What is the minimum age to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo?
Whether you can see mountain gorillas in Africa’s wild rainforests depends on your eligibility for gorilla trekking. Spending time with gorillas in their natural environment and looking into their sad, kind, and serene red eyes makes gorilla trekking one of the best travel experiences in the world. The fact that only Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are home to mountain gorillas is another allure.
For conservation reasons, gorilla trekking is severely limited, and although anyone is allowed, there are certain requirements that must be met. Find out if you can see gorillas in their natural environment by reading on.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo has an age limit.
Age Restrictions for Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda Gorilla Trekking.
The age restriction is the main restriction on gorilla trekking. All guests must be at least 15 years old to trek mountain gorillas in the jungles.
For the interests of conservation and gorilla and child safety, this age range was chosen. It would be challenging to adhere to the standards upheld to guarantee that gorilla trekking stays a non-disruptive activity for the gorillas and their natural habitats when younger people are present.
Additionally, humans and gorillas are linked and can spread diseases that should be avoided, particularly in young children who are still developing. Please be aware that visitors must present a valid passport or identification before starting their gorilla walk, and that the age restriction is strictly enforced.
If you are a family with children under 15, additional activities can be planned for the day of the gorilla trip. We can provide you advice on what is best for your particular scenario if you speak with our specialists.
Why do Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo have age restrictions on gorilla trekking?
to limit the daily number of people that can witness mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Everyone visiting gorillas must have a fully paid gorilla trekking permit for a designated day in order to save the gorillas’ life and ecology from excessive tourism and human activity. Within the specified national park, the gorilla permit is valid for a specific day and gorilla tracking location. Gorillas reside in families or groups, and no more than eight people can visit a family at a time. For this reason, scheduling your permits in advance is crucial to avoiding disappointments due to last-minute reservations.
Whether or whether it is the busiest travel season, gorilla permits are always in high demand and can sell out at any time of year. As your tour operator, we make sure that everything is set up and paid for on your behalf so that we have everything covered when you get to Uganda. This enables you to take advantage of everything you have been anticipating, like seeing endangered mountain gorillas up close.
to avoid diseases that humans and gorillas can contract from one another.
What is the minimum age to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo?
The Gorilla
Since gorillas and humans share about 98% of our DNA, there is a chance that we could infect them with diseases and vice versa. Cough, flu, colds, COVID-19, yellow fever, and diarrhea are among the illnesses that humans can infect gorillas with.
This implies that before starting your gorilla excursion, you should make sure you are free of them. There is a greater chance of an outbreak among gorillas because these illnesses are easy to acquire and spread. Because gorillas move around daily and interact with one another, diseases are more challenging to monitor and cure.
Physical Wellbeing necessary for tracking primates in the wild.
High-altitude mountain ranges with steep slopes, thick flora, and rainforests are home to gorillas. It can take anything from one to six hours to find the gorillas on a challenging gorilla climb.
Because you will be walking and feeling your legs, it is essential that you have a reasonable level of physical fitness. It will not be simple. There are some tracking zones with much easier terrain because of this. If you notify us in advance, we can arrange for your gorilla trek in Rwanda, Uganda, or the Congo to take place in a slightly more tranquil area.
For anyone with disabilities who wish to see gorillas, we can arrange for and hire a number of local porters from nearby communities to transport you on the gorilla climb. Although there is an extra cost, many elderly or disabled persons have had up-close encounters with gorillas.
Lastly, we fully endorse the constraints, even though they have undoubtedly delayed or even stopped some tourists from viewing gorillas. Their motivations are commendable.
In our experience, when communication is done properly and in advance, the majority of the aforementioned qualifying requirements are completely acceptable and not a cause for concern. Although the age restriction is the strictest, as mentioned before, there is always a way for us to organize your trip while still abiding by the regulations.
If you have any questions about gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, or if there is anything else we can do to help, please get in touch with us. We are sure that the itineraries on this page will serve as inspiration for your next exciting journey if you are thinking about planning a trip.
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