Rwanda Gorilla Photography Permits
Rwanda Gorilla Photography Permits- Rwanda is also known as the land of a thousand hills is one of the countries in Africa where mountain gorillas can be found in volcanoes national park. The Park is located in northwestern Uganda and is home to 10 habituated mountain gorilla families. Apart from volcanoes national park, the mountain gorillas can be found in Mgahinga gorilla park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park of Uganda as well as Virunga national park of Rwanda. These primates live at higher elevations of rain forests and adapt to cold temperatures with their long and thick fur.
Rwanda offers the most thrilling mountain gorilla photographing experience in Africa, given that the mountain gorilla habitat in Rwanda is more of bamboo therefore you can take clear and better photographs of these great apes on a clearing other than in DR Congo and Uganda where vegetation can be very thick most especially in the wet season.
All tourists who come to trek mountain gorillas in Africa want to record memories and take them back home for remembrance or show their friends and families. You should plan a gorilla photographing safari before arriving in the country.
When planning to do gorilla photography in Rwanda, the tourist must also remember to follow the gorilla trekking rules and regulations such as keeping 10 meters away from gorillas, avoiding litter in the park, and the first rule for gorilla photography is no flash cameras are allowed. You either carry a flash-less camera or put of the flash while taking photos.
For a better experience in gorilla photography, tourists are advised to carry extra batteries for their cameras or fully charge your camera in case it has a strong battery so that you will be able to take pictures for one hour without the battery getting off. It is also advised to bring along a waterproof backpack to keep your camera just in case it rains.
For a better photography experience, it is advised to be physically fit keeping in mind that mountain gorillas live on higher elevations therefore it can take 1-6 hours of hiking and searching for a particular gorilla family as gorillas move daily and don’t sleep in the same nests of the previous day but the trackers make it easier by going ahead to look for a gorilla family before the trekkers start hiking
Rwanda Gorilla photography permits
Rwanda has not started charging a particular amount of money for gorilla photography meaning that you just have to buy a mountain gorilla trekking permit at $1500 per person per trek in order to photograph and observe mountain gorillas for an hour. For those interested in gorilla filming, they will have to pay $5000 to spend an hour with mountain gorillas with an extra of $2000 which will only be refunded to you once you give a copy of your CD to the Rwanda Development Board with proof that the film was promoting the conservation and awareness of mountain gorillas
Best time to visit Volcanoes National Park
Any time of the year you can visit volcanoes national park but the dry season is the best time to visit the park, in the long holiday of December to February as well as June to September when there is very little/ no rain to disrupt your birding, hiking, or trekking activities. Tour operators like us at Africa Adventure Vacations always recommend this season because the Mountain Gorillas and other creatures are easily seen as they come out looking for what to eat and drink.
Accommodation In Volcanoes National Park
After securing your Rwanda Gorilla Photography Permits, you need to look for lodges to stay while on your trip. The type of accommodation you stay in contributes a lot to the quality of experience you will have by the end of the safari. However, depending on your budget, taste, and preference as well as the group size, you can choose either accommodation in or out of the national park let it be luxury, Midrange, or budget. Camping is another astonishing experience, more so if you want a close interaction with nature, campsites are available for hire at an affordable price.
Some of the most common accommodation facilities in the place include; Mount Gorilla View Lodge, Bisate Lodge, Sabyinyo lodge, Virunga Lodge, Gorilla solution lodge, Kwitonda Lodge. Muhabura Hotel, Le’ Bambou Gorilla Nest Lodge, Bishop House, and Da Vinci Lodge among others.
Finally, Volcanoes National park tours in Rwanda can be truly satisfying and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity worth grabbing; you come empty but return filled with joy, unforgettable sweet memories, and good images.
