Lion tracking vs mountain gorilla trekking : Uganda is known for famously having the highest population of mountain gorillas in the world and in the recent years the country has also been known for having a rare species of lions, the tree climbing lions.
The tree climbing lions are found in the ishasha sector in queen Elizabeth national park. These rare lions have become a popular attraction as many people will want to visit queen Elizabeth to have a glance at these peculiar lions.
Its because of that growing demand that people keep wondering, between mountain gorilla trekking and lion tracking which adventure is better or if they had to drop one; which should they drop on any given safari?.
Answering this is not easy, but we will surely try our best to find the suitable answer.
First and fore most we never want to see you or any traveller forced to drop an activity for any reason. It’s not cool and we don’t want to see it happen to our clients. So we hope you are never in that position where you have to drop one activity for the to other.
That said, these two experiences are totally different and each gives you a unique adventure in it’s own right; so really we cany compare them.
But to help you understand the experiences best we are going to breakdown for you what each experience is and everything about it.
Lion tracking
We start with lion tracking because its relatively new compared to mountain gorilla trekking.
Lion tracking is the activity that involves using a tracker to find tree climbing lions and when you find them you spend sometime viewing them as they rest on the tree branches or climb the trees. This is a guided activity so a tracking guide will go with you and specifically operate the tracker to seek out the lions as you watch on.
Like any other game drive you will be in the game drive car as all this happens . This whole experience will take a about 2 to 3 hours of your time especially If the lions are near you and not in trees so far away from you. You will watch them take pictures, enjoy the surrounding flora, birds etc..
After viewing the lions you can head back to your accommodation or continue on the game drive to see other animals in the park.
It’s that simple, the guide will do all the heavy lifting and your job is just to view the lions.
Mountain gorilla trekking
This trekking on the other hand is a real involvement adventure. It’s also a guided experience. You are led into the forest by a mountain gorilla trekking ranger who will guide you to the gorillas are. He/she will also ensure you trek up and down the mountainous forest safely and that you adhere to the rules of Gorilla trekking as you trek.
The experience takes most of your day which is different from lion tracking. Here you also trek the forest your self instead of staying in a car and watching as is the case with lion tracking.
Mountain gorilla trekking therefore is the process of trekking the forest to find the famous apes the mountain gorillas.
The trek takes about 6 to 8 hours and the time of viewing the gorillas is strictly one hour.
When viewing the gorillas your in close proximity with the gorillas only a 7 meter distance between you and them.
So you have the opportunity to admire and study them up close. In lion tracking however you have to be quite far from the lions.
After the one hour of viewing the gorillas you will slope down the forest back to your accommodation or your next stop.
You realise since you are doing the trekking yourself, you get experience the forest personally seeing the different tree species, the birds, butterflies as you enjoy the mountain terrains, it’s a unique experience all together.