Is it possible to trek mountain gorillas twice?

Is it possible to trek mountain gorillas twice? Yes it is very possible to trek mountain gorillas twice in any of the gorilla countries which are Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo. Mountain gorillas are endangered species of primates living in volcanoes national park Rwanda, Virunga national park DR Congo, and Uganda in Mgahinga national park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.  mountain gorillas are human closest relatives sharing 98% human DNA and stick to mainly vegetarian diet such as roots, fruits, stems, pulp, tree bucks, and sometimes termites, ants, and insects.

Gorilla trekking is one of the most fascinating activities one shouldn’t miss out on on a safari to Africa. Trekking mountain gorillas in all countries is done for 1 hour and when someone feels like they are not satisfied they can trek another time on the same safari. Trekking mountain gorillas for the second time comes with opportunities of meeting different park animals that you might have missed the previous day, learning much more about the mountain gorillas, getting familiar with the mountain gorillas, and learning more about their behaviors.

Photographers love trekking mountain gorillas more than once to get better pictures since they will be familiar with the jungle scenes and the besting photographing spots. Trekking the second time helps these photographers to shoot better pictures.

Trekking mountain gorillas twice is not only done by photographers but also by other travelers who love to be around mountain gorillas, learn more about their habits, watch them play as you record videos, and take photos. Every traveler is advised to move with their camera to take these photos and record videos. If you moved with a lot of equipment during the first trekking you can leave them behind the next day to focus more on the gorillas, information from the ranger guides, and much more.

Booking Two (2) gorilla permits

A gorilla permit is a card or document that is issued out by a government body in charge of tourism to allow a person to trek or habituate mountain gorillas in their natural habitats for 1 hour and 4 hours respectively. Different countries have different gorilla permit prices and for this case, a gorilla permit in Rwanda costs $1500, in Uganda, it’s $700 foreign non-residents, $600 foreign residents, and UGX250,000 East African citizens.

Government bodies in charge of tourism in Rwanda and Rwanda allow people to book any number of permits on different days if they want and have money and in case the permits are available. If you are well off, you can book 2 permits for a safari and enjoy 2 days of gorilla trekking on a gorilla trekking safari.

Booking 2 gorilla permits can be done directly from the Uganda Tourism Board or Rwanda Development Board while another person can use a trusted tour operator to book for them. Using a tour operator helps you on which gorilla families to trek. To know the best tour operator and get the one who is trust worth you need to first check if they are a member of the Association of Uganda tour operators or if they are registered by the Uganda Tourism Board

Do you need to trek mountain gorillas twice in different sections?

There are 4 trekking sectors in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where trekking is done at any time of the year and 1 Nyakagezi gorilla family in Mgahinga gorilla national park. A person can trek a gorilla family in either one or two of the sectors of the park or they can trek in Mgahinga national park and the next trek in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. There is also an option of trekking mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park or Mgahinga gorilla park in the same safari.

Uganda has over 20 habituated gorilla families and Rwanda’s volcanoes national park has over 10 habituated gorilla families that are open for trekking at any time of the year. A person can decide to trek the same gorilla family or different gorilla families on different days. Most of the travel do trekking in the same sector to avoid transfer costs between the sectors and parks.

Trekking one gorilla family twice or trekking 2 different gorillas twice

Unlike Mgahinga national park that has only 1 habituated gorilla family, the rest of the national parks have several habituated gorilla families so you have a choice to trek the same gorilla family on different days or trek different gorilla families on different days. Bwindi impenetrable forest national park has over 19 habituated gorilla families, 2 gorilla families undergoing habituation, 10 gorilla families are in volcanoes national park, while Virunga national park has 8 gorilla families.

If you are to trek different gorilla families you need to inform your tour operator about that, inform them also about the sectors or gorilla families you want to trek for proper arrangements. A good local tour operator will advise you to trek the same gorilla family twice because you will be familiar with the gorilla faces and also information about them.

Trekking mountain gorillas twice is done on 2 days

Mountain gorilla trekking in all national parks allows tourists to trek mountain gorillas on a single day meaning that to trek twice you will need to book permits for 2 different days. To secure 2 permits you will need to tell your tour operator your travel dates so that they check if you can get the permits on the days you want. Once the permits are available you will be requested to pay and a tour operator will book permits on your behalf.

You can trek mountain gorillas the first day and trek the send day if you still have energy but in case you have muscle pain you can book permits and trek again after 1 or 2 days. The days we can give you to successfully double trek is 4 meaning that on day 1 you will travel to the park trek day 2, rest day 3, and trek again day 4 then leave the park for transfer to the airport or do other activities.

Gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking experience

Mountain gorilla habituation is a unique experience only done in Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors in the southern side of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in the whole of Africa. Gorilla habituation experience allows you to trek mountain gorillas and be around them for a maximum of 4 hours as you learn about their habits, record videos, and take photos.

Doing gorilla habituation is equivalent to gorilla trekking two times when we look at the hours because gorilla habituation takes 4 hours while gorilla trekking takes 2 hours meaning when you trek twice that’s 4 hours. Gorilla habituation saves time, energy, and money for extra days of accommodation if you are to do trekking on different days. People with enough money can decide to do gorilla trekking first taking them 2 hours and then gorilla habituation next taking them 4 hours.

Challenges of trekking mountain gorillas twice

Trekking mountain gorillas has never been an easy task most especially when you trek in the dry season when there is little food and the mountain gorillas go to high elevations in search of food. The gorilla trekking exercise may eat up your muscle energy reserves when you trek mountain gorillas for two consecutive days. We think you should trek mountain gorillas first then skip a day or two and trek another family. In case of luggage and you feel tired from the trek you might hire porters at a fee and there are also sedan chairs in the park to carry those who find it difficult in walking and would like to trek mountain gorillas.

Booking a double gorilla trek in Africa

In this article, we have given you all the information you need to know about trekking mountain gorillas twice. You can now book your gorilla trekking safari with Africa adventure vacations limited. All you need to do is send us your travel dates so that we check for the availability of permits with the Uganda wildlife authority. Once we have confirmed your dates have permits available, we shall request you to pay for us to book your permits. Once we have booked you the gorilla trekking permits, we shall send you scanned copies for your records and confirmation.