Winter takes place in March, April, May, October, and November in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter is a period of extreme cold weather characterized by large amounts of snowfall. This is quite a challenging time for people, given that such conditions limit most outdoor activities. The temperatures constantly drop below normal, increasing the extreme cold, making the nights very chilly and longer and shorter days. This makes one wonder if the sun really rises in the winter season. As the saying goes, where there’s a will, there is always a way. With the extremely cold winter and its unbearable conditions, it would be wise for one to travel to a more comfortable destination. This is where Africa, with its untamed adventures and unmatched experiences, comes in.
As it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, Africa, especially the regions around the equator, experiences a wet season. This season may be chilly and not extremely cold like in the case of winter. The wet season is a period in Africa characterized by prolonged rainfall patterns and chilly temperatures. Although the wet season receives prolonged rains, it is not constant for the entire season, as the sun shines brightly for the warm temperatures. Such conditions favour outdoor activities, notably gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking
Mountain gorillas can be encountered on a gorilla trekking experience for an hour after navigating through the dense vegetation of their habitats. Like any other outdoor activity, gorilla trekking requires favorable weather conditions. Escaping the winter can be amazing, but adding a gorilla trekking experience is simply magical. Although during March, April, May, October, and November, when winter happens is a wet season in the gorilla destinations, trekking can still happen.
Gorilla trekking in the wet season offers a more challenging trek, adding a touch of adventure to the gorilla trekking experience. Mountain gorillas thrive in mountainous areas with montane vegetation. This particular area is steepest and with rugged terrain, and traversing this area in the wet season requires good physique and gear. The gorilla destinations receive moderate showers during this period of the wet season. This increases the density of the vegetation, and as the sky clears under a rising sun, the greenery showers the visitors with scenic beauty.
The feeling of encountering and spending over an hour in the presence of these endangered mountain gorillas is not just exciting but also worth the challenges encountered on the trek. This is the best part of this whole trekking experience. And with the chilly weather, these mountain gorillas coil up in smaller units for warmth in their designated gorilla families. Their movements are also limited during this time, hence visitors trek for a short time before encountering them. This immobility of the mountain gorillas in this season is attributed to the abundance of food in their territories. However, this is not the case in the dry season when these primates have to move a distance searching for food. The overgrown dense vegetation blends well with the primates, giving the best turnout in photos.
The areas where gorilla trekking takes place
Gorilla trekking as a tourist activity is not done in most areas because there is a limited number of mountain gorillas left in the wild today. Trekking gorillas is only done in the Virunga Conservation Area. The following are some of the remaining areas or parks where visitors can have a gorilla trekking experience in winter.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Talking about gorilla trekking, one top destinations always comes up and that is Uganda. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is situated in the southwestern region of the pearl of Africa, Uganda. Bwindi is among the very few areas or national parks in the world that offer trekking with gorillas in winter. This park shelters more than 459 mountain gorillas, most in all the other destinations and areas that harbor these primates. It tops it up with over 50 gorilla families, and among these, 26 families are habituated and trekked daily. Visitors interested in trekking gorillas in winter, Bwindi is the best option.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park on the Ugandan border with Rwanda is also a good area to encounter gorillas. Established in 1991, Mgahinga favours visitors who would like a short and less challenging trekking experience to encounter mountain gorillas. This park hosts the fewest mountain gorillas among all the parks in the Virunga Conservation Area, with about 100 mountain gorillas recorded. Mgahinga hosts a single gorilla family, and it can be trekked at any time of the year.
Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park is Rwanda’s pride, a national park hosting the endangered mountain gorillas. Visitors who value trekking gorillas in winter, then this park is also a good option. It is located in the Musanze district in the northern region of the country. Over 300 mountain gorillas are sheltered here. About 10 gorilla families inhabit this area, and all are habituated and trekked daily for the rest of the year.
Virunga National Park
Found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Virunga National Park is also another gorilla park. Established in 1925, Virunga was once a top area for gorilla trekking but lost this rank due to insecurity. Approximately 200 mountain gorillas survive in this park, though its vast size surpasses the rest as the largest. Massive poaching and hunting of mountain gorillas led to a reduction in their numbers, and some relocated to the neighboring gorilla nations.