Please post the experiences you had in either Rwanda or Uganda. Thinking of traveling for 4 days in July as a side trip to Tanzania or Kenya.
With thanks....

We went to Rwanda in September and loved it. Gorilla trekking was fantastic, facilities were great and people were so friendly. I haven't been to Uganda so I can't compare but I have heard the trekking is harder in Uganda. Although, a woman we met while in Botswana had been to both and she though Uganda had better "infrastructure". I have to admit the roads in Rwanda left lots to be desired, but you can tell they're working on that by all of the road construction going on. We used R&N Xplorer to book our tour and stayed at the Gorilla's Nest.

My son lived in Kampala for 13 months last year, and is returning for 5 months starting next week. While there, he did a gorilla trek and safari, and visited Rwanda and other places. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to ask him for you.

Dear Loru100 and Dear sf307
Thank you both so much. I am finding out that Rwanda may be THE destination for observing gorillas. From what I am picking up it seems that Uganda is larger and offers more in way of chimpanzee trekking? Loru100, how long was your tour and did it fulfill your hopes for the experience that you expected? If you can add anything more in general, it would be most helpful.
With thanks once again...

Loru100
How much did you pay for the gorilla permit?
Thanks..

We paid $500 each for the permits, although we heard rumors while we were there that they may be going up in price.

We went for four days, doing two gorilla treks, the trek to Dian Fossey's camp and an overnight stay at Lake Kivu (I wish we would have stayed longer at Lake Kivu...it was beautiful). I would highly recommend doing two treks as both experiences are different and there is always the very rare chance that you might not see gorillas on your first trek.

The experience was everything I expected and much more. I had wanted to do this trip for ten years so my expectations were very high!

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have.

July is good. I'll be in Uganda and Rwanda in August.

I sent this to another fodorite some time back.

If your focus is mainly gorillas, I'd suggest Rwanda, but would not discourage you from Uganda.

I found the gorillas easier to see/photograph in Rwanda than in the impenetrable forest of Uganda.

The higher altitude of Rwanda made for much cooler hiking in the month of July than I had experienced in Uganda in July or August. It was beastly hot and humid in Uganda when I have done gorilla trekking there.

A minor point: Choosing which group you wished to see at the last minute was easier in Rwanda, whereas Uganda permits for a specific group had to be bought in advance and could not be easily switched.

To economize on your travel days it is possible to arrive in Kigali, Rwanda and spend the night, then leave about 4:00 am the next morning in time for the gorilla trekking briefing at about 8:00 am at the ranger station. I did not do that and I would not do that, but it was quite common, saving travelers a day.

You also can see the golden monkeys in Rwanda for about $100, spending an hour with them like the gorillas. These amazing and beautiful creatures jumped from branch to branch, flying about not far above our heads. No binocs needed.

However Uganda is a good choice too. In Uganda you will likely stay right next to Bwindi in the town of Buhoma, so your walk to the ranger station, where you depart for the trekking, is about 5 minutes. After reaching the ranger station it may then be necessary to drive for a while before walking, depending on where the gorillas are.

In Rwanda, you will likely stay in a hotel or camp that is a short drive up to about a 45 minute drive (unless you depart from a Kigali hotel) from the ranger station. So you don't feel like you're right in the forest where the gorillas live. You do feel like you are in the forest in Uganda and sometimes the gorillas even come down to the camps in the wet season.


This is from a previous report and describes 4 Uganda gorilla visits and 3 Rwanda visits plus a golden monkey visit.

UGANDA
In 2004 only 6 people were allowed to visit the gorillas in Bwindi. I believe it is now 8, the same as Rwanda.

Group M Day 1 (1 person—only me )8:50-9:05 drive, 9:10-12:15 tracking on foot, 12:15-1:15 viewing, back at 4:50
A private gorilla trek is unheard of (though I believe Bill Gates got one) but the women that were supposed to join me did not want to split up so they ended up joining another group, leaving me as the solo trekker.

Between the trackers, the guide, my porters (I always hired one and usually two because it made climbing easier without toting gear and it employed the local people), and the military that accompanied us, I counted an entourage of at least 14 to escort one person up the mountain.

I had good views of the sliverback eating leaves and saw about three other gorillas, including a baby riding on its mom’s back. The silverback climbed a tree, a rare sight, then descended and took a nap. This guy was known to love his naps.

Group M Day 2 (6 people)
8:50-10:30 tracking on foot, 10:30 –11:30 viewing, back at 2:00, including a 10 minute return drive
We had just sat down in the midst of a peaceful gorilla gathering in which grooming and napping were the dominant activities. Suddenly without warning, the silverback beat his chest and charged through the thicket toward us, grunting menacingly. We shot a terrified look at our guide who was unconcerned. The silverback rushed past, completely ignoring us, and was transfixed on his target. It was a female who had been grooming her girlfriend. The silverback wanted her attention and grooming skills directed toward him. She obliged and we breathed a sigh of relief.

