AFREECA ECLECTIC
HELICOPTER TRIP TO VIRUNGA MOUTAINS - 5 days / 4 nights ITINERARY
DAY 1: ENTEBBE - VIRUNGA N.P.
DAY 2: VIRUNGA N.P.
DAY 3: VIRUNGA N. P. - KAHUZI N. P.
DAY 6: KAHUZI N. P. - TCHEGERA I.
DAY 5: TCHEGERA I. - ENTEBBE HELICOPTER TRIP TO VIRUNGA MOUNTAINS
This exclusive helicopter trip will allow you to discover one of the pearls of the African continent: the Congo with its Virunga national park where the majestic Gorilla of mountains and the Kahuzi national park live where we will meet the lowland Gorilla.
FIRST DAY “ENTEBBE - VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK”
Our journey will depart from Entebbe, a city in Uganda located on the northern coast of Lake Victoria, about 30km from the capital Kampala.
Meeting with our pilot and guide, who will accompany us on this fantastic helicopter trip among the beauties of the congo to discover its protagonists: the Gorilla.
Helicopter departure for the Virunga National Park with destination Mikelo lodge. Located in the heart of the Virunga forest, the Mikeno lodge, besides being the first born, boasts exclusive luxury, which takes into account the environment in which it immersed; the experience that you will get will be unique, a total immersion in wild and still uncontaminated nature.
Its position is also strategic, being close to the most famous attractions: the Mountain Gorillas, the Chimpanzees, the Lowland Gorillas, the active volcano Nyiragongo and the Senkwekwe, center of reception of the small orphaned gorillas.
Accommodation at the lodge and lunch
Afternoon panoramic flight over the Volcanoes Virunga with Emmanuel de Merode, famous anthropologist and conservationist for years director of Virunga National Park.
Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay VIRUNGA
The Virunga is a mountain range of 8 volcanoes, two of which are active (Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo) that runs between the borders of three countries: Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, of which they settled in Virunga National Park.
VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK
The Virunga National Park, the oldest park in Africa, built in 1925 at the behest of the Belgian king Albert First, is home to incredibly diverse ecosystems: from rainforests to primordial forests. An immaculate habitat so rich in biodiversity.
SECOND DAY “VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK (MOUNTAIN GORILLA)”
After breakfast early departure on foot looking for the Mountain Gorilla.
We are meeting these Good Giants, a unique and memorable experience.
Lunch break
Visiting the Senkwekwe center in the afternoon.
This Centre built in 2008 was born as an orphanage for small gorillas, and in addition to providing them with accommodation, it also worked to reintegration into the wild. The day will end with a scenic sunset flight over the crater of the Nyamuragira volcano.
Return to the Lodge for dinner and overnight stay THE MOUNTAIN GORILLA
The gorillas fully deserve the nickname "king of the forest" because, in addition to their imposing size and unquestionable strength, they also have high intelligence.
The two species existing today live in equatorial Africa, separated by about 900km of the forest from the Congo Basin: this is the western gorilla and the eastern gorilla. They play a crucial role in local biodiversity, moving through vast territories and helping, for example, the spread and germination of the trees of the fruits they eat. After chimpanzees and bonobos, the gorillas are our closest relatives.
Gorillas are massive animals with broad chest and shoulders, large hands, forearms much shorter than the upper arm. The face is black and hairless, with small eyes close together and large prominent nostrils. They are predominantly vegetarian and devote almost half the day to eating: bamboo shoots and a variety of fruits, supplementing with barks and invertebrates.
Of the few hundreds of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) left in the world, more than half of them live in the forests that cover the Virunga Mountains in central Africa. The forests in which these primates survive extend between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: an area plagued by war and conflicts that have unfortunately also involved gorillas. Now, however, numerous projects are underway to guarantee the survival of the gorillas, and it seems that their number is finally recovering slightly. But the most severe threats - poaching and habitat loss - have not yet subsided..
The mountain gorillas have the longest and most short hairs compared to their lowland cousins, and they tend to be slightly larger.
They can climb trees but generally live on the ground in a community of about thirty individuals, organized in a complex social structure. The groups guided by a dominant adult male, called "silverback," due to the silver coloring that characterizes the back, also includes more male males, some females and their offspring.
The dominant mountain male gorilla gets their silvery hair on the back at about 13 years, when they reach adulthood. The authoritative male is guiding the movements of the group in the forest, within an area that is on average 2 to 4 kilometers of leafy nests. Those who challenge the commander must prepare to undergo an impressive amount of physical power: the "silverback," standing erect, beating their big chest, emitting profound verses and sprawling roars. But despite these performances and high physical strength, gorillas, if they are not disturbed, are usually calm and non-aggressive creatures.
The dense forests of central and western Africa guarantee the gorillas all the necessary food and meet the needs of their vegetarian diet: they feed on roots, fruit, sprouts, bark and tree pulp. The females only have one baby at the end of a gestation period of almost nine months. Unlike their parents, newborns are tiny and only able to cling to the back of the mother. The young remain attached to the mother's back until two or three years old.
The young gorillas - from 3 to 6 years - behave not very differently from their human peers: they spend their time playing, climbing, chasing each other and rocking among the branches.
THIRD DAY “VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK - KAHUZI NATIONAL PARK”
Breakfast then early departure by helicopter to Kahuzi-Bierga National Park at the search for Grauer gorilla also known as lowland gorilla.
Lunch break
In the afternoon, a helicopter ride to Nyiragongo.
Accommodation at the volcano shelter where you will stay overnight.
Dinner and overnight stay NYIRAGONGO REFUGE
Located on the edge of the crater of the Nyiragongo volcano, this alpine refuge is made up of eight wooden chalets perfectly integrated into the lava landscape that surrounds them, like in a blacksmith's workshop.
KAHUZI-BIERGA NATIONAL PARK
Declared a UNESCO heritage site, this park is the only remaining sanctuary for Grauer's Gorilla, an endangered species that found its natural habitat in these places.
GRAUER GORILLA
The Grauer Gorilla is the largest of the four gorilla subspecies and differentiated by its thicker and more massive body, its decidedly shorter snout and the size of its hands. So as for the mountain gorillas, their number has soared in the last twenty years, the leading cause of the poaching, their hands are embalmed and used as ashtrays of the Asian populations, as well as the cohabitation with the beings made difficult by cultural and social factors
FOURTH DAY “KAHUZI NATIONAL PARK - TCHEGERA ISLAND”
Early morning helicopter transfer to Tchegera Island on Lake Kivu.
Accommodation at the camp and breakfast.
Morning view at the Lwiro primate center.
The afternoon is dedicated to relaxation and aquatic activities.
Dinner and sleep.
LAKE KIVU Located on the border between Congo and Rwanda, it is the sixth largest lake in Africa; surrounded by a landscape of extraordinary beauty with the soaring Virunga chains, the lush tea and coffee plantations, the banana plantations that cover the slopes of these imposing volcanoes with its crystalline and white waters, offer a paradise on earth ... A place almost enchanted where it will not be challenging to find the right relax.
FIFTH DAY “TCHEGERA ISLAND - ENTEBBE”
Breakfast and departure to Entebbe International airport transfer
“Air, in Africa, has a hidden meaning in Europe: full of apparitions and mirages, and, in a sense, the true stage of every event”
Karen Blixen
Our Afreeca is a space without borders, limits, and barriers. And only "going elsewhere and beyond" that man puts himself to the test, and life reveals to him what he did not yet know. An experiential laboratory of adventures and challenges for everyone, skilled and less skilled where the journey is an enabler in overcoming their limits.
Alberto, Jean-Pierre, Silvia
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