Planning a Gorilla Safari for your Family

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Are you planning to travel with your family for mountain gorilla trekking to Africa but you do not know what your children will participate in?

Whereas mountain gorilla trekking has become one of the most sought after and thrilling adventures in the world today, it is only limited to persons above 15 years.

The same rule applies to chimpanzee trekking however, if you are planning family trip to Africa and you are worried about which activity your children will engage while on you in gorilla trek, with variety of activities that are in offer, children on family safari also have their travel interests also covered.

Children below 15 years have several alternatives while parents are in the jungles trekking the Great apes. Mountain gorillas are only found in three countries in the entire world and they include Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Below are some of the enjoyable and safe tourist activities that children can participate in while parents are trekking mountain gorilla

Buhoma community village walk
A walk to Buhoma Community is an exceptional experience for children under 15 years. A guide can adjust to the stamina of the children to allow them cope up with the overall speed. The tour guide who will accompany them and he or she will be explaining in details more about the village, interpret where need be and direct children with the help of a local guide in the community. This will give a chance to learn new ways and traditions in the community setting especially craft making, visit the one of the village schools and encounter a traditional healer and many more things. The length of this experience entirely depends on the strength of children but usually it can take about 3 hours and they finalize with a dance by the Batwa pygmies who are the renowned forest dwellers.

The Batwa encounter
The Batwa experience with the first forest dwellers is remarkably one of the most thrilling experiences that your children shouldn’t miss while family trip to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga National Park in southwestern Uganda. This experience gives them opportunity to explore the old and traditional ways of hunting and gathering that these unique people used to do at a time. The Batwa mainly gathered plants, roots, fruits and many more. They lived harmoniously with the forest and they left without any impact. Children will be accompanied by the tour guide. After this life-changing experience, they will come back to the lodge to meet up with parents when they return from gorilla trekking. The Batwa experience is mainly funded and supported by the Kellermann Foundation which has invested more money and time in enhancing the social welfare of these marginalized creatures around Bwindi and Mgahinga National Park.

Explore more about the forest
This is one of the perfect alternatives that your children shouldn’t miss out while on a family safari in Uganda whether for mountain gorilla trekking or chimpanzee adventures. In Kibale Forest National Park the best option for children can be Bigodi swamp where they can participate in guided walks and have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of its distinct primates, birds, butterflies and many more. Children can also embark on village walk in Bigodi along with a tour guide and a local community member who will take them to visit a community school which gives them a chance to interact with other children in Uganda. In Rwanda, they can explore the Nyungwe Forest National Park.

If you are planning a family trip to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, children can pay a visit to Iby’Iwacu cultural village to explore more about Rwandan traditions and cultural practices. Travelers can even stay around this place with their children and as you embark on your strenuous gorilla trek, children can stay back and pay a visit to the nearby community school, learn their dancing and drumming skills, how to prepare food and many more. Parents can, therefore, embark on mountain gorilla trek or chimpanzee in harmony while children also leave when they are thrilled with lifetime experiences.

In conclusion, mountain gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safaris in Uganda and Rwanda provide several options for children that also keeps thrilled as parents embark on breathtaking adventures.