Volcanoes National Park's Bald Mountain Gorilla

Photo By Eric Manzi

Volcanoes National Park is located in Northwestern Rwanda. The park is one of the few protected areas with mountain gorillas. It is part of the Virunga Mountains, a chain of Volcanic Mountains along Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC border.

Volcanoes National Park has over 12 fully habituated gorilla families that are open to tourism. Among these is the Sabyinyo group with Big Ben, the Bald Mountain gorilla. Looking at the bald gorilla one might think he is the lead silverback but unfortunately note. He is the second in command though loved by all the other subordinate gorillas in the family.

Important to note that is every gorilla family is led by a dominant male gorilla called Silverback. It only gets this status after defeating all the male contenders in the family. Big Ben, stands a chance to lead if he defeats the current leader. He can alternatively break away with some females to start his own gorilla family and be the lead male.

You can visit Volcanoes National Park for a gorilla trekking adventure to see Big Ben and other gorillas present. There are several customized gorilla trekking packages from 1 day and more. The 3-day gorilla tour is the best of all the short gorilla trekking options. It features mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. In case you want more time with the gorillas you can opt for a 4-day double gorilla trek visiting gorillas two times on different days following different gorilla families.