I'm going to have some free time after my current stint in Seattle ends early next year and I'm contemplating taking advantage of the current peace in Rwanda to view gorilla's in The Parc National des Volcans.

Has anyone done this? Any thing to be aware of?

Rwanda Office of Tourisme and National Parks (http://www.ortpn.gov.rw/indexe.htm)

I am way jealous of your ability to do this. I know nothing about it, but would also love to be able to do if it can be as unobtrusive as possible. Good luck!

Hello carlhanes,

I lived in Rwanda for awhile (I left in November 2001), and unfortunately I missed out on the opportunity due to the situataion at the time. I regret it very much.

Anyways, basically the Rwanda Office of Tourism offers the tours, you must be with their guides. I believe the cost is arouns $250 or something like that. Plus I believe you must arrange your own transport. This is for a one-day tour. Friends of mine who went on it said it was well worth the cost.

Now, at the end of 2001 there were problems with hutu (interahamwe) rebels who had infiltrated into the park and were even eating the gorilla's. This prompted the Embassy to advise americans not to continue to go on the tours. My understanding is that with Rwanda's recent withdrawl from Congo, that this may be under control. However I would advise you to try to get information from your embassy in Rwanda before planning a trip. You should note that the Tourism Office in Rwanda continued tours throughout this time, and the guides they send with you are armed--so I don't know what the real threat was.

If you go, I would also highly recommend Akagera Park, near the border with tanzania. This park was completely ransacked during the genocide, and they are working hard to bring it up to compete with other parks. My visit there was the highlight of my 18 months in the country. The park is less than 2 hours from Kigali. You need to arrange your own transport. You have the option to pick up a guide at your arrival or not. And you have the option to stay on the road or not. It was a calm serene experience, and in a day we saw baboons, hippos, giraffe, sebras, buffalo, impalas, etc. There are also elephants, but we weren't able to chase them down.

OK, I didn't want to chase you away with all of this. I don't know if you've been to Africa before or not, if you have, then this information probably won't phase you in the slightest. Again, check with your embassy in Rwanda for the latest information on the park, they will tell you what they are advising at this point.

-afreekagirl

Thanks afreekagirl,

That was exactly the kind of information I was hoping to get.

Thare's no current dire warnings from the U.S. state dept against visiting. I'll be sure to get more up to date info as the time approaches. That is a good suggestion to check with the embassy before hand.

One thing I haven't been able to figure out from my reading is how easy is it for in individual traveler to get a reservation to enter the forest. My understanding is that only 24-32 people a day can go depending on which gorilla groups are active. Do you know if those reservations are all taken up well ahead of time by tour groups or is it first come first served when you show up in the morning?

I plan on being in the area for several weeks at the least (and hopefully longer) and hope to check out some of those other parks as well. My sister lived for awhile in Uganda, so I've got a long list of places there to see as well.

Thanks for the help!

Well, there aren't many people rushing to Rwanda right now, so I don't think that getting a place is a big problem. My understanding is that you would want to go to the tourism office and try to make the booking for the date you want. I think they recommend a week in advance, but I would bet that you could get a date sooner than that.

Friends who went (other expats in Rwanda) didn't mention any problems. Usually they requested a day on the weekend and got it.

I have been trying to research the Gorilla tours for the past few months. They are becomming very popular (which hopefully is good for the gorillas and the local residents).

Now, if anyone can correct my research, please feel free. There are two ways to view the gorillas. One is a tour through Bwindi Forest in Uganda, which is the more popular route. Uganda is more stable, but the Bwindi forest is very tough to hike through, and if you are abit out of shape, it could turn into 8 hours of hiking torture. I think the tours in Rwanda are abit tamer when it comes to hiking, although there could be considerable trekking there too...just abit flatter and less jungle to hack through.

Both countries are very strict when it comes to personal contact and health conditions. No touching of the gorillas is allowed (although I have read stories about the gorillas coming up to people and touching them, especially the youngsters who are more curious), and you need to keep at least 15 feet away. They are very concerned about visitor health, so even one sneeze could have you banished to the camp with no gorilla trek. It's hard to plan months in advance for a trip and hope you don't come down with something, but besides the regular Africa travel vaccinations (dont forget the malaria medicine), you might want to do a strong course of antibiotics a week or so before leaving, take some echinaccia while over there, and keep a bottle of zicam anti-cold spray handy. They are very concerned about human diseases getting into the gorilla groups.

Also, no flash photography is allowed, so choose the type of film you take very carefully...especially Bwindi, which can be pretty dark all the time. ASA800 or higher could be best. Auto-rewinders and auto-frame advancers are also banned...basically anything that creates mechanical noise could send the gorillas running up into the trees.

There are some luxury tours available, and if you don't mind roughing it and are looking for something more challenging and rewarding, try this link for some UK based trips: www.discoveryinitiatives.com (http://www.discoveryinitiatives.com)

This is one of the biggest trips I have tried planning, so I am interested to hear from others on their experiences.

