Gorillas in the mist

I went to Kisoro from Kampala by bus a long but very pleasant trip, which took me through Uganda’s beautiful scenery. The reason for my visit in Kisoro is that it is the closest town to Mgahinga National Park where I should trek down mountain gorillas.

Well, before I go more into my visit in Kisoro I must draw the attention to something SUPER important. It is not possible to buy a pass to trek gorillas at Mgahinga from Kisoro. This pass you have to buy from Kampala and it costs around 250$ if I remember correctly. May seem a bit pricy but a once in a life time opportunity to experience these amazing and very rare creatures from up close and personal.

Now back to Kisoro. Because of the bus connections between Kampala and Kisoro you have to arrive one day early for the trek. Kisoro itself is a small and lazy town where not much happens besides the kids running after you eyeing a chance to earn a few pennies as they shout “Give me money, give me money!”. However, the settings of Kisoro are something else. Lush vegetation, lakes and the big Virunga Volcanoes rising in the back So I decided just to take a walk up the hills to relax and enjoy the beauty of the region. Just as I began my walk a young boy around eight years old decided to follow me. We chatted along even though all he said was yes – and come as he just ran up and down the most impossible ways for me… Just to stop look at me crawling after him – and then make a big and loud laugh. After about 1½ hours by ourselves we meet his younger brother, who I would say was about 5 years old, who looked after the families little heard of goats… So all of a sudden we were a party of 3 and 8 goats – of which I were the laughing stock, because it was quiet clear to everyone (even the goats) that I was not used to run around these hills. After 2½-3 hours we were back at Kisoro town… I told the boys goodbye… And as I did this I more or less realised the ‘Yes’ and ‘Come’ were the only words these two boys could say in English. Anyhow, we had all had a few good hours together.
Kisoro only have a few hotels/hostels but even though the limited choices and the fact you have to have somewhere to sleep before you go trekking the prices were extremely fair. I think I paid for a double room (shared shower and whole in the ground) about 6$-8$ a night. Here I spent my night at the restaurant, which as almost every else I visited got the menu and then when ordering was told the only had one or two of the dishes on it… Hehe… I had a burger with minced goat, fried onions and ketchup… And I tell you this was class. No doubt about it looking at the waiters face as he served it like it was a French gourmet dinner. – And good it was! – The rest of the evening I spend at the hotel chit-chatting the rest of the guests of whom, some of them would join me the next day for the trek.

In the morning we got picked up by and pick-up… Hehe – that sounds funny! The car took a down an extremely bumpy road and tossed us from one side to another. So it was just like a fun rollercoaster ride – and best thing was it was included in the price. Arriving at the entrance of the Mgahinga we were met by a guide, a ranger and nine armed soldiers. We were told not to mind the soldiers as they were just a precaution as we were walking the borders of Congo. Very interesting. However, you felt quiet at easy almost instantly, as you could feel that any of the locals seemed tense… And after all you just wanted to focus on where those god damn gorillas were… We tracked for close to four hour up and down and sneaking in and out of bamboo rainforest… And then bumped into the middle of the flock while a few gorillas ran in among us so the all could stay together… We stopped to look at them. For about half an hour we were looking at them and them at us. The young ones were the most curious and came the closest just about 6 feet, which was as close as we were allowed to go. Not because the gorillas are dangerous as such, but because they are afraid that we carry germs that will make them sick. The gorillas got bored of us and started moving to find something to eat and we went a long for some of the way. Then we went back to the place where we met at the beginning, which actually only was about a 30 minutes trek from where the gorillas were. Only thing was that we had walked in circles in our search for these big amazing creatures. And the entire way back to Kisoro we talked about what we had experienced together. If I get the chance again I will have to go trek gorillas again, because that is something else.

As the new morning rose I checked out and head for Kasese…

For more information on gorilla trekking you can begin by looking here: http://www.backpackers .co.ug/gorilla.html