reside at a lower altitude whereas others on a high altitude.

Trekkers are urged to disclose their physical fitness levels to the park rangers during the time of family allocation.

This will help park rangers to allocate a family according to the information given by the trackers offering either a short, medium or tough hike.

Physically unfit trackers and the aged are in most cases allocated gorilla families that are easy to find. This makes easy for every trekker to see mountain gorillas considerably.

All you Need To Do!

Early Booking For Uganda Gorilla Trekking Permits

It’s always advisable to book your gorilla trekking permit early since it offers a chance to choose the sector to trek.

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the popular gorilla trekking safari Uganda destination with mountain gorillas found in the four sectors of the park (Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo).

The purchase of a Uganda gorilla trekking permit is dependent on the availability of the permit in a specific sector.

Early booking of a gorilla trekking permits helps ensure that each tourist has a gorilla family to trek. This is far different from many of the Uganda safari activities especially wildlife safaris in Uganda where by you undertake the activity without booking early enough.

Best Insect Repellent for a Gorilla Safari in Uganda

Because Uganda gorilla trekking safari are done in the densely forested tropical jungles of Bwindi impenetrable national park Uganda and Mgahinga gorilla national park Uganda.

These national parks are within the Albertine rift which is one of the most fertile and productive areas in Africa which means a lot of wild species survive there.

Mountain gorillas live in their natural habitat therefore they are in the wild with other insects, both crawling and flying.

What you wear for a gorilla trekking tour in Uganda must be one of the things that protect you from the biting insects however, carrying an insect repellent would do you good.

Before you purchase any insect repellent (a substance applied to skin or clothing to discourage insects from landing or climbing on) keep in mind that mountain gorillas are very susceptible to diseases and some repellents could be of harm.

Since we love to see your safari become enjoyable, these insect repellent tips were put together to help you plan.

Recommendable Insect Repellents for a Uganda Gorilla Safari

Australian RID repellent is good if you can access it. It can be purchased online and in medical stores. It’s a high-quality repellent that offers before and after bite protection from any kind of insects. They come in both creams and sprays for all protection outdoor.

For clothing Permethrin treatment is good since it can last longer. Permethrin cream can be applied to your skin for more than 8 hours.

One cream can be applied once. Permethrin lotion can be used on your hair, wash your hair with a shampoo and dry your hair till just damp.

When using the cream be cautious of sensitive body parts like the eyes. Permethrin treatment is good even after the gorilla trek in case of any bites.

Natural insect repellents like rosemary oil, citronella, soybean oil, lemon eucalyptus put in a spray bottle is of help for those who wouldn’t love to use chemicals.

Before applying insect repellent, remember to apply sun screen 20 minutes earlier. Only one tin and 1 roll on is enough for a single person throughout the trip.

Neutral color clothing is good for your safari. Strong color clothes will attract insects to climb compared to safari color clothing like kaki clothing, wearing these color clothing could in fact reduce the need of insect repellent.

If buying insect repellent is inconveniencing then purchase already pre-treated clothes for a gorilla trekking tour in Uganda.

In conclusion, Mountain gorillas are rare and an endangered species but thanks to conservation efforts, trekking is possible on Rwanda gorilla safaris and Congo gorilla trekking safaris. On a gorilla safari Rwanda or gorilla tour Congo, always remember to book early for your safari since the chances of seeing the Mountain gorillas is high. Mountain gorilla trekking whether on a Uganda tour, Congo safari or Rwanda tour is expensive but then in all times you are assured of having a lifetime experience with these rare species.