Angola has a small and poorly documented population of western lowland gorillas in the forests of its northern Cabinda exclave — a strip of territory separated from the main body of Angola by the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Cabinda enclave shares forest with the Republic of Congo to the north and DRC to the south, and the gorilla population present is a continuation of the cross-border western lowland gorilla population that extends across this zone of Central Africa.
Conservation Status
The gorilla population in Angola’s Cabinda region was severely affected by the country’s prolonged civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 2002. Decades of hunting and habitat disruption during the conflict reduced wildlife populations across the country’s forest zone, and the gorilla population in Cabinda is not well surveyed. Post-conflict conservation efforts have begun to document what remains, but Angola’s gorilla population is considered small and the country is not a gorilla trekking destination.
No Gorilla Trekking in Angola
There is no gorilla trekking programme in Angola. The population is too small and inadequately studied to support a habituation programme. Visitors interested in gorilla trekking in southern or central Africa have two options: Uganda, which offers the $800 mountain gorilla permit and is accessible from southern African hubs via Entebbe, or Rwanda, whose Volcanoes National Park gorilla trekking permit costs $1,500. Both destinations offer mountain gorilla encounters of international quality within a well-managed visitor programme.