Gorilla trekking is still going on in both Rwanda and Uganda despite natonalwide lock downs imposed in the two countries to control the spread of Covid-19. Both Uganda and Rwanda are currently battling the second wave of Corona virus which prompted governments to impose a lockdown to cut its spread.
However, both governments decided to leave the tourism sector open even as other activities were brought to a standstill. Entebbe International Airport and Kigali International Airport are still open to tourists in Uganda and Rwanda respectively. Tourists are free to visit the two countries for popular activities like gorilla trekking, game viewing, bird watching, chimpanzee tracking and more.
Although tourists are allowed to visit, they are required to strictly follow the guidelines put in place to control Coronavirus which include social distance, wearing face masks, among others.
Travellers are required to present negative results of a Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel at arrival in both countries. They are then subjected to another test on arrival at the airport. They wait for results from a designated hotel before they are cleared to proceed to their tour destinations.
Both Rwanda and Uganda lost huge amounts of tourism revenue when they closed down their tourism sectors last year after announcing lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic. This had a big negative impact on their economies which included reduced revenue, loss of jobs in the sector and closure of some businesses. It may be against this background that the two countries decided not to take that path this time around despite declaring another lockdown.
Protecting humans and gorillas from Coronavirus
Coronavirus is dangerous to both humans and primates like gorillas given that both species share about 98 percent of their DNA. This makes gorillas very susceptible to human viruses including the highly infectious Covid-19. To ensure that gorillas as well as humans are safely protected against the pandemic, authorities have come up with several measures. These include testing tourists to ensure that they are all Covid-19 negative before visiting the gorillas, observing social distance, wearing face masks, regular hand washing and sanitising. Within the national park, tourists are not permitted to get closer to gorillas and are encouraged to maintain a distance of at least 7 meters away from the animals. Other measures include not littering or spitting in the gorilla habitat.
How gorillas were affected during the first lockdown
The rate of poaching in gorilla habitats especially in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park increased during the first lockdown last year. The suspension of tourism activities also led to reduced monitoring of gorillas in the park which gave poachers an opportunity to target the animals. Famous silverback Rafiki was killed by poachers who were later arrested and charged in court. Like Rafiki, many other animal species were either killed directly by poachers or died from the snares they lay in their habitat.
Trekking gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda
Rwanda and Uganda are one of the only 3 countries in the world where mountain gorillas are found with the third country being Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Rwanda and Uganda are the most popular destinations for trekking mountain gorillas due to stability, accessibility, and better infrastructure. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda is Uganda’s major destination for gorilla safaris while Mgahinga Gorilla National Park which has one gorilla family is also visited. There are about 17 habituated gorillas families in Bwindi and the park protects the biggest number of mountain gorillas, about 500 of them. Mountain gorillas in Rwanda are found in Volcanoes National Park in the northwest of the country which has about 10 habituated gorilla groups. A gorilla permit which allows tourists to visit gorillas is sold at $700 per person in Uganda and $1,500 in Rwanda. Tourists are allowed to spend one hour in the presence of gorillas in both countries. For more information about gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo, please contact us.