After the grooming session, the troop was on the move and we followed. We clumsily stumbled and bumbled through the jungle while the gorillas moved gracefully through thick foliage with the young ones even turning somersaults as they went. At last they reached their destination—a small stream. Our guide was quite excited and told us that he had only seen gorillas in water a few times and that he had never recalled any guests witnessing this.

The babies splashed in the water like toddlers in their bath. The adults leaned forward gingerly to drink so that only their puckered lips touched the water. For better views of this phenomenon we all hopped into the stream and would worry about our wet boots and trousers later. One juvenile female approached from upstream and played peek-a-boo with us through hanging moss. When she reached forward to touch us we retreated out of reach as directed. I knew contact was not allowed (so as not to spread disease from humans to apes) but I felt like I was rebuffing her overtures of friendship and I felt bad.

Good thing I brought two pairs of boots because in the damp humid weather the submerged pair needed two days to dry out.

That afternoon for a small fee we visited the Pygmies and they put on a performance of singing, drumming, and dancing for us and then invited us to dance with them. Sadly, the guitar player was late because he had attended a funeral for one of his children that day. Their handicrafts were displayed and we bought some.

Group H Day 3 (5 people)
8:50-9:30 drive, 9:30-10:15 tracking on foot, 10:15-11:15 viewing, back at 1:30, including a 45 minute return drive
We arrived to find about 20 family members, including the silverback, blackbacks (young adult males that have not yet developed the silver back of full maturity), juveniles, and mothers with babies all eating bark, grooming, playing, and resting. We enjoyed unobstructed views of many activities in a darkly shaded part of the forest. One particular tree, which must have had especially tasty bark, caused some teeth baring conflicts between a few adult females. The silverback was gently playing with his young sons and daughters. Several juveniles and blackbacks charged each other boisterously.

That afternoon three of us did the waterfall walk with a guide. It was not a leisurely stroll, but as demanding as the gorilla hiking, lasting about 3 hours total. There were beautiful waterfalls, monkeys, butterflies, and we got a bonus by seeing a puff adder.

Group H Day 4 (6 people)
8:45-9:25 drive, 9:30-10:30 tracking on foot, 10:30-11:30 viewing, back at 1:30, including a 45 minute return drive

Today the tracking was through the roughest terrain I can recall. Each of us fell and slid down muddy slopes more than once in our pursuit of the gorillas. Even some of the professional trackers took an occasionally tumble.

At last we spied the family of 20, eating and relaxing in a valley. We approached and had just begun to settle in and view the peaceful gorilla family. The tranquility was suddenly broken when a human visitor tripped in the heavy underbrush and made a complete somersault, ending up in a hole in the ground. It made for quite a visual, and was accompanied by her loud audio. She had fallen and couldn’t get up and was shouting about it, laying full blame on her husband. Our orientation with the rangers had stressed the importance of being very quiet and moving slowly and here was this woman, feet flailing in the air shrieking. My first thought was that our gorilla viewing would come to a premature halt, as the gorillas would surely flee in fright from this commotion. Instead, they looked on with what appeared to be combination of disgust and disdain at the poor woman’s predicament.

We eventually followed the gorillas through a valley and up the other side of the mountain as they dined on leaves.

In addition to gorillas we saw blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and L’Hoest’s Monkeys during our hikes or at Gorilla Forest Camp. I found the guides and porters to be very helpful and organized. I even recognized some from two years ago and some of them recognized me, stating, “You are not new to me.” For two of the four days of tracking, I had a female porter that I had met two years earlier.

RWANDA
3 gorilla visits and a golden monkey visit

Sabinyo (8 people) Trek 1
7:30 – 8:15 drive, 8:15-9:45 track on foot, 9:45-10:45 view, back about 1:00, including a 45 minute return drive
This walk was very easy and could have been done in half the time, but some of the people had severe joint problems, so we stopped often and went real slow and they had no problems. It was a walk in the park, unlike any gorilla visit I’ve done before.

There was even time for me to pose for a photo in an abandoned real gorilla nest that was complete with a large pile of gorilla excrement.

When we reached the group, a female gorilla intently watched us get our cameras ready. I had been fiddling with my camera for a few moments before I even noticed her about 10 feet away. She appeared to be getting her money’s worth. We viewed both silverbacks. The largest stretched out on his stomach, put his head on hands, and watched us from the shade. In total about 10 gorillas of different ages were observed, most in fairly open, unobstructed areas.

Suza (4 people) Trek 2
7:30 –8:45 drive, 8:45-12:45 track on foot, back to vehicle by 4:00 pm. After stopping to eat at a restaurant, back to Gorillas Nest by 6:00 pm
Our hike was more tense than usual due to two opposing needs of two trekkers. One was good- natured American man in his 40s who was not feeling well and needed to stop frequently. The other was a 30-something semi-professional German photographer, who desperately wanted to reach the gorillas before the sun rose too high in the sky for optimal lighting.

