Accomplishing the Unimaginable: Gorilla Trekking

After a helicopter from Duba Plains, a bush plane to Maun, and another longer flight, we arrived in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. Rwanda is one of the smallest countries of mainland Africa and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Upon touchdown in Kigali, we were reunited with our friend Tuma. We bonded last year when my mom and I stayed in Kigali (thanks to my altitude sickness) while the rest of the group went gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. That was not the case this time around! Thanks to some new medication, this year I'd be seeing gorillas. Of course, I had to do a trial of this medication beforehand to make sure I wasn't allergic... The doctor told me "oh you'll know within 30 minutes if you're allergic." Reassuring, right? In any case, it turned out that I'm not allergic to this medication so Rwanda would be my first test at altitude. 

No one realizes how deadly altitude sickness can be. Many people start to feel altitude sickness at 10,000 feet and above but for me, my limit was always 7,000 feet. I fainted in the middle of the town square in Quito (Ecuador), on Haleakala in Hawaii, in Ngorongoro (Tanzania) more than once and other places. I would start to feel sick around 6,000 but the closer I got to 7,000 feet, the sicker I felt. As a result, I've always had to carefully research altitudes of destinations we visit. That's also why when we went to Peru, we didn't get to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Even when we went to Kigali last year, I got altitude sickness. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills⁠—Kigali alone is 5,141 feet. Because of this, when we drove up hills to get to the Akilah Institute last year I got altitude sickness and Tuma had to drive like a mad man down the mountain to lower elevation. Immediately, I felt better. I think I gave him quite the scare though... Sorry, Tuma!

On our 3 hour drive to Kinigi (where the Volcanoes National Park headquarters is), I was holding my breath. There was no way I was going to miss the gorillas. I was already so close. It would kill me to get up to elevation and have to come back down like the last time we were in Rwanda.

The view while driving from Kigali airport to Volcanoes National Park.

We finally arrived at our lodge, Amakoro Songa, after a drive full of laughter and good conversation. At around 7,500 feet, I was already higher than my limit. So far so good. We were greeted by men and women drumming and singing. 

A warm welcome at Amakoro Songa Lodge. One of the guests jumped in to join in the drumming.

The graphic designer in me loved their logo!

We were also greeted with the most delicious fresh fruit juice made from the lodge's garden! 

We were greeted with drinks in gorgeous cups complete with metal reusable straws.

In the evening, we gathered around the campfire for a presentation by the Gorilla Doctors. The Gorilla Doctors work with mountain and eastern lowland gorilla species. Their international veterinary teams provide hands-on medical care to ill and injured gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Together, the teams work to monitor gorillas' health and intervene to treat gorillas from life-threatening illnesses or injuries when possible. They also rescue and treat gorillas orphaned by poachers. 


While there are only 1,004 gorillas in the wild (and while critically endangered), mountain gorillas are the only great ape species whose numbers are increasing. In a 22 year period, the number of habituated gorillas increased by 4.1% annually while the number of un-habituated gorillas decreased by .7% annually. Of course, the habituated gorilla families are the only ones who receive veterinary care and clearly benefit from "extreme conservation" practices as a result. Regardless, this is progress. There used to be only 800 mountain gorillas remaining.

We gathered by the fire pit for a presentation by the gorilla doctors.

After the presentation, we had a quick dinner before heading off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. 

We rose early, eating a minimal breakfast before our hike. The lodge packed us snack bags with grilled cheese sandwiches, bananas, fresh tomatoes, juice and water. We had no idea how long we'd be gone and we certainly didn't know whether or not we'd be back in time for lunch. The lodge staff also had gaiters waiting for us... a necessity with all the bushes we were about to walk through. You might notice our jeans instead of typical trekking pants. We were told that because of all the foliage and stinging nettle in the jungle, it was recommended to wear the thickest pair of pants you had to minimize scratches. 

After our gaiters were on, we posed for a photo... Ready for the gorillas!

We drove toward the Volcanoes National Park headquarters, where visitors have to report there by 7am. We passed by the site of the gorilla naming ceremony where, on September 6, people from all over the world gathered to celebrate baby gorillas born in the last months of 2018 through September 2019. While no actual gorillas are brought to the scene, it is a celebration of gorilla conservation. We admired the bamboo statue with Mount Sabyinyo (located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the background before continuing on to headquarters.

