Visiting the Eastern Lowland Gorillas at Kahuzi Biega is an experience that many tourists call unforgettable.
Once in Bukavu, our reservation office located at 185 Avenue Patrice Lumumba, will provide you with all the useful information to plan your gorilla safari to Kahuzi Biega National Park.
Upon your arrival at Tshivanga Headquarters (1 hour drive from the Center of Bukavu), you will be welcomed by the Visits Delegate, who will give you a presentation of the visit (information and recommendations) and will direct you to the Gorilla family. to visit. While waiting for the departure (the time that the trackers precisely locate the family of gorillas), you will be able to contemplate the peripheral landscapes of the park with a view of Lake Kivu, or even, if you wish, have your photograph taken with our gorilla statue. .
During this visit, wearing surgical masks – they are provided to you – is mandatory to prevent zoonoses. The walking and tracking time naturally depends on the location of the gorillas on the day of your visit (remember that these animals are absolutely wild!). Once in front of the gorillas, a minimum safety distance of 8 meters between you and any individual in the group must be scrupulously respected.
When you enter the “territory” of the gorillas, you will certainly be greeted in a rather “manly” way by the silverback, accompanied by its females and juveniles. Once he has made sure that you do not represent a threat, he will certainly grant you a short hour of presence: this is the beginning of your visit.
Don’t forget either: although totally wild, the animals that you will observe in their natural environment have sometimes seen more tourists than you have seen gorillas (…): stay relaxed, avoid any abrupt gesture, speak softly and in a low voice, and above all, stay humble.
What to expect on Eastern Lowland gorilla trek in DR Congo
There are several reasons the Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla Beringei Graueri) is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. One is that their habitat has been cleared for farms and ranches, and the mines in the area which has caused severe degradation, Deforestation in this area allows for the trade of bush meat and even more poaching. Bush meat hunting and timber harvesting in the western lowland gorillas habitat have negatively affected the probability of its survival.
The western lowland gorilla is considered to be critically endangered by the IUCN. Generally, the gorilla trekking experience is easy since Kahuzi Biega is a low land forest and the gorilla movements are really not that bad and you should expect easy gorilla treks during your visit to DR Congo however the road conditions in the area make it more of an expedition than a safari.
Impact of Eastern Lowland gorilla trekking in DR Congo
Like many gorilla trekking areas in East Africa where the locals get 10-20% of the gorilla permit fees currently, Kahuzi Biega receives the least number of Clients in a year compared to Uganda and Rwanda so most funds go directly to protecting the endangered Eastern Lowland Gorillas as the park hardly makes money from the gorilla tourism.
The actual encounter with Eastern Lowland gorillas in DR Congo
After hours of driving from Bukavu to the park headquarters for gorilla briefing, you will be led by the experienced rangers to see the family of the Eastern Lowland gorillas and this is made special by Coming face to face with one of Africa’s biggest species of Habituated Eastern Lowland gorilla is considered as one of the greatest wildlife encounters in Africa, despite the big size the Eastern Lowland are pretty easy going and they will continue to eat, groom as you photograph the gorillas, the hikes are pretty easy.
Briefing before departure to the gorilla trekking
Unlike gorilla treks in other countries, there is no rush at Kahuzi-Biéga. Since there is a significant probability you are the only traveler visiting the national park, everything can be done at your own pace. You can decide how long you want to trek and make many stops. Unfortunately, time with the gorillas is not negotiable (1 hour). Still, this was something I expected from the beginning and didn’t affect my experience.
Once with the gorillas, regulations are basically the same as in any other gorilla trekking worldwide. You can’t get closer than 8 meters from the animals, you need to wear a disposable mask during the viewing, and you can’t eat or drink anything while spending time with the gorillas.
Conclusion
Gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega national park is the best alternative for travelers who love seeing Eastern Gorillas. Although Kahuzi Biega national park is dominated by montane tropical forest, trekking a habituated gorilla family does take longer hours of walking and there is little hiking of the rolling hills of the park.