The Democratic Republic of Congo holds the world’s oldest national park — Virunga — and is home to mountain gorilla families on the DRC side of the Virunga Massif as well as the world’s only population of Grauer’s gorillas (eastern lowland gorillas) in and around Kahuzi-Biega National Park. The mountain gorilla families in Virunga National Park share the same Virunga volcanic range as the families habituated in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The mountain gorilla population in the DRC is not a separate group — the Virunga gorillas cross the DRC-Rwanda and DRC-Uganda borders as a single interconnected metapopulation.
Security Situation — Read Before Planning
Virunga National Park has been affected by serious and sustained armed conflict in eastern DRC. The park has been closed to gorilla trekking on multiple occasions due to the presence of armed groups including M23, FDLR, and others operating in North Kivu Province. Rangers have been killed protecting the park. Visitors should check current travel advisories from their government before considering a DRC gorilla trek. The situation changes — there have been periods when trekking was possible, and periods when the entire park was closed. Planning a DRC gorilla trek requires current, verified information about park status, not information that was accurate at time of writing.
For visitors whose primary goal is to trek mountain gorillas in the Virunga range, Uganda and Rwanda offer the same species in secure, well-managed parks. The Uganda permit is $800. The Rwanda permit is $1,500. Both produce encounters of equivalent quality to DRC when DRC is accessible — the gorillas are from the same metapopulation. We can organise Uganda and Rwanda gorilla trekking with full permit and logistics support.
The Habituated Families in Virunga NP
When Virunga is open to trekking, the following habituated mountain gorilla families are assigned to visitor groups. Each family is named after its founding silverback or a characteristic of the group:
- Rugendo Family — historically significant family, among the first habituated in the DRC sector
- Humba Family — one of the larger families in the DRC Virunga sector
- Mapuwa Family — named after the dominant silverback Mapuwa
- Munyaga Family — habituated group ranging in the DRC Virunga zone
- Kabirizi Family — named after silverback Kabirizi, one of the best-documented DRC families
- Lulengo Family — ranges in the southern DRC Virunga sector
Grauer’s Gorillas — Kahuzi-Biega National Park
DRC is the only country where Grauer’s gorillas (also called eastern lowland gorillas, Gorilla beringei graueri) can be trekked. This subspecies is different from the mountain gorilla — it is the largest primate subspecies by body mass, with males reaching weights over 200 kilograms. Grauer’s gorillas live in the lowland and mid-altitude forests of eastern DRC, not on the volcanic slopes of the Virunga. Kahuzi-Biega National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Kivu Province, has two habituated groups: the Chimanuka group and the Mugaruka group. Like Virunga, Kahuzi-Biega has been severely affected by conflict and the habituated group populations have declined due to poaching and displacement. Current access must be verified before planning.
Gorilla Trekking in the Tri-Country Zone
The Virunga range creates the world’s only tri-country gorilla trekking zone — Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC all share the same mountain gorilla population. Visitors who want to trek in all three countries can do so in a single extended trip when all three parks are accessible. We organise the Uganda and Rwanda components with full logistics. DRC components require additional security assessment on a case-by-case basis.