The location of the gorilla naming ceremony that occurred prior to our visit. Mount Sabyinyo appears in the background. Mount Sabyinyo is in the DRC.

Once at headquarters, it was organized chaos. Rwanda is home to 10 habituated gorilla families and each group can only have 1 group of 8 people visiting for only 1 hour per day. Obtaining a gorilla permit is a difficult process as gorilla trekking has become so desirable, and groups do this way in advance. Since less than 100 people go gorilla trekking per day, it is considered a very special experience. After gathering for tea/coffee, rangers split up all the groups of people into different gorilla families. What group you get depends on the fitness and age of the guests. Typically, those 45 and older and ones with less mobility/fitness are assigned "easy to find" gorillas who don't wander far away from the trailheads. Our guide took us down a pathway and had us sit in front of a sign... "Sabyinyo". The Sabyinyo gorilla family is named after Mount Sabyinyo which translates to "old man's teeth" and is made up of 17 mountain gorillas. Once we had a briefing on our group, we got back into the car and continued driving up the mountain.


By the time we got to the open field where our trek would begin, we were at 8,160 feet. 

Our hike started in agricultural fields where locals were tending to crops.

Our guide and two scouts gathered among porters to brief everyone on our hike. When we got to the edge of the forest, our main guide said the tracker had located the gorilla group and we would in fact be seeing gorillas today. He didn't say how long we'd hike for or where exactly they were, but we knew we'd see them.

A team of porters and trackers gather for a briefing prior to the start of our hike.

After a little more than an hour of chopping bamboo stalks to clear our path and leaves continually falling on our faces, we were told we made it. We weren't allowed to bring water bottles or backpacks with us during our hour with the gorillas. In a small clearing where the porters would be waiting for our return, we quickly pulled out cameras and extra batteries and left our bags with them. Our guide reminded us not to look a gorilla in the eye if they start to charge—lowering your eyes indicates you don't want a confrontation and are submissive. He also warned us not to point, as that could be seen as a sign of aggression. Now, we headed deeper into the jungle. After a few minutes of dodging the infamous stinging nettle plant, I caught a glimpse of my first gorilla. 

A gorilla takes a snack break in the dense jungle.

We were now at 8,555 feet. I was having side effects from the medication, but I didn't care. They weren't serious, I knew what the side effects were beforehand, and we only had an hour with the gorillas. Tick tock. The mountain gorillas remained in thick jungle brush, munching on stems. Mountain gorillas eat large amounts of vegetation and spend about 30% of their day foraging for food on a daily basis. They consume roots, leaves, stems of herbs, vines, bark from trees, bamboo shoots, and shrub-sized plants. As their name implies, mountain gorillas live in forests high in the mountains at elevations of 8,000-13,000 feet. They have thicker fur compared to other great apes which allows them survive in a habitat where temperatures can drop below freezing. As humans have moved more and more into gorillas' territory, gorillas have been pushed farther up in the mountains for longer periods. 

This particular bush must've been pretty tasty, because this gorilla spent a lot of time munching on greens here.

As the gorillas moved further into the bush (why?? I wanted to scream, "wrong way!!!"), we followed them. Walking quickly and efficiently, we steadied ourselves up and down steep grades grasping onto branches, plant roots, and bushes—anything that we could find. I accidentally brushed up against stinging nettle as I stepped over a large root because I was trying not to lose my footing or tumble down the mountain... It felt like I had just been stung by a million insects. A sharp, burning sensation tingled on my leg. That didn't bother me, though. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but the tingles from my altitude medication bothered me more. Now, my feet were tingling... Not great when you're hiking! It felt as though my feet were asleep but no matter how hard I tried or how much I stretched, the tingling sensation would not go away. I told myself,  "Oh well, gotta carry on. Gotta keep up with the group." After some time, we came across this sleeping gorilla. He briefly glimpsed up toward us to see what was going on.

This male was lying down for a nap. For a few minutes, he opened his eyes to look at us.

