Musanze formally known as Ruhengeri is a city in north western Rwanda, it is approximately 94 km North west of Kigali the capital and largest city in Rwanda. Volcanoes national park is also approximately 12 kms from the city of Musanze. Most tourists visit this park for Gorilla tracking, golden monkey tracking and mountain hiking. Musanze town is also 25kms away from Kyanika border which is the main entry from Uganda to Rwanda by road, it also connects to the town of Goma in eastern Democratic republic of Congo. Musanze town is located just a few kilometers from the gorilla national parks of Bwindi and Mgahinga, its 1 hour and 30 minutes from Musanze to mgahinga gorilla national park and 2 hours from Musanze to the southern sectors of Bwindi forest national park that is Rushaga and Nkuringo.
Safari Vacations and Travel Services Ltd specializes in gorilla and wildlife safaris in Rwanda and Uganda, this means if you are in Musanze, our professional driver will pick you up from your residence in Musanze, drive you to Bwindi or Mgahinga National Parks for Gorilla Tracking in Uganda.
The main reason as to why tourists cross from Musanze Rwanda to do gorilla tracking in Uganda is the difference in gorilla permit prices in Uganda and Rwanda. In Uganda the price of a gorilla permit is $700 per person per trek, in Rwanda the price is $1500 per person per trek, this makes it cheaper and affordable to track the gorillas in Uganda. You will save $800 on each permit bought on the Uganda side, Again Uganda has more than 20 habituated gorilla families compared to Rwanda which has only ten habituated gorilla families, this gives Uganda more gorilla permits sold every day than Rwanda. remember only 8 people are allowed to track a particular gorilla family every day and because there is high demand for gorilla permits especially during the high season in the months of June, July, August, December, January and February. This high demand sometimes makes it difficult to get gorilla permits in Rwanda and hence force people to cross to Uganda since Uganda has more habituated gorilla families.
Crossing the border of Chanika is not difficult, you will need the following;
The best time to visit these parks is during the drier months of June-September and the December to February, this is when the trails in the parks are less slippery and even the vegetation is not very tall hence allowing better viewing and photography. However, gorilla tracking takes place throughout the year and its an added advantage to budget travelers who would like to visit during the wet seasons as they get discounts on accommodations due to low occupancy in the lodges around the parks.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda, June 2017 'The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a biodiverse, mountainous area in southwest Uganda. It's home to many of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, who feed on roots, leaves and fruits from the park’s many tree and fern species. Restricted numbers of viewing permits help protect the endangered gorilla families.' Google Nkuringo Family 'This group was opened up for tourism in April 2004 and it is located in Nkuringo sector in the southern part of the Park. The group has 20 members including 3 silver backs. It derives its name from the local Rukiga word for "round hill". The major reason for their habituation was the problems they created for the local communities by destroying crops and other products. Therefore the Uganda Wildlife Authority knew that once this Gorilla group is opened for tourism, the local community could directly benefit from tourism and it formed a protection for the gorillas as well. The family was led by the silverback Nkuringo who died in 2008, leaving behind 2 silverbacks in the group. In November 2008, the Nkuringo family expanded thanks to the special birth of a twin – Katungi and Muhozi – though Katungi unfortunately died at the age of 1.5 years. Other family members in the group include: Safari, Kirungi and Rafiki (Silverbacks), Bahati, Posho, Karibu and X-Mas (Blackbacks), Kwetonda, Kasotora, Mama Xmas and Samehe (Adult females), Ramutwe, Magara, Kwesima and Kuhirwa (Juvenile), Tabu, Fulaha, Muhozi and Kiiza (Infants)' http://gorillatrekking.travel/content/gorillas-families-uganda#