See 5 of the best places to spot gorillas on the continent

Authors:

Adaobi Onyeakagbu

September 21, 2018 5:17 PM

Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Sub-Saharan Africa.

Spotting gorillas on a safari or hike is a favourite tourist pastime. Here are 5 of the best places to spot gorillas on the continent.

Gorillas are unique in their various species across the continent.

1. Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park comes to mind when talking about gorillas in Rwanda. A very small country in East Africa, Rwanda is not known for many things. Hpwever, the popular film Gorillas in the West dramatised the image of gorillas in the country.

2. Uganda

Another country in East Africa, Uganda, bears the flag when it comes to gorilla sightings in the national parks. The country has two gorilla parks in the south-western parts — Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park. At the top of Mt Sabinio, where Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo meet, is a great place to spot gorillas. The national parks allow other activities like hiking the glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains to white-water rafting on the Nile.

3. Nigeria

At Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River, you can spot gorillas. However, the total population is dwindling, at less than 200 individuals, spread across an area of 12,000 km² according to Culture Trip. You can find them scattered around Afi Mountain, Mbe Mountain, and the Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park.

4. Cameroon

The English-speaking parts of Cameroon share borders with Cross River state in Nigeria. The Cross River gorillas can be spotted in the forests around there. Captive gorillas can be found at the Limbe Wildlife Centre, one of the top attractions in Cameroon.

5. Gabon

The forests of Moukalaba-Doudou National Park and Loango National Park hold the highest densities of some of the most diverse gorillas in Africa. In 2002, Gabon created 13 national parks in bid to diversify its economy and most of them contain gorilla habitats.