We proceeded faster than the ill man was really able handle comfortably and far slower than the photographer wished. We eventually arrived and saw a mother and a 6-week old baby sleeping, females grooming and babies playing, sliverback sitting and eating, blackback out in open, mother with 7-week old twins and their 4 year old sister watching over them.

During the last few minutes of viewing, a dozen gorillas ran past us down a hill like a cascading waterfall of gorillas. It looked like a repetitious computer animataion! Most views were unshaded and unobstructed.

When I had read about a gorilla in Volcano National Park having twins (a boy and a girl) on May 19, I thought maybe I would get glimpse of them if I were really lucky. I never thought I would get to sit with the mother, two babies and hovering sister for several minutes with unobstructed, nicely lit views. Then we watched the mother lay back and nurse both twins before she wandered into the brush. Gorilla viewing cannot get better than this!

These twins had made history as the first surviving gorilla twins in the wild in 40 years. Usually a mother gorilla with twins will not clutch both of them to her breast because she uses one hand to feed. As a result one of the babies often dies. But 4-year old doting sister is to be credited with allowing both babies to flourish. She attentively held and kept it warm one as her mother fed.

Suza (5 people) Trek 3
7:30-8:45 drive, 8:45-10:15 track on foot, 10:15-11:15 view, back to vehicle about 1:00 pm. After stopping to eat, back to Gorillas Nest by 2:45 p.m.
I saw the twins and mom again, but briefly. Many gorillas were eating celery out in open. Juveniles were playing. The silverback was peeking through leaves in an almost playful manner. Our final sight was a mother sitting with her one-year old and eventually both of them laid down for a nap.

Golden Monkeys (2 people) Trek 4
7:30–8:00 drive, 8:00-9:30 track monkeys, 9:30-10:30 view, back to Gorilla Nest by 11:30

The golden monkeys are beautiful creatures and very worthy of a visit. I went to a troop of about 60 and was told I saw not quite half of them, but from what I could tell, there were monkeys flying all over the place. I had brought binoculars, but never used them because the monkeys were just above eye level. One after the next would leap from tree to tree, then feed for few minutes.

In the one-hour of viewing there were probably 10 minutes of down time with no monkeys, but the rest of the time was non-stop, action packed. Their quick movements meant photos were a bit tricky, but the guides did a great job of getting us in the right place and pointing out nice views of them. I believe only four people can visit, so it is easier to get in good photographic position I was thrilled with the golden monkey outing and asked the guide if what we saw was typical. He answered, “It was ok. It was good to find them; sometimes we don’t find them.” I wasn’t able to get from him the percentage of no-monkey outings. The guide did not seem to think that my experience with the golden monkeys was exceptional, even though I did. With each passing day, they are becoming more habituated and easier to find so this experience should be improving.

There are only morning visits to the golden monkeys, so it is not possible to do both gorillas and monkeys in the same day or I would have.

Loru100 and atravelynn,

Thank you both for the additional information. Atravelynn, the detailed information from your own experience was most apprecited. Did you fly into Kigali from Nairobi or from Kilimandjaro? I am leaning towards a safari in Tanzania now and combining it with Rwanda, so I believe Kilimandjaro would be my point of departure. I will check with my TA after the holidays but this seems to be the route. Do you know if Tarangire and Lake Manyara are a good time to visit in July? I realize that the Migration in Serengeti will be up north, anybody can recommend the best area to stay for that time?

Thank you all - you have been truly great and informative.

Best in the New Year...

(My Internet stopped working so I thought I lost the whole reply and redid it, but now I see some of the first attempt posted. Oh well.)

I was driven from Uganda to Rwanda, so no flights.

There is an early am flight a midday flight and an evening flight from Kilimanjaro to Kigali. They route through Nairobi, where you can board for the last leg of the flight.

In July Tarangire would be a little better than Manyara, the later in July the better.

On my 1st trip I went to both in July and enjoyed the unique aspects of each park. The lovely Tarangire River, baobabs and eles and then Manyara's active hippo pool, active baboon troops, and blue monkeys.

You'll probably want to include the Ngorongoro Crater, where the wildebeest herds migrate around the floor of the crater, where you can find them better than the Serengeti.

In July the wildebeest can be west, central, north. The earlier in July, the more I'd go with west.

Here are some links that discuss the wildebeest migration.

http://www.thesafaricompany.co.za/Map_Masai_Mara.htm


Migration in progress
http://www.atta.co.uk/nomad/2005_04_01_archive.html
http://www.atta.co.uk/heritage/index.html
http://www.wildwatch.com/great_migration


http://www.kiliwarriors.com/safari_w..._migration.htm



http://safari.go2africa.com/africa-f...y-november.asp
http://safari.go2africa.com/africa-f...april-june.asp
http://safari.go2africa.com/africa-f...mber-march.asp


http://www.ultimateafrica.com/Wildebeest_migration.html


And here is a link to all sorts of accommdations.

http://www.kiliwarriors.com/safari_camps_lodges.htm

Now it looks like my first attempt did not post.

atravelynn - THANK YOU -