Gorilla Filming Tour is a lifetime experience same as gorilla tracking if you have acquired all the necessary documentation. Gorilla filming can be done in all the gorilla parks Bwindi forest national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda volcanoes national park in Rwanda and lastly Virunga national park in Congo. Gorilla filming is more detailed than the usual capture of the short video clips recorded while on gorilla tracking experience.
Mountain gorillas are endangered species with a population of more 1000 individuals surviving in the whole world. Making proper records and filming about gorillas is not only good for raising awareness but also promotes conservation activities. The first conservation awareness of the gorillas was popularized by Dian Fossey in her book “gorillas in the Mist” and since then, more documentaries about the gorillas have come up. The late Dian fossey dedicated most of her time studying and researching about mountain gorillas until she brought them on the international scene.
Uganda is the best destination for gorilla filming because of the two gorilla parks and over 70% of the gorilla population in both Bwindi forest national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park with several habituated gorilla families situated at four different tracking sectors, Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, Nkuringo and two habituated gorilla families in Mgahinga.
Gorilla filming permits
To book a gorilla filming tour, you will have to secure all the 8 gorilla permits meant for a day’s habituated gorilla family. It does not matter how many people will be going on the filming adventure. Then after paying for all the eight gorilla permits, you will pay the filming fees. Gorilla permits usually sell-out in advance about 4 months to time, so you should always secure your gorilla permit early enough. A gorilla permit in Uganda costs usd 700, usd 1500 in Rwanda and usd 450 in the Democratic republic of Congo.
All filming fees will be charged 40% including 10% of monitoring fees while filming with the drone will be charged 50% of the activity fees
In Uganda the gorilla filming permit costs usd 4200 per group of not more than 5 individuals, the cost also includes application fee and also a refundable deposit fee of usd 1000 when you submit a copy to Uganda wild life authority after the gorilla filming tour.
Where as in Rwanda gorilla filming permit cost usd 5000 and usd 2000 which is refunded back when you submit a copy of the gorilla film to Rwanda Development board.
The total cost of the gorilla filming fees included park entry fees, security in the park and any other mentioned supplements, you will however need to hire porters at an extra small fee to help with carrying the equipment and bags.
Gorilla filming is limited to a maximum of one hour with the gorillas to get all the captions, Video and observing the behavior of the gorillas in their natural wild as they play with their young ones, feed and sun bathe, alternatively you could spend 4 hours for Gorilla habituation experience. Trekking to see the gorillas depends on how far they have moved in search of food and usually will take 1-6 hours or less.
Just like any other gorilla tour , with gorilla filming you are also abided to follow the rules and regulations imposed, among them include;
- Gorilla filming is limited to only persons above 16 years old
- Maintain 7 meters away from the gorillas
- Don’t litter the park with rubbish, keep it together and dispose to designated dust bins
- Smoking, drinking and eating is prohibited in the presence of the gorillas
- Flash photography and sound is prohibited, adjust the gadget setting to silence before you start filming
- Keep close in the company of your group
- Don’t plan for a gorilla filming safari if you are sick. In case you want to sneeze or cough cover your face and turn away from the gorillas, as they can catch coughs and colds from humans
- wear your face mask at all times while with the gorillas
Where to obtain gorilla filming permits
Gorilla filming permits are issued by Uganda wildlife authority in Uganda and Rwanda development board for Rwanda. Besides that, the responsible organs also issue out gorilla tracking permits as well as Gorilla habituation permits. The gorilla permits can be obtained directly from the reservation office at Uganda wild life authority and Rwanda development board for the respective countries or through a trusted tour operator who goes an extra mile to organize the whole tour experience including transport and accommodation.
Are you planning to make a documentary about Mountain Gorillas?
Though an individual can easily record their gorilla adventure using their camera, journalists, media houses or filming crew needs much more to make a smart film shooting. Apart from the normal gorilla tracking tour where a group of 8 people enter the forest and spend one how with the gorillas, just taking photography, there is gorilla filming adventure which will help take good documentary with the gorillas.
Gorilla filming tour requires a media card which is issued out by Uganda media council, you also need inspection of the filming equipment. The media card cost usd 175 and can obtained with 3 working days. The media card is valid for 30 days.
As a must the filming crew will require to obtain travel visa before arrival from the respective countries, alternatively the visa can also be issued on arrival at the airport.
Packing for a gorilla filming tour
Gorilla filming involves trekking through thick forest, rugged terrain same as gorilla tracking therefore, you need preparedness to enjoy the adventure, while planning for a filming tour you ought to think about the necessities to pack and these include; sturdy hiking boots and stockings, garden gloves, rechargeable extra camera batteries, water proof jackets or rain coats, long pair of trouser and shirts, a handy small back pack, bottle water, video cameras and lighting, insect repellent, face masks and hand sanitizers among others.
Conclusively, Bwindi forest national park offers the most ideal gorilla filming tour having about 30 habituated gorilla families gives the crew room to choose among a gorilla family of their choice to film, it’s also cost effective and affordable in terms of the gorilla filming permits compared to the neighbor Rwanda.
The filming adventure is however not only for fun but on the other it helps to create awareness and sensitization of the masses about the existence of the endangered large primate species which is one of the conservation mechanisms.
