Reviews: Gorilla Trekking Safari

"There is quite a lot of hanging around in the morning before you leave the Park Centre but this was not a big issue.

Our group walked about 2.5 hours to find the PAblo family group and this forest experience was interesting in itself.

The experience with the Gorillas cannot easily be described and photos do not do it justice either. You have to go !" Read more about this whole safari

"Absolutely outstanding. Guides and organisation wonderfull.

The Park is beautiful, and we enjoyed the walk in as well as actually seeing the gorillas. We asked to go to the most remote group so that we could see as much of the area as possible. Maybe because of this we ended up on a 'private' tour: us two guests plus the local people.

Could not have been better." Read more about this whole safari

"New experience for us. We were scheduled to have 2 treks with a day's rest between. Given our age we had requested to be included with a group which was likely to have a short walk/trek to view the gorillas and based on where this particular gorilla family were located the day before (only 30 minutes walk from the starting point) we were allocated to such a group.

Unfortunately this proved not to be the case and it took a gruelling 4 hours of walking through mainly a narrow pathway which the guide had machete their way through the mix of bamboo and vines. Spent 1 hour with the family before we had to descend. The exit was as painful as the climb and again it meant cutting a pathway through and while so doing there was a thunder storm with torrential rain which made the ground very slippery. It took 1 1/12 hours to reach the edge of the jungle and a further 15 minutes to reach the waiting transport back to the lodge.

The reason given for the longer than anticipated trek was the gorillas had moved much deeper than expected. It took and age for the trackers to find them but meanwhile it seemed to us we had been constantly moving often in the wrong direction ie. 4 hours up and 1 1/2 coming down. We were exhausted but fortunately we both had opted for the assistance of a porter (20 $ per person) who will carry your backpack, hold your hand to help you up the climb, assist when there's a steep slope to be navigated and without them we would not have made it." Read more about this whole safari

"We were very fortunate to have the well known and entertaining guide Francoise. He is very knowledgeable about the gorillas having been working with them since Dian Fossy's time. We had a great time with him.

Our group was Kwitonda, a large group of 29, which we saw probably a dozen of including lots of young ones who were very actively playing and generally showing off. It was so amazing to be so close to them and them completely unconcerned. In fact we had to keep backing up to avoid making physical contact.

We reached them fairly easily, which was great since one of our group was elderly and had sustained a sprained knee on the way to Rwanda and had to be carried the entire way in a litter. The porters did a wonderful job getting her up and back while also giving others a hand as needed.

All in all we couldn't have hoped for a better experience" Read more about this whole safari

"For anyone who loves animals and the outdoors, this is a must at least once in your life. We did three treks and it kept getting better each day. Day 1 was the Isabukuru Group, a med level hike of 2.5 hours. After 45 minutes with the Silverback, heavy rain and hail began and we eventually called it quits, though it was still a wonderful experience. Day 2 was the Agashya Group, an easy 1 hour hike in the beautiful sunshine where we were rewarded with great views of the Silverback. Day 3 was the Hirwa Group, another mid level 2 hour hike. This group with its playful youngsters was wonderful beyond words." Read more about this whole safari

"The guides and trackers were very informative and helpful. They really knew how to protect the gorillas from too much stimulation, while giving us maximum access. An amazing experience!

My only confusion was around tipping. We were informed in advance of what an appropriate tip would be for trackers, guides etc. But when we got up on the mountain, there were more trackers than we anticipated. it was hard to figure out who everyone was and what their role was. This led to some awkwardness around tipping. I would have preferred to have Expert Africa handle the tipping on our behalf." Read more about this whole safari

"What an amazing experience! The trek up the mountain is not the easiest but well worth it.

A tip to those who are going to do this trek - hire a porter. The lads were well worth the money." Read more about this whole safari

"Two days of gorilla trekking more than made up for this missed golden monkey day. Visited Umubano and Sabyinyo groups with relatively easy hikes and good weather. Very inspiring event that had Pam in tears as she has wanted to have this experience since middle school and thought extinction due to man's conflicts would eliminate any chance. Saw 9 of the first goup and 7 of the latter including Guhonda the largest of Rwanda's silverbacks and a baby in each group." Read more about this whole safari

"We did two days of gorilla tracking. On day one we visited the Sabinyo group and on day two, Susa. It is, as the guide book says, a peerless experience. I was very worried about the hiking involved but actually we (despite being mid forties, relativley sedentary lifestyle etc etc) managed it fine and with seeemingly less problems than our younger fitter looking companions. This I put down to (i) having by this stage in our trip been at altitude for some time and having completed trecks to see chimps and golden monkeys (ii) hiring a porter - cameras, water, coats, lunch make for a bulky heavy backpack and clambering under fallen bamboo poles in mud with a backpack is no joke (and the porters need their job!) (ii) using two sticks (we took our own but the guides also provide these)- we slid about in the mud much less than those balancing on one!" Read more about this whole safari