Trekking to Spend Time with a Gorilla Family in Rwanda – Update

On August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Rwanda3 Comments

We were excited to see the gorillas of Volcanoes National Park making the news recently in very good ways. There was an interesting article from the BBC talking about how female gorillas seek out old friends, which shares some similarities to what we learned about the family that we visited during our trek. The anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America show, Robin Roberts, also visited Volcanoes National Park and trekked to spend time with the gorillas and we know for ourselves that this was an experience of a lifetime that we will never forget. Read about our experience below.

After making the over twenty-one-hour trip from Washington DC to Kigali, Rwanda, we immediately were transported to Volcanoes National Park where the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda are located. We got a few hours of sleep and then woke up early to climb into the rainforest to locate our gorilla family. We were expecting to make our way through the jungle to observe the gorillas through the trees and perhaps have the opportunity to get a little close to one or two of them. It turned out that we would spend an hour standing and walking amongst the entire gorilla family, who continuously walked in front, behind, and all around us as we spent time with them. It was truly one of the most incredible and unique experiences that we have ever had during our travels.

There are only ten families that can be visited per day and the visit is restricted to no more than one hour. Each group that gets to visit with the gorillas is also limited to eight or nine people and our group was a group of eight. That means that only eighty to ninety people per day can visit with the gorillas, which makes it an experience that is not shared by a lot of people. The family that we visited with was the Agashya family and we were told that Agashya meant “special”, which had to do with the unique circumstances that this particular family was formed. When the former Silverback, elder leader of the family, passed away, normally the females would go off to join other families. In this case, though, they stayed together and other silverbacks tried to join the family. The female gorillas were not interested in the first few suitors that tried to join the family and then finally they accepted the silverback, which the guides named Agashya due to having never seen a family of female gorillas due what this family had done.

Showing Off for Us

Our encounter started with one of the two other silverbacks that were now part of the family who had strayed away from the rest of the family with another female gorilla, which would not be tolerated by the leader when he learned about it. A silverback is simply a gorilla that has gotten old enough for the hair on his back to turn gray, typically at about thirteen years old. He beat his chest for us, making sure we knew he was our boss and then came straight towards us. Our guide had us stay perfectly still as the over 500-pound gorilla walked past us making sure to brush up against us as he passed. At this point, we knew that we were in for an amazing day.

Amongst the Gorillas

Agashya is the Name of the Head Silverback and the Family

It took another hour or so to find the rest of the family and at that point our sixty-minute visit would officially start. One of the highlights was seeing a mother gorilla with her five-month-old baby riding on her back. As we walked amongst the gorillas, taking photographs, and watching as they showed off for us and genuinely seemed as curious about us as we were of them. Several of them brushed up against us and one juvenile gorilla even slapped the men in our group as the family departed for the day. Obviously, we’re sharing some incredible photographs of our encounter, but there is no way to adequately explain what it was like to spend time with the majestic creatures.

We would definitely recommend people take the time and spend the money to see these incredible animals and help with their conservation. Be prepared, though, as the trekking can be extremely difficult as you hack your way through the jungle with machetes and climb up and down steep, muddy hills covered with dense vegetation. It was well worth the effort, but it certainly was one of the hardest things that we had done as far as hiking and trekking goes. After spending the magical hour with the Agashya Gorilla Family, we made our way out of the jungle, images still dancing through our minds. This was only part of our first full day in Rwanda and it couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. We knew at this point that it was going to be a trip that would be one of the best of our lives.

Going to Local Markets Throughout Our Travels

On March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Africa, Asia, Egypt, morocco, Rwanda, South America, VietnamLeave a comment

One of the things that we enjoy whenever we travel, is to visit markets with local vendors selling fresh foods as well as various arts and crafts. It is important to know before you go what the local customs are regarding haggling with the person selling their items as to whether the price given is not negotiable or whether there is an expectation that you will barter with them over the price that you are willing pay for the item. If you visit the market with a local guide, you are likely to get some free samples of foods as you walk through the market, which is a great way to get a taste of some items that are unique to the country that you are visiting.

We have been to many markets and bazaars during our travels, but some of the most memorable have been in locations that were more exotic. There are times when going to a market can be overwhelming due to the crowds as well as people who will try to approach you and take you through the market. Do not fall for that trap as they are trying to make money off of your purchases and do not necessarily have your best interest at heart. It is best to go with a guide if you are uncomfortable or at a minimum make sure that you do your own bartering and choose only the stalls that you are truly interested in.

Dry Goods and the Rice Paper We Needed to Cook Dinner in Hanoi

Touring a Local Market in Tangiers, Morocco – One of the most diverse markets that we visited was the one in Tangiers, Morocco. The variety of colors and smells were almost overwhelming with the spices, fresh produce, seafood, and meat that would be trimmed in front of you. You could even buy bones for soups and other parts of the animals as nothing goes to waste. Even though we didn’t buy anything, we were able to try several things as we walked through the stalls from olives to a fresh tangerine. Each owner was very proud of the items that they had to sell and were definitely keen on making sure that you knew anything you wanted about what they had on display.

Khan el-Khalili Bazaar in Old Cairo, Egypt – Visiting markets wherever you visit is certainly worthwhile, but there is something very special about the bazaars in the middle east. Khan el-Khalili Bazaar in the Old Town Center of Cairo, Egypt, also known as Old Cairo, is certainly one of them. They can be quite busy and you need to be aware of your circumstances to avoid pickpockets or those who might want to take advantage of you. In most bazaars it is usually customary to bargain over the prices and the vendors don’t take offense to it. In fact, to get the best price, you might even start to walk away before the vendor offers a lower price that seems reasonable to you. Haggling, though, does not mean offering a ridiculously low price that might be viewed as an insult.

