mountain hiking

Have you ever woken up with the zeal to carry out mountain hiking? Well you are not alone, interest of carrying out mountain hiking dates back to several years ago, with it being fueled by different reasons which include climbing to achieve the satisfaction of reaching the peak while others consider it as a sport, other its simply tourism activity. While on a trip to Rwanda, you cannot avoid the thrill involved in climbing mountain which is considered as one of the major tourism activity. The mountains where Rwanda hiking is carried out include mountain karisimbi, Volcanoes Mountain Rwanda and mountain Bisoke.

BEAUTY IS CONTAGIOUS; THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN GORILLA NEIGHBOURS

Cute and smiling faces of Rwandans are everywhere and in plenty
 

Rating Rwanda as a spectacularly beautiful landlocked country located in the heart of Central Africa, is an understatement for beauty is relative and one man's meat is another man's poison. Let us just try to give a true picture of Rwanda and just trying. It is one of the 3 only countries (others are Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo) on planet earth to have a natural habitat Mountain gorillas; The Volcanoes National Park. Please note there are no Mountain gorillas in any zoo or animal park anywhere for they cannot adapt to any other conditions apart from their natural habitat. With less than 1000 of these gentle species categorized on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list as critically endangered and needing urgent protection due to their loss of habitat, illegal trade, hunting for bush meat and other reasons gives an adventure traveler a noble reason to visit Rwanda and in one way contribute towards the survival and existence of Mountain gorillas.

Rwanda; an awesome country with an extremely beautiful, cheerful people

On a safari to Rwanda you find Rwandan people; a beautiful, welcoming, lovely, warm and caring and have shared land their natural habitat and a scarce resource that is not elastic with wildlife. Their history has not been smooth and the people passed through turbulent times most notable the recent 1994 genocide; an internal conflict that almost erased an entire ethnic community out of human race as the rest of the world was watching. The Rwandan people learnt bitter lessons, have put that behind them and have embraced a very positive cultural experience and together are moving forward with the rest of the global world. Their warm, welcoming, cheerful and friendly nature makes them highly rated amongst the most loving on planet earth.  Combining your Safari into Rwanda and mingling with the localcommunities that you encounter gives you an opportunity to embrace their lifestyle, sample  the traditional dishes, learn about the day to day activities, the tools in homesteads, dressing styles, songs, music and dance, there are all indicators you will fall in love with their livelihood.

Appropriate time to do gorilla tracking

 There has been lots of question and debates concerning the best time to track gorillas is Rwanda. Published blogs, websites, news sites etc. have to discussed  similar questions. But the fact remains that one can track gorillas in any time of the year.  Since the area where this huge primates are located lies along the tropical rain forests, and the chances of receiving rainfall is such as areas on a daily basis more likely. Any question in regard to weather patterns dictating the gorilla tracking activity does not matter.

So in case one is interested in carrying out gorilla tracking in Rwanda, he/she should know that there is no appropriate time and that it can be carried out in any time of the year.

Mountain gorillas stand a chance to be the list of endangered animals’ species on this planet. They found in Rwanda at the Virunga ranges and volcano national park. In Uganda they are found at Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and mgahinga national park.in DR Congo they are found in Virunga national park in Congo.

Rwanda gorilla families and their silver back heads

As one plans another exquisite journeys to Rwanda also known as the land of thousand hills, He/she has to know that the major tourism attractions are the gorillas. Rwanda is said to be home of almost half of gorilla population in the world.

 These huge primate presence in Rwanda is traced ways back to so many years ago. Other primates living in the Rwanda include the chimpanzees and the golden monkeys living both present volcanoes Rwanda national park.  The Rwanda gorillas are classified into 10 groups or families they are located in the different parks of the forest and they are meant to be tracked by maximum of 8 people.

Below are the list of gorilla families that reside in volcanoes Rwanda national park.

The Susa family: This group was named after Susa River that goes through the confines of these group’s residence, they are 23 in number and consisting of 3 silverbacks, They normally stick to the mountain ranges hence making then difficult to track because navigating across mountain ranges is quit tedious.

The karisimbi family: they are also referred to as the Susa B family their name suggestion is attributed the fact that they broke out for the Susa family it consists of 15 members. It lives in on the ranges of mountain karisimbi.

Sabinyo family: this group is named after the Sabinyo Mountain consists of 8 members in the group. They are the easiest members to track because they are closer. Their alpha is called Gironde, he’s the most powerful and highly built of all alphas.

The Amahoro family:  this family consists of 17 members and they are the most peaceful of all gorilla families in Rwanda as their name suggests.

Umubano group: The family name means neighborliness, it has 11 members. They broke up from the Amahoro family after Charles their head maturing into an alpha male and hence formed their own family.

13 group as also called the Agasha:  this family originally consisted of 13 members but later expanded to 25.Agashya is the alpha, he become one after overthrowing nyakarima  in a horrific fight that left some injured. He later moved to volcanoes and established himself there.

Kwitonda family:  This hilarious groups consists of 18 members with the alpha male being called kwitonda and the also name means humble, it has two silver backs and one black back male. This particular group is difficult to track because they are always roaming form one place to another hence making it difficult to get them in specified place.

Hirwa group: Hirwa in its originally means the lucky one.

Bwenge family:  this family consists of 11 members and is headed by Bwenge the sliver back, they are normally found in the slopes of Karisoke Mountain.

Ugenda family: This pleasant family lives at the slopes of mountain Karisimbi.it consists of 11 members with two silverbacks. The family name means always on the move correlating with their behaviors of moving from on place to another. They are also difficult to track because of their mobility.

