David's Been Here is in Musanze, Rwanda, presenting one of the world's most unforgettable and exhilarating adventures. Based out of Volcanoes National Park, you can experience the Mountain Gorilla first hand in its natural habitat unlike anywhere else in the world. Trek into the park with experienced, professional guides where you'll be able to spot, photograph and even interact with these majestic creatures. Learn exactly how to plan, book and even pay for your Gorilla Trek in this short, informative video with David's Been Here and the Rwanda Development Board. If you're planning a trip to Rwanda or have been dreaming of an exotic African getaway, a Gorilla Trek is an absolute must!
About Me: My name is David Hoffmann and for the last decade I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food and history! Since starting Davidsbeenhere in 2008, I have traveled to 71 countries and over 1,000 destinations, which I welcome you to check out on my YouTube Channel, blog and social medias.
I focus a great deal on food and historic sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, whether it’s casual Street food or gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning the local history and culture.
Hello everyone.
Right now we're in Musanze.
It's a small town in northwestern Rwanda, and right next to it is Volcanoes National
Park.
And in Volcanoes National Park, you can see the mountain gorillas.
This is the number one attraction in Rwanda, and now Amani's going to give us a few tips
about how to book your experience.
Well my name is Amani.
I work with DB, and I work in the tourism department.
Well, when people want to book for the gorillas, the first thing they have to do is to call
the office.
The numbers are on our website, www.rdb.rw.
So when they call our office, we tell them the availability, if there's still available
permits.
And then when there's still available permits, there are two ways to book.
The first way is to either, if they have their agent in Rwanda, if they're booking through
to a company, to send them to RDB to pay the 750 U.S. dollars for foreigners, and then
we give them the permits.
The second way is to pay online.
After telling them if there's available permits, they can go ahead and deposit the money on
RDB accounts, which an agent of RDB will tell them once they call the office.
So how far in advance should somebody book their trek, and what happens if they don't
show up for the day of?
Well, it depends.
In the high season, we recommend that people book as early as three months, let's say,
three months or four months, to make sure they secure their bookings.
But still, they can arrange their tickets once they're in Rwanda.
If they didn't come mainly for the gorillas, they can try and come to our office to arrange
and see if there's somebody who has cancelled the ticket, and therefore they get a chance
to trek the gorillas.
But that one, I would say that we don't recommend that because, well, at a certain time, you
might not be able to trek because that is just a chance, you know.
But three months would be better, in the high season especially.
And if you can make it as long as you think about visiting Rwanda, just book your ticket.
And what happens if somebody misses, like, they don't make it on time?
If somebody doesn't show up, let's say, at the briefing, then that means he's not going
to trek the gorillas, he's not going to visit the gorillas, and that is non-refundable
because you didn't inform on time.
If you have a problem of health or something that already we can understand, so you'll
not be refunded.
And so basically how it works is every day they have gorilla trekking, almost every day.
It's about 84 people maximum, and they go see many different groups.
We wake up, we woke up this morning at 5.45, we're in the car at 6.30, they're at 7, and
8 on the dot is, or was it 7.30, I think 7.30 is briefing.
So if you miss the briefing, if you're not there when they call your group, you absolutely
miss it and you don't get a refund.
So for me, gorilla trekking was the best experience of my life.
Coming in contact, three feet away from the babies, and then also getting brushed by a
slumber bug, incredible.
They can actually touch you.
Now, why is Rwanda the place to visit the mountain gorillas?
Well, thank you.
We've got gorillas in different countries, but then when you look at what they've got,
some countries you'll visit the gorillas and you only see one gorilla, two gorillas.
But in Rwanda you have a chance to see as many as possible.
Let's say we have groups of 40 gorillas.
We have your group, the group that you've just trekked, has 24 gorillas, silverbacks,
more than one silverback, babies, and our gorillas, we have Yelitete.
So they're used to people, they will play with you, they will tease you, they will enjoy
to be with you, which is a wonderful thing in Rwanda which you'll not find anywhere else.
So Rwanda is the best place because, first of all, the conservation is strong, gorillas
are rehabilitated, they're used to people, and then we have a chance.
We've got many, many mountain gorillas.
The only country in the world to have many mountain gorillas.
There's three countries that border this national park.
It's Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda, and here they have the most.
Amani, thank you.
You're welcome.
