Going Full Attenborough with the Rwandan Gorillas

One of my most memorable trips was visiting the gorillas in Rwanda, which I did as part of an overland trip with Dragoman. We had to hike for four hours into the mountains, but it was more than worth it. We even saw one of the remaining gorillas from Dian Fossey’s famous study. We also saw the only twin gorillas in existence at that time. It was truly a magical experience watching the youngsters running around, as curious about us as we were about them. Then to see the power of the silverback, not only his size and strength, but the respect he has among the group. As soon as he appeared they all scattered!

I learnt lots of top tips for meeting gorillas. The most important is not to use direct eye contact, as they see this as an act of asserting dominance and a challenge to them. You should instead slowly crouch down and make yourself small. The gorillas seemed particularly interested in one member of our group and wanted to touch her hair. She was very brave, but the gorilla was very gentle.

Don’t worry if you are not up to the 8-hour round-trip hike - you can see the mountain gorillas without any climbing. In fact, they have been known to come right out of the mountains to the edge of the villages. There are settlements just an easy half-hour walk from the base in Kinigi.

To find out more about overland trips in Africa or even trekking with the gorillas contact me today.

Claire.MacInnes@TravelCounsellors.com