New Trip: Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda 

Imagine yourself up-close and personal with Mountain gorillas, with your camera in tow, right in the middle of those gorillas’ own wild habitat. High in the volcanic mountains of Rwanda lives these endangered and alluring shy giants. 

Backcountry Journeys’ latest tour itinerary is the thrilling Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda, an exciting wildlife-based photography excursion will get you just that! 

There are roughly one-thousand Mountain gorillas remaining on Earth, and about half of these live in the forests of the Virunga Mountains, in Rwanda, on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda, in central Africa.  

Without the efforts of conservation groups like the World-Wildlife Fund, and others, in addition to tourism, this fantastic animal would likely no longer exist. Tourism, especially, has motivated local governments to protect not only the gorillas but also their habitat.

For this life-changing tour, we’ll visit Rwanda’s Volcanos National Park where the gorillas enjoy the protections afforded by the National Park. Here each day we’ll hike through the misty mountains with local guides and park staff to find magnificent Mountain gorilla families who we’ll be able to photograph up-close and intimately. We’ll be given the opportunity to create images of gorillas as the adults choose to spend their time eating and resting, and the young play with their peers, wrestling and climbing trees under the watchful eye of their mothers. These gorillas share 98% of their DNA with humans, and you will have a rare chance to see with their behavior, and perhaps in their eyes, just how much like you they are. 

Dian Fossey studied and worked to protect Mountain gorillas in this region from 1966 until she was murdered (likely by poachers because of her work to protect these gorillas) in 1985. Fossey’s autobiography was adapted to make the 1988 feature film, ‘Gorillas in the Mist,’ starring Sigourney Weaver.

We’ll also take time to photograph Golden monkeys, the highly endangered primate who also resides in the Virunga volcanic mountains. We’ll be on the lookout as the monkeys like to swing across the canopy of the forest.

There are few experiences like seeing Mountain Gorillas in the wild, and there are few places left in the world in which to do so. Join Backcountry Journeys on this six-day-photo tour as we explore the cloud mountains of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park in search of these great ‘Gorillas in the Mist.’ 

This tour will be scheduled so they can be booked in conjunction with our safaris in Botswana. Africa is so incredibly dynamic, and also quite a far-off place for most of us. Why not make the most of that long plane ride and extend your photographic adventures? When in Africa, right?

Please note: the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda tours will be limited to small groups, so you’ll want to book your trip as soon as possible so as to not miss out. 

About Botswana
Botswana: A Tale of Two Seasons
The Beating Heart of Botswana
Botswana: Land of Giants
An Exploration of Botswana
Africa’s Garden of Eden: Okavango Delta
The Big Five of Africa 
Ultimate Botswana Wildlife Safari 

Kenton Krueger

Kenton Krueger has spent the past several years guiding backpackers, hikers, and photographers into the wild places of the American West such as Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Katmai, Zion, and Bryce Canyon National Parks, as well as internationally in Costa Rica & Brazil. In addition to backpacking and camping, his adventures include rock climbing, exploring the slot canyons of southern Utah, mountain biking, and bagging 14ers in Colorado’s San Juan Mountain Mountain Range. Kenton is a trail runner, former pilot, and has had several of his writings and photographs published in the Omaha World-Herald newspaper. Kenton looks forward to utilizing his years of guiding experience, combined with his passion and experience behind the lens to provide memorable and unforgettable experiences at the wild places we will visit together.