MOUNTAIN GORILLA TREKKING ETHICS.

It’s important to note that mountain gorillas occupying the national parks of Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo have a main purpose to satisfy the human exposure. Some have been assimilated into a habituation process that has made it possible for gorilla trekking enthusiasts to actually explore these gentle apes because through the habituation process they slowly adopt to human presence.

There are some few societal interactions that could be not as significant to the missioned tourist but we advise that they should take heed because every step of a safari counts and contributes equivalently to the ultimate experience.

For instance; before the start of your trek, a company of two or even more can proffer to serve as your porters for that period, probably to carry your backpack and on this, we recommend that you always comply by accepting not because you’ll face any harm but precisely because that little gesture is an ideal source of income to these local people.

A charge for what one can refer to as a simple visit on the gorillas may perhaps seem expensive, however, that money pooled together through sale of permits sustains the conservation of these primates.

You ought to remember always that during you trekking safari, you are as well sharing or even journeying onto land that humans are restricted to be in, the actual rationale for limiting visiting groups to as small as eight. And so, tourists should endeavor to maintain the environment as natural as it should be. Indeed most of our destinations bear well established conservation programmes and as you would expect brilliant ethical options but as well a few guidelines or simple rules are stated below;

Visitors are advised never to feed the gorillas and should not go for trekking when they are ill, especially infectious diseases, such as cough, flu, T. B or any related disease which is air borne.

Visitors should wash and sanitize their hands prior to trekking; they should not eat or drink near gorillas, and not dare to touch or provoke the gorillas.

Visitors should not get closer to the gorillas or even spend more time with them than required by the authorities, you may never know what can happen with close contact and beyond the regular trekking time, that’s a thick jungle, a home of wild animals.

Visitors should speak quietly or even keep quiet, avoid making sudden and unnecessary movements as this can disrupt the gorillas’ interaction.

Tourists should avoid using flash photography as this greatly annoys the entire gorilla family and as a result they will be forced to vacate such an environment and trekking will come to a halt.