Another gorilla came tumbling out of the bushes, this one an adolescent. The Sabyinyo group is made of 17 mountain gorillas with gorillas in all age categories—babies, adolescent, adults, and silverbacks. This group even has the oldest silverback of the mountain gorillas here at 48 years old. Male mountain gorillas reach an average of 6 feet tall when standing upright and can weigh anywhere from 400-500 pounds, making them the largest of the great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas are classified as great apes.) We were told this particular male usually doesn't make an appearance until it's almost time to leave, so we hadn't seen him yet. 

An adolescent comes out of the bushes, staring right at us.

By now, we were getting frustrated. This group was in the dense jungle and even though our trackers were trying to clear the leaves and bamboo stalks with their machete so we could get a better look at the gorillas, the photographic opportunities were not ideal.

Lying back down for a nap.

Now out of breath with the strenuous hiking on steep downhill inclines at high altitude (and no water!), we continued on. Finally, the gorillas stayed in one place and we were able to sit to observe them. We saw babies leaping from tree to tree. They'd climb up a tree, tip it over, and fall to the ground and do it all again. Sometimes they even used the bamboo stalks like a fire pole, climbing it and then sliding down to the ground.

Babies swing in the trees, yelling at one another.

After lots of chaos, one baby gorilla took a break to play with its hand. Does it get any cuter?!

A baby plays with its hands while climbing a tree.

The baby then turned to look at us as if to say, "Hey, you lookin' at me?"

"You looking at me??"

As the gorilla group moved onward, we followed. Our one hour time limit was up but we were walking in the direction we had to go anyways, so we ended up getting more time with the gorillas. Our main guide kept hoping the gorillas would come out into the open though unfortunately they never did. Apparently, this group is known for staying in the thick jungle. Our luck. At one point, a silverback came charging toward us. It happened so quickly that this was the only photograph I got—not great compositionally, but great for the memory!

A silverback comes charging toward us.

We were quickly told to crouch down and avoid eye contact. The gorilla came within inches of us, running down the path to some of the other gorillas. Yikes! Hearts hammering, we continued on where we came across this beauty playing peekaboo while eating some leaves.

Playing peekaboo.

As we neared where our porters were waiting, the oldest silverback came charging toward us. Again, we crouched and avoided eye contact. It takes everything in you not to look. Out of all the animals I've photographed from the polar bear charging toward me in Svalbard to lions inches away from me in Zimbabwe, I think walking with gorillas scared me the most. These guys were unpredictable and the shear strength of them as they came barreling down the mountain astounded me. 


Going down was much quicker than going up. We said thank you to all the porters, took a group photo, and hopped into the car once more. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a craft market where we did a bit of shopping damage. We ended up buying some handwoven baskets made by a committee of 35 local women. 

Baskets we bought at a women's co-op near Volcanoes National Park. 

While there were many shops, we found one shop in particular with high quality baskets at reasonable prices. We said thank you to the shop owner Nadine and her adorable baby before continuing on. Spoiler alert: we loved her shop so much that after looking at all the others, I went back there for a fabric gorilla (I collect animal statues from my travels.)

The owner of the shop with her baby.

At the start of our gorilla trek, the guides handed out gorilla themed walking sticks to help us through the dense jungle. When we passed the craft market on the way to our gorilla trek starting point, I had eyed the walking sticks. Now, I pointed them out to my mom. Hiking to see the gorillas was a big deal for both of us. Between my mom's eyes and my altitude sickness, we never thought we'd see wild gorillas. We had accomplished the unimaginable. Mom, I am so proud of you! We did it!!! To commemorate our accomplishment, we bought a walking stick and had it customized to say "Rwanda". The artist carved "Rwanda" within seconds on the spot for us. 

A carver customizes our gorilla trekking stick. 

Here is a closer look. Each stick is carved by hand.

Our stick features several gorillas. The top of our stick (the photo on the right) is a silverback gorilla followed by a mother with a baby underneath it and underneath that, another sitting mountain gorilla.

Below, you can see the entire gorilla walking stick. When locals designed these, they really had travelers in mind... it unscrews into three separate pieces for easy packing! 

Our full gorilla walking stick.

When we got back to Amakoro Songa Lodge, there were masseuses waiting for us. Our jaws dropped. Our lodge staff were offering foot massages after a long day of hiking... apparently a tradition here. We were also greeted with fresh watermelon juice from the lodge's garden and tasty snacks. 

