Safarilands.org

Life after gorillas in Kisoro

Michael Wakabi writes that at the height of the gorilla boom, tourists were paying $375 for a one hour encounter with the primates, earning the park $34,000 a month. Today only about $5,400 comes in, so the area is marketing its other attractions

Kisoro Town, a Stone's throw away from the confluence of the Rwanda-Congo-Uganda borders, is a former shadow of itself. Empty buildings and abandoned lodgings point to better days not so long ago.
The town's economy is reeling from the effects of mono-tourism.

Kisoro, 480 kilometres southwest of Kampala, was for 14 years following the gazettement in 1991 of the Mgahinga National Park, a thriving centre of gorilla tourism.

The town's fortunes grew and at the peak of tourism in 2004, the park recorded 33,00 visitors. Two years later, this number had dropped to just about 1,800, setting off a cycle of economic hardship for the people of Kisoro.

"We don't get as much money as we used to, but you could say the number of people visiting Mgahinga is now recovering," says community conservation warden Gertrude Namakula.

Because foreign tourists were paying $375 for a one hour encounter with the primates, Namakula says revenues to the park were in the region of $34,000 a month; today, only about $5,400 comes in.

The bad times hit, however, when gorilla tracking was suspended three years ago. Tourism all but came to a halt mid-2004, when uncharacteristically, the Nyakagezi gorillas went on an extended visit on the Rwandan side, where the same range is known as the Volcanoes National Park.

"The gorilla are still here but because of their trans-boundary nature, we no longer sell permits in advance because you can never guarantee that they will be around when visitors come," said Namakula.

This unforeseen happening has reduced tourist arrivals at Kisoro to a trickle, but life still goes on. However, life is looking up again for Kisoro as visitors discover that there is more to Mgahinga than mountain gorillas. The park management is now selling other attractions such as the colony of golden monkeys, mountain climbing and hiking that culminates in navigating the 342-metre long Garama cave along the Batwa trail.

Found at only three locations on the continent, the bamboo-eating golden monkey has replaced the unpredictable gorilla as the main attraction.

On a recent tour, as we approached their 2,800 metre-high habitat, Issa, our guide spoke into his two-way radio. "There is a 99 per cent chance that we shall see them," he told us. Minutes later, he whistled, and in the distance, we heard a similar whistle from one of the trackers who had set off ahead of tourists to locate the exact position of the monkey colony.

Signalling for silence, we scanned the forest top trying to catch a glimpse of our quarry. When it appeared, it was surprisingly small. Weighing only about five kilogrammes, the rare monkey effortlessly glides atop the bamboo stems, stopping every now and then to pluck tiny shoots out of the budding leaves.

Sitting under the thick blanket of bamboo forest, we spent an hour trying to get decent photos of the elusive creature. It was a welcome break. Although we were only 500 metres higher than the Ntebeko visitors centre, it had taken us two and half hours of laboured climbing to get to this point. It was raining hard and the volcanic "earth released all of sorts of scents.

The easier of the climb was through former farmland, recovered from cultivators after the park was netted in 1991. The views of the surrounding landscape from the different peaks are great.

Mgahinga has magnificent peaks Muhavura and the Sabyinyo. Often shrouded in clouds, Mgahinga is known for its gorges and sheer drops. On a clear day, looking north, one can see as far as Mt. Rwenzori, while the views into Rwanda and Congo extend for miles.

From June, the Batwa trail will open to visitors. The trail will trace Batwa culture, giving visitor insights into how the Batwa lived and related to the surrounding wildlife and the value they attached to the different resources found in the forest. It ends at the Garama cave, a 342 metre long vent under Mt. Muhabura.

Until the late 19th century, the Batwa used Garama cave as a council chamber and refuge from hostile neighbours. After a raid, the Batwa would retreat to the safety of this cavern that had chambers for the royal
family and living quarters for their subjects.

Lillian Nsubuga, the public relations manager of the Uganda Wildlife Au¬thority, says that, apart from the loss of money because gorilla tracking was sold at a premium, the current visitor num¬bers are good and can more than double with good product development and marketing.

"What is happening here shows the potential dangers of mono-tourism. This park and Uganda in general have a lot to offer beyond the mountain gorillas and what we are trying to do is to bring this rich heritage to the attention of potential visitors," she said.

The departure of the Nyakagezi gorillas almost sparked a diplomatic row between Rwanda and Uganda.

Despite the best efforts of conservationists to explain that Mgahinga was part of a trans-boundary conservation area that wildlife traversed at will, one legislator wanted an official protest lodged with Rwanda. Even among conservationists, the situation sometimes got desperate.

A hilarious story is told of the efforts by Mgahinga rangers to block the path as the Nyakagezi troupe made its way to Rwanda. Apparently fed up with the nosy humans, an angry male gorilla singled out an elderly ranger, violently pushing him out of the way.

Since the Nyakagezi troupe's return in July 2005, Rwanda and Uganda have agreed to share revenues if the group is tracked during its sojourn into Rwanda. But to date, the gorilla sightings have not stabilised to a point where advance tracking permit can be sold.


Copyright © 2005, Safarilands.org