"BAPTISING" BABY GORILLAS IN AFRICAN JUNGLES; KWITA IZINA

A smiling drumming group entertains guests at Kwita Izina

In all communities naming of children is an important cultural practice and each individual has a unique name separating him from the rest. In African culture everything (humans, livestock, different locations, tree species, tools of use in homesteads, period of time, many other things) had a name by which it is able to be identified. Human names carry a lot of significance and are based on family lineage, number of children born at ago (twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc), events at time of birth (peaceful, war, epidemic) period of time (drought, rainy, harvest or plant season, etc), circumstances of birth (in captivity, in exile, etc), mood during time pregnancy or at birth (joyful, mournful, sorrowful), conditions under which one was born, place of birth (roadside, water spring, riverside) many others. By mentioning a particular name, society members are able to read a lot into the events of the time at birth.

HE Paul Kagame is ever present at Kwita Izina; a political statement of government commitment.

In East Africa there is an important cultural ceremony of Kwita Izina (baby naming ceremony) for infant Mountain gorillas in Rwanda as a way of monitoring separate gorilla families and appreciating important roles these primate species play in economic development of the country. Mountain gorillas are highly endangered and face extinction due to habitat loss to human settlement and encroachment, poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

Baby gorilla naming is a way of celebrating nature and continued humanity commitment of protecting and conserving wildlife as an important resource on the planet. Each gorilla baby is named by an important personality in Rwanda, wildlife and conservation fraternity and entire globe whose role in many ways bring a long lasting landmark in improving the livelihood of the people in the Rwandan and global society. From 2005 when the maiden Kwita Izina ceremony was held 238 infant gorillas have been named to this day. A huge step in conservation efforts and as such the event could be termed one of the most high successful conservation effort!  

Rwandan dancers cement Kwita Izina with cultural performances

Take a safari to Rwanda and be part of Kwita izina ceremony at Kinigi on the fringes of Volcanoes National Park; gorilla natural habitat, an exciting cultural gala of dance, music, cerebration and entertainment on tourism calendar; September of each year. It attracts a lot of attention and international media in which important personalities in different fields; conservation, government, science, research, security, philanthropy, tourism, international community and other fields mingle together and cerebrate co existence in the end increasing the government income through generating revenue on the event. The Kwita izina is a rare ceremony of historical significance that mixes adventure and discoveryinto Rwandan history, traditional, political and economic customs and in many ways an authentic way fulfilling a dream African safari.

IRRESISTIBLE CHARM ON EVERY AFRICA SAFARI

Herd of Rothschild's giraffes in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda.

Africa is a continent full of interesting things and safari into Africa never run out surprises. There is irresistible charm and beauty in land forms, ever green vegetation on the blink of bursting with high densities of mammal, bird, reptile, insect and other species.

Take a safari into Africa and interact with indigenous African peoples in their traditional lifestyles; music, ceremonies, rituals, dresses, tools, homesteads, economic activities and many others and discover unrivaled wealth of tastes, sights and sounds. Just take a back seat, relax and enjoy Africa; a destination majestically crafted to stir your dream adventure senses with maximum comfort in less expensive and cost friendly environment. 

                                             Beautiful Lake Kivu in Rwanda/Democratic Republic of Congo

The Congo Nile Trail

Stretching from the western part beginning along Lake Kivu from Rubavu through Rutsiro past Karongi, Nyamasheke and comes to an end at Rusizi district making about 227km ( 141 miles) this is the Congo Nile trail. Within the same localities arises several land forms and features that make Rwanda stand out remarkably. The features include the rolling reliefs, Lake Kivu coastal ranges and other several human features like the museums and cultural experiences/attractions.

The Congo Nile trail offers travelers the most thrilling activities that enables them to explore and discover Rwanda such activities include biking, drives along Lake Kivu, Hiking and camping.

THE LEAPING GOLD IN VIRUNGA FORESTS; THE GOLDEN MONKEYS

Golden monkey is a species of monkey only confined in some parts of the Virunga corridor of Eastern central Africanthat extends three countries; Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda (same habitat for Mountain gorillas!). Their conducive habitats are areas of high elevation with thick and dense Afromontane forests in the Mgahinga Gorilla (Uganda), Virunga and Kahozi-Biega (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Volcanoes national parks of Africa. These areas receive the  highest amounts rainfall that sustain constant and continuous plant growth so as to provide enough shoots, young leaves, shrubs, fruits, flowers, their main staple food. Heavy rains likewise speed up rotting and decaying of dead plant material in which insects lay their eggs that form a complimentary diet for the Golden monkeys.

Golden monkeys are social animals that live in groups called troops with members ranging between 3 to 70 of grandparents and their descendants. Adult male members weigh between 4-12kgs (male) and 3-5kgsfor their female counterparts.

Quite unique and more of what you will learn and observe about this species of monkeys on your safari into Rwanda is that Golden monkeys make particular base stations in some secure location from which they make “bed-like” structures by improvising heavy leaves of plant material from which they always set off at sunset to browse for foliage plant life and come back late evenings for the nights.

With rapid increasing human population pressure close to protected areas and ever increasing demand for farm land and materials to use in factories to produce and satisfy human demands and needs, Golden monkeys’ conducive habitat is reducing each passing time putting them under serious threat.

Traveling with Gorilla Cousins Rwanda on planned safaris is one in many ways of raising awareness of the dangers and threats these docile monkeys face. Through paying conservation fees to visit them in their natural habitat we generate revenue wildlife protection agencies that are used in conservation awareness and combating encroachment and reducing on threat beautiful Golden monkeys.