When we arrived at the hotel after our hike and shopping, foot massages, watermelon juice and snacks were waiting for us. Look how happy mom looks!

After our group finished receiving foot massages, the staff took our muddy shoes to be cleaned. Talk about customer service! We then headed to our outdoor lunch where I had the most delicious tuna salad stuffed in an avocado... 

Tuna salad stuffed avocado as an appetizer at lunch.

...And more watermelon juice of course. Honestly, I think anything would have tasted good. It was 2pm by the time we were back at the lodge and and had gotten our food.

Fresh watermelon juice with reusable straws.

Even though we were at slightly lower elevation once more and I had chugged plenty of water, I was still tingly. Now, even my face and hands were tingly. The medication had also made me so unbelievably drowsy that I went to the room at 4pm and slept through the night (and through the entertainment at our lodge) until morning. In the late morning, we made our way up to the boma where this smiley face cappuccino put the biggest smile on my face!

A smiley face coffee in the morning is bound to put a smile on your face!

After a leisurely breakfast, we headed back to the room for some last minute packing of our souvenirs. 

A panorama of our hotel. The landscaping is all done by local women.

We then headed back to the boma where we had the pleasure of planting trees with some of the women who are in charge of the property's landscaping. At Amakoro Songa, it's a tradition that every guest plants a tree when they leave. What a great way to leave a positive impact on a community while traveling! If more lodges around the world did this, imagine the environmental impact tourists could make? We began by digging a hole...

Digging for the trees we planted.

We dropped the tree in...

Putting our tree in!

I then fertilized the soil and put the dirt back in. Mom watered and... 

Watering our tree.

Ta-da! Our tree had been planted!

All done! Each guest plants a tree when they leave.

When our tree gets older, it will look like this one planted by a previous guest. 

When our tree grows, it will look like this.

After saying goodbye to our lodge staff, we hopped into the cars where I buckled in the goods. We now had a 3 hour drive back to Kigali. 

All buckled in for our drive back to Kigali.

On the way back down the mountain, we stopped at the gorilla naming site to take some photos on the wooden platform. 

Quick detour to the gorilla naming site. 

Of course, we also needed a photo with our good friend Tuma! 

With our guide and friend Tuma.

Below is a more detailed shot of the bamboo gorillas...

The gorilla is made entirely out of bamboo.

...And a panorama for perspective.

Gorilla naming site with Mount Sabyinyo in the background.

After a few minutes, we got back into the cars and continued our drive along the rolling mountains of Rwanda.

Leaving Volcanoes National park.

After lunch at a local restaurant and a leisurely evening spent repacking for the long journey home, we went to bed exhausted. Three weeks of traveling around Africa was getting to us, as much as we love it. In the morning, we had a big buffet breakfast. After lots of goodbye hugs, Tuma drove us to the airport where we'd begin our long journey home... 8 hours to Lisbon, an overnight layover with a farewell group dinner, 8.5 hours to Newark with a 2 hour layover, 6 hours to Los Angeles, and a 2 hour drive home in Friday the 13th traffic. What a journey.

With Tuma on our last day in Kigali.

From Tanzania to Madagascar to South Africa to Namibia to Botswana to Rwanda, this was an incredible trip. Cheers to another wonderful African adventure. Cheers to our old friends who we were so happily reunited with. Cheers to our new friends we met along the way. Cheers to new experiences. Cheers to Africa. 

Cheers to another great journey!

At the end of all my trips, I make a video of my favorite moments. Some of these images were included in my blog posts that you've been following but the video is also a mix of video I shot on my camera and phone and sound recordings I recorded (plus two songs I love, Jambo Bwana and Oh Africa). If you'd like to watch my Africa video, click the link below and you will be directed to YouTube. Be sure your sound is on and that the video is unmuted, and for better quality play it in full screen! Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74fZvL8cX6w&t=

Thanks for reading about my African adventures… Next stop, Canada! Next month, I will be traveling to the remote Canadian Arctic. I will be staying at a fly in only eco-lodge on Hudson Bay where I will set out on foot to photograph polar bears on a photography workshop with one of my favorite National Geographic photographers. This is an adventure you won't want to miss! Be sure to hit the subscribe button on my homepage to be notified of new posts. As always, follow my Instagram @elissatitle for more pics. 

See you up north!