A Greatest Experience: Hiking in Rwanda to see Mountain Gorillas
Silverback Gorillas, Rwanda
5 years on and the one experience that comes to mind when someone asks about my favourite trip – as hard as it is to pick just one, this one is usually the first one I think about: Coming Face to Face with a Silverback Gorilla in Rwanda.
Back in 2011 I decided to make my first trip to Africa. I was doing an organised camping tour, roughing it through East Africa. I didn’t know what to imagine, wild desert plains, giraffes wandering around, maybe the odd zebra drinking in a waterhole… but the trip surpassed anything I could have imagined.
Silverback Gorilla
The day of the hike in Volcanoes National Park I realised how unfit I was. I part of a small group expecting to only hike 1-2 hours, when the reality was closer to 3 hours each way – through bush that was hacked away with machetes (by the trackers) and mostly uphill through mud… as you’d expect with somewhere called ‘Volcanoes’. Every time the group paused I’d just catch up, so I quickly became dehydrated and exhausted because I hardly got to stop myself.
All that frustration and exhaustion melted away the moment I stepped through that last lot of bush and stumbled across the Amahoro group, otherwise known as the ‘Peaceful Group’.
Gorilla eating
They were stunning, from the adults grooming each other, some lying around and others eating. They were so at peace.
Gorillas grooming in Rwanda
Gorilla sleeping, Rwanda
I’ll never forget the little baby that tumbled around on the bush floor doing little acrobatics for us as we watched on in awe. I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. These giants could easily squash me with the power behind them, especially the big daddy silverback gorilla.
Baby Gorilla
Baby Gorilla tumbling around
Seeing these Gorillas in the wild in Rwanda, one of the most lush countries of Africa, was an experience that I wouldn’t realise quite how incredible it was until it was over. You could only spend one hour with the gorillas, before leaving them in peace. That one hour we stood a few meters away from these incredible creatures. Their coats were glossy in the sunlight and they looked incredibly healthy. And happy. So happy.
It was a dream come true to spend time with them, a dream I never imagined I would ever have. Now it’s one that I hope I’ll have in the future again.
One day I’ll return to Rwanda or Uganda to see the gorillas again.
I wish zoo’s would be forced to see how fantastic the lives are of these animals compared to the ones that are holed up in the awful establishments that are zoos around the world. If there is one way to kill off such an amazing animal, it’s to kill it with torture in small disgusting spaces, when they are used to being free. I bet if we asked these gorillas, they’d rather live 10 years in the wild than 15 in captivity (if they even get that). These groups are breeding and being protected. Poachers are still prominent, but I’d much rather pay an African’s wage to protect these wild creatures than pay a fee at a zoo.
This was part of my series ’30 of my Greatest Travel Experiences before I’m 30′. To check out more visit this page to check out more of my greatest adventures: 30 of my Greatest Travel Experiences before I’m 30 »
I would put in my top 5 travel experiences !
An amazing amazing experience. I would love to go back and do it again one day.
Where did you do yours? Rwanda or Uganda? Totally right up there in the top few experiences of a lifetime for sure!
Like you, I visited the gorillas in Rwanda. If I do it again I might try Uganda as it was a bit cheaper – and it would be interesting to compare the experience. Though visiting the same family group also appeals !
https://wheresphil.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/one-of-lifes-magic-hours/
I heard Rwanda is better than Uganda for seeing them, so I’d be tempted to go back there, but think it was cheaper when I went, so prices may increase further. One day!
Sounds like an incredible experience!
I appreciate your words about zoos. They are so normal in society that to speak out against them, I always feel like the Negative Nellie. I think I would be in awe too if I had experienced this, and I appreciate at least to love vicariously through you. 🙂
Thanks for your comment. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to a zoo after all my trips to Africa and volunteering there and in South America. Zoo’s are just horrible, I can only condone the places that take care of injured animals or ones that can’t go back into the wild because they are domesticated, but even those are sometimes too small, the good ones are the places that give the animals a life similar to that in the wild. Thanks for reading!
Yes exactly! The problem is they are so deceptive, as the San Diego Zoo has the “Wild Animal Park” and people think it is great because of all the space they have. But what they don’t see is when the park closes the animals end up spending their time in small pens. I appreciate all of your work on behalf of the animals!! There should be more people like you in the world. 🙂
Thanks! I’m sure there would be more of us out there if more visited Africa! You might be interested in this movie – I’m hoping to track it down http://virungamovie.com/
Thank you, more people need to visit Africa and their lives would change too! Hey you may be interested in the documentary ‘Virunga’ – I’m trying to hunt down a copy, it looks really interesting.
Thanks for the tip! 🙂 I’ll look for it…
This is something I dream of doing one day. What an amazing experience!
Do it!!!!!
This is so incredible, think I’d be terrified though!
Totally safe, little bit nervous when a gorilla brushes past, but otherwise plenty of trackers around if anything goes wrong. They are just so peaceful they couldn’t care less about the people around them.