See gorillas up close in Rwanda

The Associated Press

Published: July 10, 2008

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Rwanda: Something is cracking, crunching and rustling its way through the jungle.

The noise is loud. It sounds closer. Our guide, Olivier Mutuyimama, pauses, extends his arm and holds us back.

My tired legs thank him. I was happy for a moment to catch my breath. After almost two hours of arduous trekking up steep inclines over rocks and brush, ducking through dense patches of tropical forest, pulling my boots out of pits of mud coupled with snaking vines that wrapped around my ankles, we were at long last near the mountain gorillas in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. Now we could finally hear them.

Our group of five tourists had trekked through the same park in the Virunga Mountains where American zoologist Dian Fossey studied the apes. Some 700 mountain gorillas remain in the world, according to the Rwanda Tourism Board's Web site. About half live in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and the other half live in family groups in the Virunga Mountains on the border of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. That's where we were, with a guide, two armed soldiers and two trackers.

Our group hushed at Mutuyimama's command. The smell of wet jungle foliage filled the humid air. As I trained my weary eyes at the thick vegetation before me, I slowly focused on the dark figure behind it. Although difficult to make out at first due to its vast size, I suddenly realized that a 400-pound (181-kilogram) gorilla was lurking in front of me. I gazed at the great giant less than six feet (1.8 meters) away.

 Mutuyimama nudged our group slowly backwards to give the ape, a male silverback, room to enjoy his daily bamboo snack. The cracking of the branches reverberated again.

The park allows visitors to approach as close as 22 feet (6.7 meters) to the gorillas, a distance the guides enforce to avoid exposing the apes to human germs. As we inched back, the huge primate continued munching away, paying no attention to the human intruders around him.

As we stood in awe, we heard more noises off to our right.We tiptoed slowly around a tree and spotted two females on a hillside. Their thick pitch-black fur contrasted sharply with the lush bright greenery of the forest.

We moved silently around the back of the silverback's resting spot, and discovered two more females playing with two infants. Mutuyimama motioned us to back up. But one of the mothers spotted us, grabbed her infant and swept past us, so close I felt vines rustle against my leg.

The babies galloped over to the resting silverback. They tried to rouse him as they tumbled over his large frame, like the Dr. Seuss classic, "Hop on Pop." He continued his nap, motioning away the children like a dad swatting his kids in the backseat of the family car.

But slowly he began to wind down. During our march up the mountain through stands of bamboo forest, the guide explained to us that the gorillas find the bamboo plants intoxicating. Soon, the huge primate lay down for an afternoon nap, his massive body sprawled out across a bed of leaves.

Mutuyimama told us that the gorilla family we were visiting, nicknamed the Hirawa (local slang word for lucky), consisted of nine members. Mutuyimama made gorilla grunting noises to draw them closer. We managed to spot seven, including the two babies, before we had to leave.

Visitors spend one hour with the gorillas, but by time we started back, it felt like much more time than that had passed. The gorillas appeared so human as they went about their daily lives, feeding, playing, resting, and raising their young, that I left the park with the magical feeling I had come face to face with a very distant relative.

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If You Go...

VISITING GORILLAS AT RWANDA'S VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK: Information at Rwanda Tourism Board's (ORTPN) Web site http://www.rwandatourism.com and from Lonely Planet's "East Africa" guidebook. For organized safaris, at http://www.rwandatourism.com/guide.htm#4 you'll find a list of tour operators that will take care of transportation, hotel accommodations and permits.

PERMITS: The ORTPN issues only 40 visitor permits a day. A permit runs US$500 and can be purchased at the ORTPN office or through a tour company offering safaris. I reserved my permit ahead of time by e-mailing the ORTPN office at reservation(at)rwandatourism.com. (If you don't hear back, try again. Internet service in Rwanda is unreliable and it took three e-mail attempts for me to arrange my permit.) Funds from the permits help protect gorillas from poachers and other threats, and pay for the rangers, trackers and soldiers that care for the animals. A portion is also paid to farmers whose land borders the park as an incentive against poaching.

GETTING THERE: The closest town to Volcanoes National Park is Ruhengeri, two hours from the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Reachable by minibus for US$2, or by hiring a private vehicle for US$150. From Ruhengeri, take an all-terrain taxi to reach the ORTPN office, the starting point for gorilla tours at the edge of the park. The ride runs about US$50. The driver will wait until you finish your trek, and return you to your hotel. Many people choose to stay in Kigali or other points, and hire a driver to bring them to the park on the morning of the visit.

ACCOMMODATIONS: http://www.rwandatourism.com/guide.htm#ruhengeri. Ruhengeri is a tiny rural village, but the surrounding terrain offers spectacular views of grand green volcanoes. You can stay at the Hotel Muhabura, located at the edge of the town at Ave. du 5 Juillet. Rooms start at about US$30. The hotel has a bar and restaurant, which serve as a local gathering point for NGOs and conservation staff members. More remote lodging options at the edge of the Volcanoes National Park include the Kinigi Guest House, http://www.rwanda-kinigi-guesthouse.com/, which sends profits to the Association of Solidarity between Rwandan Women. A new eco-lodge, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, just opened near the park June 21, with guest fees benefiting conservation and community development; details on Sabyinyo from the African Wildlife Federation, http://www.awf.org.

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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
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