Gorilla trekking for the disabled
Gorilla trekking is an activity that involves searching the gorillas and spending quality one hour with them after acquiring a gorilla permit .
Gorilla trekking occurs in 4 national parks of Bwindi impenetrable and Mgahinga in Uganda , Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo.
For the gorilla trekking exercise, only 8 people are allowed to carry out gorilla trekking per gorilla family for just one hour in 24 hours.
This makes it very interesting and competitive as few permits get sold out per day due to limited number of permits available for trek.
Gorilla trekking is known for great hikes through the dense forests and hilly mountains which is sometimes very challenging to the physically disabled, a reason for the need to be very inclusive for everyone in the society to partake and benefit from the gorilla trekking adventure.
Roughly , a gorilla trekking exercise take about 2-6 hours depending, this is why friendly gorilla trekking hours are introduced and arranged for persons with physical disability.
This is through taking less challenging routes with the help of special equipments
Special traditional bamboo stretchers that act as carriers or modern steel base sedan Chairs with seat belts and handles are provided .
This is to provide a means through which persons with disabilities is carried through the montane area and dense vegetation in the jungles to conduct their gorilla trekking exercise
These carriers are carried by about 12 able bodied men with skills to carry any of the two special needs equipments
Therefore, it is very important to note that the porters and the special needs equipments are paid for separately from the gorilla trekking permits.
Cost for hiring stretchers and porters
It costs USD15- USD20 to hire a porter
It costs 300USD-400USD depending on choice to hire either bamboo carriers or sedan Chairs
By and large , be sure to book your special needs package in advance to limit getting stranded at the last minute because they are pretty scarce.
