Fabulous! How long did you hike before you reached the gorillas?

Husband, daughter, boy friend and i stayed at Sirikoi in July 2017. We loved it. We stayed in a two bedroom cottage, although there are luxury tents to stay in. There is a three bedroom house, that could house a larger group. Of all the places we stayed on our Sirikoi was the one I most wanted to stay at, and our family loved the most. Meals were served in the main camp area, although as our cottage had a kitchen and dining room, private meals could be served there. There was no spa, and massages would be done in your room. The swimming pool was a little too cool for me, but we did see others use it.

Meals were generally served for your own group alone, although when we were there the guests all hit it off so well we ate our meals at one large table.

As husband loves to fish, we did find out that a fishing expeditions on the banks of Mount Kenya could be arranged. Unfortunately it would only be for half a day. As visibility to land was poor, we were warned that he might be able to fly out, but not land and fish. Smarter heads prevailed and the trip was cancelled prior to any funds needing to be exchanged!

This is a reply to BlueBubble, I accidentally replied to Larkin.

It all depends on what others request and also how and to where the gorilla families move. There are 10 gorilla families you as tourists can visit, and they are tracked in advance to get a broad sense of whether reaching them will be easy (up to 1 hr hike each way), medium (up to 2 hrs hike each way), or difficult (up to 3 hrs hike each way) treks. But as stated, the gorilla families move constantly, so there are no guarantees.

Going for more than 1 day helps. The second day, your hotel driver/guide has a bit more ammunition to beg for an easier (or harder) trek, all other things being equal. It could take up to an hour drive from the ranger station to even reach the start of your trek!

That being said, you never know. Our first day we requested to visit the specific Susa A family that Diane Fossey studied; it was characterized as a medium hike. Unfortunately, a rogue gorilla entered the family’s vicinity after we were assigned but before we started, since our trek began almost 45 min away from the ranger station. It took us 3.5 hrs to find the family, ascending almost 4,000 feet in elevation up the volcano. I think the rangers took pity on us—they said that ours was the hardest trek they’d seen in years—because they gave us about 75 min (an extra 15 min) with the gorillas, supposedly against official regulations but perhaps also within their prerogative under extraordinary circumstances. It took us another 3 hrs to hike back—and it started to rain after only 30 min. It was a disastrous descent in muddy and slippery conditions. I am super fit but still considered whether it was worth it on the way up—but it is! Yet I was so exhausted after the 8 hrs (not including the 45 min drive from the ranger station to the start of the trek or the 45 min drive back to the Sabyinyo Lodge after the trek) that I also stated unequivocally that I wouldn’t do the next day’s trek unless it was easy. Of course, the next day, @KI-NRT and their group found the same Susa A family in like an hour.

The rangers definitely allowed us to do an easy trek the next day, also allowing us to find the Sabyinyo family that typically hangs closer to our Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. It was a much easier trek that still took 1 hr each way—and mercifully was largely horizontal—and that also started and ended pretty close to our Lodge. That made for a much easier day. Still, the next day I think @KI-NRT and their group found the same Sabyinyo family after just 20 min.

So you never know.

As far as tipping, they do encourage everyone to hire and tip the porters, all of whom are former poachers. This helps discourage poaching and encourages former poachers to find this more gorilla-friendly employment to support their families. We didn’t need a porter, but we both hired a porter for like $10 apiece and tipped the same at the end of each day. It did make our heinously tough trek a lot more palatable and it pleased us greatly to contribute to the cause of helping the gorilllas by reducing the threat from poaching. Porters are also able to help you maneuver and walk up and down the mountainous terrain.