On the north-western border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo lies a vast mountainous area, formed by ancient volcanic reliefs covered by dense rainforest vegetation. We are in the Virunga Mountains, an extraordinary naturalistic triangle of worldwide scientific importance, consisting of the Virunga National Park on Congolese soil, the Mgahinga Park in Uganda and the Volcanoes National Park on Rwandan territory, so called because of the presence of five of the eight volcanoes that soar in the region.
It was in this area, shrouded in damp mist, that much of Dian Fossey’s zoological research was concentrated. He dedicated his entire life to the study and protection of one of the most important communities of mountain gorillas (beringei beringei) in the world, setting up his headquarters in Volcanoes National Park, where he lost his life in an ambush by poachers.
Made famous by the biographical book and the Hollywood film ‘Gorillas in the Mist’, Fossey’s feat brought this environmental reserve, characterised by a mountainous morphology covered with humid forest and bamboo groves, into the limelight. It is one of the last outposts of its kind in Africa, home to a biodiversity extremely rich in flora and fauna, and of which the ‘silverback’ gorillas have become the emblem, as well as the main attraction and focus in the preservation of a unique territory in the world.
With their impressive size and the grey fur on their backs in the dominant males, called ‘silverbacks’ for this reason, these wonderful and quiet primates live inside the park in about twenty families, formed by about ten members each, some of which have been accustomed to the human presence, at first by the constant efforts of the researcher and later by a team of rangers and zoological experts. Habitual specimens, they move continuously within a radius of a few kilometres, in search of leaves, berries and bark, supplemented in their diet only by the odd insect. The rangers constantly follow their tracks during the night, so that they can predict where they will be the next morning and lead visitors there as quickly as possible.
There is no denying that they are the real protagonists and the main attraction for thousands of tourists who come to Rwanda every year, to follow their tracks (tracking), in a destination that is still far from mass tourism, also because strict rules have had to be imposed to regulate their influx to the park, with exorbitant costs for entrance fees, which are indispensable for the management and protection of an environment that is as rich as it is fragile.
The treks, or rather the tracks, start at the edge of the intricate vegetation, leaving behind the small mountain village of Kinigi and the cultivated fields, penetrating the green labyrinths that literally engulf the hikers. The routes of a few hours are on average demanding and climb up to 3,000 metres in altitude, but supervised by expert guides who will not spare the participants any help, while giving them indications and strict rules to respect, to avoid damaging the balance of the gorillas and their habitat, as well as protecting them from any diseases that can be transmitted by man, since they have a DNA almost entirely similar to ours.
The effort and high cost of the limited number of expeditions will be amply repaid by the thrill of finding oneself immersed in the most primordial, wild and impenetrable nature, just a few metres from the tame and docile gazes of these incredible animals, with almost human faces and expressions.
It’s a unique experience, which leads to the encounter of the last families of mountain gorillas in the wild, as well as the endemic ‘golden monkeys’, in a wildlife sanctuary that has elevated Rwanda to one of the most sought-after destinations, albeit still niche and for a privileged few, in the international ecotourism scene, and this undoubtedly justifies its high cost.