Hello bocastephen,

Similarly for the Bwindi mountains, I would highly recommend that you check with your embassy in Uganda for the most recent advisory. In 1999, trekkers were killed by interahamwe rebels in Bwindi (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/290914.stm ). Again, as Uganda has recently pulled out of Congo, the situation may be under control. Uganda also has occasional troubles with the LRA rebels in the north, though I'm not certain how far down that conflict extends.

The issue is that the whole corner of Virunga/Rwenzori has been a hide out and transit point for some rather unsavory activities of the last 6 years linked to the war in Congo and genocide in Rwanda. While the transition to peace in the Congo seems to be going ahead, there may still be activity in that region which may or may not be having an impact on the parks in Rwanda/Uganda.

I hope I'm not freaking you (or anyone else) out about this, but I was a little concerned about your comment that Uganda is more stable than Rwanda--the situation in Rwanda is intertwined with Uganda, Congo and Burundi, you can't really seperate them. I don't know what the arrangements are for trekking in Uganda--In Rwanda you are accompanied by armed guides and the government takes your safety very seriously (that's why the government does not let others run tours).

Whew! All that said, I would encourage you to continue some research--starting with your embassy in Uganda. If they say it is safe, then by all means go for it, it's supposed to be beautiful.

NB: I'm currently working in the Congo (southeast) and this is why I get fired up on the topic. Sorry for that.

Hi Afreekagirl

would you recommend either Rwanda or Uganda based on the quality of the trip...meaning, which country offers luxury style accomodations at the parks...which country's treks are more comfortable (less strenuous), and which treks offer more time with the gorillas, or reliability to find them

Thank you http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by afreekagirl:
NB: I'm currently working in the Congo (southeast) and this is why I get fired up on the topic. Sorry for that.</font>

If you don't mind me asking, why are you there and what nationality are you?

Sorry, I've been in the field and just arrived back this morning.

Darren: I'm what some people call an "aid/development/humanitarian worker". I work with an international non-governmental organization and we are currently trying to help the UN promote the transition to peace here. I was just up on the former "front line" to look at the negotiations going on to disarm combatants there and to start rehabilitating a school in the area. I'm from the US originally.

bocastephan: You've got me there. I'm not that familiar with Uganda (I was in Kampala only for a few days.) My impression is that the Uganda treks are much more touristy (run by private tours) and probably much better able to give you the experience you are expecting as a Westerner. However, they may be less prepared to protect you if there is a security issue. The tourist infrastructure in Uganda is definitely more developed than Rwanda.

I would say that if security is an issue, then Rwanda would be preferrable. Only because you cannot spend the night in the park, and the guides and tours are directly run by the government who do take your security very seriously.

Again, I'm raising the security issue only because I know there used to be a problem and I just want to make sure you've looked into that as well.

There is a guy at Fodors that posted a report about his trip to Uganda and Rwanda. Maybe you can pick up some info there.

I'm jealous too!

I was in Uganda July last year for a conference followed by some wildlife watching. I didn't get to the gorillas in either Rwanda or Uganda, as the journey time from Kampala was too great to allow me to do the other things I wanted to. However, I did spend time with some New Yorkers who were travelling through Uganda into Rwanda to see the gorillas, so here are my impressions of the country and of what they said about it.

Generally, at that time, it was much easier to get a gorilla permit for Rwanda than Uganda, as Uganda was perceived as "safe", so more people were going there. However, for both Uganda and Rwanda nature tourists and gorilla watchers are an important source of revenue - the Ugandan army was doing everything it could to protect tourist hotspots, and keep nature money coming in. Thus, I felt extremely safe during my trip (although was warned by my govt and the Uganda govt not to go into the north so I didn't). The impression I got was that the same was happneing in Rwanda - my US friends were going (IIRC) to Parc des Volcanoes.

afreekagirl is right, in Uganda you are usually with private tours, but there were still a lot of soldiers around, and reserve guides were usually armed as well. To visit the chimps or gorillas in Uganda, you have to employ a park warden as a guide within the park, and as of late last year, tourists visiting gorillas in Uganda were still getting a military escort to ensure safety. But afreekagirl is right, do check closely with your own embassy, and even what other countries have to say.

Uganda does have some tourist infrastructure in place, with some fabulous lodges and tented camps, but it isnt as commercialised as Kenya. I found it extremely comfortable, with still with a great deal of personalised charm (the best lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park rates as one of the best places I've ever stayed!). The number of tourists wasn't high, so generally people in the lodges and camps were very friendly. I went to see the chimpanzees, and found the park wardens extremely knowledgeable, and determined to ensure we had good views of them - they knew exactly where the chimps had spent the night and took us straight to them, all the guides had radios so when one group found the chimps everyone was told where they were. Still, wild animals are wild animals and can behave unpredictably.

I completely fell in love with Uganda. It is a beautiful country, and the Ugandas were extremely friendly. However, I can't compare with Rwanda, as I never went there. I do think, on just the impressions I got, I would prefer Rwanda for gorilla watching, but you could always do what the Americans I met did, take a tour which lets you do Uganda and Rwanda.

Shout if you want any more info!