Africa Adventure Vacations is a safari tour and travel company based in Uganda, fully licensed to conduct safaris within Uganda and Rwanda. We offer several tours and safaris in Uganda including Gorilla Tours, wildlife adventures, mountaineering trips, cultural safaris, birding, chimpanzee trekking, nature walks, and honey moon holidays among others. Our Tour packages range from all inclusive group trips for families or students, corporate retreats, and specialized or customized tours. We focus our safaris on the following categories, wildlife & nature, Community & Culture, Adventure, and Relaxation. Our tour costs range from mid-range to luxury. However, we can organize budget tours upon request

1. Mountain Gorillas in DR, Congo (Virunga National Park)
A guide to gorilla trekking in Congo, permit cost, when to go, tour operators,
accommodation and booking information
Within the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mountain gorillas are found in Virunga
National Park which is also a UNESCO Heritage site. This park is located in the
eastern side of democratic Republic of Congo and boarders both Uganda and Rwanda.
The park covers an area of 7800 km2 and is home to over 200 gorilla individuals
mostly situated in the southern part of the park.
Virunga National Park is one of the most biologically diverse protected areas on the
planet. Half of all the biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa can be found in Virunga.
The park is also a geologic wonder and contains two of the world’s most active
volcanoes. For much of its long history, though, Virunga National Park has been
severely threatened by armed conflict. Thanks to the dedication of the park’s
rangers and wardens, Virunga has been able to survive. Certain politicians, the
European Union, conservationists, philanthropists, and private donors have also
played a vital role in Virunga’s survival.
The park was founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium and originally known as
Albert National Park. Virunga was the first national park on the continent of Africa.
The park was founded primarily to protect the mountain gorillas living in the forests
of the Virunga Massif that were controlled by the Belgian Congo. Later, Virunga was
expanded north to include the Rwindi Plains, Lake Edward, and the Rwenzori
Mountains.
In the first 35 years, poaching was kept to a minimum and sustainable tourism
thrived due to the work of a large body of handpicked Congolese rangers and
dedicated wardens. Land remuneration and the use of park resources, such as fishing
and hunting by the local population, became an ever-increasing problem.
When the Belgians granted Congo independence in 1960, the new state deteriorated
rapidly, and so did Virunga. It wasn’t until 1969 when President Mobutu began to take
a personal interest in conservation, that the park was revived. In the process, it was
renamed Virunga National Park and the first Congolese Wildlife Authority was
established. Institut Congolais pour le Conservation de la Nature or ICCN, is still in
charge of Congo’s protected areas to this day.

2. Virunga fared well for the better part of the 1970s. Foreign investment helped
improve the park’s infrastructure and training facilities, and the park became a
popular destination for tourists. During this period, Virunga welcomed an average of
6500 visitors per year. In 1979, UNESCO designated the park as a World Heritage
Site.
In the mid-1980s the Mobutu regime began to lose its hold on power and the country
began a long slide into chaos. Virunga suffered terribly. Poaching depleted the park’s
large mammal populations, infrastructure was destroyed, and many rangers were
killed. The Congolese Wildlife Authority slowly lost control of Virunga and UNESCO
changed the World Heritage Site status to “endangered.”
Over the twenty-five years that followed, the park staff endured an almost
uninterrupted series of trials that included a refugee crisis from the 1994 Rwandan
Genocide, which contributed to the severe destruction of park forests, and the
proliferation of armed militias throughout the park. The Kivu War, the most recent
of Congo’s conflicts, centered exactly on the park, with rebel forces occupying the
park headquarters and evicting the park’s staff. By the end of 2008 it seemed as if
Virunga was finished.
The political situation in the DRC has changed exponentially since then. The park is
back in the hands of the ICCN and enjoying the greatest resurgence of tourism and
development in its history. International donors are investing in the development of
the park’sinfrastructure at unprecedented levels. Virunga’s management is efficient
and transparent, and morale among the rangers is at an all-time high.
For more information on Virunga National Park, including frequent updates from park
rangers and staff, reliabletour operators please visit Virunga National Park’s official