Why 1 Hour is the Time Spent with Mountain Gorillas?

Trekking Mountain gorillas is a dream come true for every primate enthusiastic traveler and regardless of the excitement, eagerness as well as physical difficulty while trekking the giant apes, tourists are allowed to spend only one hour with these creatures.

Mountain gorillas are found in only four National Parks in the whole World and these are Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda as well as Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks of Uganda.

In all these places, the process of gorilla trekking (searching for the habituated gorilla family) will last somewhere between 30 minutes and four hours depending on your level of physical fitness, location of the family and pace of movement but regardless of your effort, you will have only one hour with the gorilla family.

The question of why spend only one hour with the mountain gorillas is one of the most frequently asked questions on mountain gorilla trekking and that question will be answered on this platform.

Therefore, the following are the reasons why tourists spend only one hour with the mountain gorillas;

Mountain gorillas are endangered species.

Mountain gorillas are categorized as endangered species by IUCN with a World population of less than 2000 individuals living in the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable forest and Mgahinga National Parks in Uganda, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

These primates share 98.2% of their DNA with humans and the more time spent together, the higher the chances contracting communicable human diseases such as flu, cough and common colds.

It is for this reason that the concerned Wildlife Authorities-Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) decided to restrict the time spend with mountain gorillas in DRC, Rwanda and Uganda respectively.

To allow them go about their daily activities without disruption.

You will agree that the presence of a visitor in your home can slightly or significantly affect your usual routine and just like humans, your presence in their family might affect their daily activities. A typical gorilla family is comprised of four to 40 members comprising of dominant silverback, other silverbacks, Alpha females, infants, blackbucks and juveniles with different roles to perform in the family.

Trekkers are allowed to spend one hour with the mountain gorillas to give them ample time to go about their daily activities such as feeding, playing, socializing, females breastfeeding their babies and even resting without disruption. A typical day of a gorilla family starts at 6:00am with waking up and movement (in search for food) and ends with nesting in the evening.

Need for conservation.

Another reason why one hour is the time spent with mountain gorillas is for conservation purposes. Mountain gorillas are endangered species and for their protection and conservation, UWA, RDB and ICCN had to limit the time tourists spend and interact with them.

Regardless of being habituated, they still remain wild animals that need some “alone time” to interact among themselves and their natural environment without humans hence the one hour limit.

How tourists can spend more time with the mountain gorillas

One hour with the mountain gorillas may not be enough to study their behavior and therefore persons that wish to spend more than one hour with them can take a trip to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for the unforgettable Gorilla Habituation Experience.

With this exceptional activity, you will visit the southern sector of the Park where you will spend up to four hour with a gorilla family that is still undergoing habituation. However, the experience is more costly than the normal gorilla treks. You will be required to pay $1500 instead of the usual $700 but the experience is worthwhile.

Therefore, One hour is the time spent with mountain gorillas and this is for conservation reasons, because they are endangered and to allow them go about their daily activities without interruption.

You can also read Gorilla trekking rules and Regulations in Congo for further restrictions about gorilla trekking.