Gorilla Safaris in Rwanda and Uganda!

The Mountain Gorillas are an endangered species - there are about 650 survivors living in the mountains of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We plan and conduct custom safaris to track the Gorillas ...

East Africa Eco Explorer is a full service agency that provides business and leisure travelers with expert travel advice. We offer a variety of travel services in Rwanda, and arrangements to the rest of East Africa and the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo; we'll assist you with all your requirements to and from the destinations of your choice.

Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park (IUCN Biosphere Reserve), Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the DRC’s Parc National des Virungas (UNESCO World Heritage sites) are home to the rarest of the great apes, the Mountain Gorillas.

Mountain gorillas have slow rate of reproduction. Females give birth for the first time at about the age of 10 and will have more offspring every three or four years. A male reaches sexual maturity between 12 and 15 years old, when he is in charge of his own Group. Able to conceive for only about three days each month, the female produces a single young, and in rare cases twins (happened in 2006 in SUSA Group on the Rwandan side of the virungas – the twins survive until present day).

The Mountain gorilla is shy and retiring rather than ferocious. It usually seeks no trouble unless harassed. However, the dominant male - the "Silverback" - will valiantly defend his family group is threatened. Family groups are close-knit and may have up to 30 members but, even if smaller, the group usually consists of at least one older male, one or more females and a few Juveniles.

Mountain gorillas have strong attachments to members of their own group. Even when Groups meet and mingle, and then subsequently part, each animal tends to remain with its respective unit. A Silverback (an adult male gorilla), named for the silvery grey hairs on its back, normally leads the group, serving as its chief protector and defender.

That Mountain Gorillas survive today is largely thanks to Dian Fossey, who is buried at her research centre in the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda, alongside the animals to which she dedicated her life. Fossey became a household name following the release of the film “Gorillas in the mist”. Critical and public acclaim ensure that Gorillas in the mist also served as international awareness of the plight of Mountain Gorillas.