Rwanda, a tiny landlocked East African nation, has often grabbed headlines for ethnic wars but it has also been leading conservation efforts to increase its gorilla population. There are little over 300 of them hiding at the foothills of the mist-shrouded, volcanic mountains inside the Volcanoes National Park located three hours away by road from Kigali, the nation’s capital and international gateway. They stay in big groups of 15 to 20, each comprising silverback males, females and juveniles.
Not all the groups can handle humans; only 12 can be visited. Expert trackers know where each of these groups reside within the sanctuary. Depending on their location, the physically demanding gorilla trek, which begins at the park headquarters in Kinigi, a small town near the volcanic mountains, can range from two to eight hours.
However, first a permit needs to be obtained from the authorities before venturing on a gorilla safari. And it doesn’t come cheap. At a whopping $1,500 (Rs 1,06,374 approximately) per person, the safari is highly sought after as each day only eight permits per group are issued. This restricts the number of visitors to less than 100 on a particular day.
Only one hour is allowed to be with the gorillas after spotting them at the location. These limitations are imposed keeping in mind the threatened creatures, who are highly susceptible to undue stress and infections from humans. It may seem like a lot of hassle to undertake this mission but anyone who has embarked on the trek will possibly say that everything is well worth it for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
On finding the gorillas, the next sixty minutes pass off in a jiffy. They entertain guests with activities such as rolling, jumping and somersaulting to eating bamboo stems, making faces, scratching and even fighting. Gorillas are said to share 98 percent of their DNA with humans and that’s why perhaps they can sense time as the hour ends and they start disappearing into nearby bushes and trees. It’s possible to stay close to the animals and even take selfies but the park rangers always insist on a seven metre gap with the animals.
Gorillas can be deemed as the key lifeline of Rwanda.
They keep thousands employed in the tourism sector. The clan’s welfare is the government’s priority and many initiatives are in place to support this. One such is the annual gorilla naming ceremony called Kwita Izina. No other country in the world hosts such a large-scale event to name newborn animals. Since 2005, thousands of locals and international visitors have been participating in this ceremony, where the gorillas born in the last 12 months are named by celebrities. Supermodel Naomi Campbell, football legend Louis van Gaal and famous American singer Ne-Yo are from the 2019 list. Week-long celebrations are stitched with the naming ritual to make it a special attraction for tourists during September when this unique carnival is generally held.