Buying Ingredients for Our Cooking Class in Hanoi, Vietnam – We decided to take a cooking class during our trip to Hanoi, Vietnam where our chef took us to a local market to buy all of the ingredients needed for our dinner. Obviously we wouldn’t have been able to navigate the market without the help of our chef and there were plenty of ingredients that we can’t necessarily find at home. We were told that the local people of Hanoi, like in a lot of cities, go to the market every day or at least every other day in order to buy fresh ingredients for their meals.

Artisan and Craft Market in Quito, Ecuador – In order to walk to the old town quarter of Quito in Ecuador from our hotel, we had to walk through Parque El Ejido. It is a lovely park that has a nice artisan and craft market as well as plenty of open space. Located right in the city, it can be quite busy at times as families gather to have a picnic or play a game of soccer. There is also an interesting arch located in the park, simply called Arco de El Ejido with a statue of two men battling one another.

Visiting the Busy Kimironko Market in Kigali, Rwanda – We spent about a day and half in Kigali during our trip to Rwanda to trek to see gorillas and chimpanzees. Of the things that we saw while we were in Kigali was the Kimironko Market, which is the busiest market in Kigali. Like many markets, the number of vendors and the variety of products available can sometimes be overwhelming. It is often a sensory overload with all of the fragrances, colors, and people bustling through the narrow walkways. We were there with a guide, but it could have easily been visited on our own, but you do have deal with many people coming up to you and trying to get you to spend money in their particular section of the market.

This is just a random sampling of the markets that we have visited and each one was memorable in its own way. In addition to these year-round markets, visiting the holiday markets as well as the festival markets can be equally fascinating and are definitely highlights of any trip taken during one of those occasions. We often don’t actually buy anything at one of these markets, but we still walking through them to get a sense of the lives and culture of the place that we are visiting.

We Have Been Fortunate to See So Many Amazing Animals in the Wild

On February 29, 2024February 29, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, TanzaniaLeave a comment

It took going to Africa twice over a three-year span, but our trips to Eastern Africa have been among the best experiences of our lives. Between the eleven-day safari that took us to many different national parks across Kenya and Tanzania to our most recent adventure to trek to see gorillas and chimpanzees in Rwanda, it has been truly fascinating to get up-close to all of these amazing creatures. People often ask us what our favorite location or trip has been and we typically respond that it depends on the type of trip as to what was our favorite. When it comes to adventure, the trips to Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda certainly make it to the top of the list. These are just a taste of some of what we saw in Africa, but we have had some equally unique experiences in South America and in the Amazon Jungle as well.

The Big Cats of East Africa – One of the things that most people look forward to when going on safari in Eastern Africa is seeing all of the big cats like lions, leopards, and cheetahs. We certainly weren’t disappointed with our encounters as we had several that were all amazing and different in many ways. Whether watching the lion cubs at play, seeing a leopard climbing up a tree, or having a cheetah jump on the hood of our Land Cruiser, seeing these animals up close was something truly special. We saw lions at almost every park that we visited, but the leopards and cheetahs were more rare to see. We know that we were very fortunate to see the amazing variety of cats, including the caracal cat, which not everyone gets to see.

Lioness and Cub Snuggling – One of Our Favorite Photographs

Seeing Baby Animals During Our Safari – Although not all baby animals are cute and adorable, the majority of them are and we saw plenty of them during our time in Kenya and Tanzania. Knowing that the number of people going on safari during these times of COVID restrictions, it must be even more fascinating to these baby animals when they come across humans for the first time. Sometimes they were curious about our presence, but for the most part, they didn’t even seem to notice that we were there. We enjoyed not only seeing the baby animals, but also watching their interactions with the rest of their families.

Trekking to Spend Time with a Gorilla Family in Rwanda – After making the over twenty-one-hour trip from Washington DC to Kigali, Rwanda, we immediately were transported to Volcanoes National Park where the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda are located. We got a few hours of sleep and then woke up early to climb into the rainforest to locate our gorilla family. We were expecting to make our way through the jungle to observe the gorillas through the trees and perhaps have the opportunity to get a little close to one or two of them. It turned out that we would spend an hour standing and walking amongst the entire gorilla family, who continuously walked in front, behind, and all around us as we spent time with them. It was truly one of the most incredible and unique experiences that we have ever had during our travels.

The Amazing Birds of East Africa – As much as we enjoyed seeing all of the large animals in East Africa, we also saw an amazing assortment of birds. Whether the fascinating ostriches, different waterfowl like the flamingos, or other colorful birds, it was as interesting seeing all of the different birds as it was to see lions, rhinos, and giraffes. It wasn’t until we arrived back home and had time to go through all of our photographs that we realized how many different birds we were able to capture images of. We knew before we went to Tanzania and Kenya that we would see ostriches and flamingos, but the sheer number of colorful and interesting birds that we saw was almost overwhelming.

Traveling around the world offers so many wonderful opportunities to see history, immerse yourself in a different culture, or to see amazing wildlife in their natural habitats. To us, one experience isn’t necessarily better than the other, each has their own unique rewards. We are less than two weeks away from heading back to South America and visiting Columbia, which will be more of a cultural exploration. Do you have a favorite type of travel experience that makes a trip the “best trip ever”?