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GHE Christmas Camp: Free of Charge & Full of Action!
Hello, ladies/gents, girls/boys!!! After an epic registration process Gorilla Highlands Experts (GHE) is back in the biggest possible way, inviting you to:What? GHE Christmas CampWhere? Cyuza Island, Lake Burera, RwandaWhen? 21-23 December 2022For Whom? 15-30 Year-OldsCost? zero, zilch or nothingOh yes, all you will have to do is get yourself to Musanze Town on 21/12…
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They Come To See Animals, They Leave Thinking About African Life
(We thought our audience could find it interesting, so we translated the article by Aljaž Vrabec published on 30 November 2022 in Slovenia’s Delo newspaper) Nature preservation, respectful treatment of local people and tourism do not always go hand in hand. Thankfully, there do exist travellers and tour providers who care. One of them is…
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Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Lake Bunyonyi
We previously talked about Rwamahano, as an example of Batwa “Pygmy” groups we work with. These indigenous people originate from some of the oldest humans in Africa. They once lived in forests looking for fruits and honey, and hunted with bows and arrows, trained dogs by their side. Towards the end of the 20th century…
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Can Primate Parachuters Be Responsible Tourists?
If our goal is to make travel in the Gorilla Highlands region more responsible, what do we do with Primate Parachuters?The Primate Parachuter (PP) shall be a provisional term for a tourist who is only interested in seeing mountain gorillas, and maybe chimps. For many PPs, time in Rwanda/Uganda is severely limited, usually because this…
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Meet Allen, Our Guest Happiness and Reservations Specialist
Wanna know who is arranging Gorilla Highlands bookings these days, and taking care of clients?I’m Allen Arinda and I grew up in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, so I am a mingle of East Africa! As you can see from the photo I’m an elderly person, all of 20 years old, and I study in Kigali.I chose Tourism and Hospitality as my…
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Do You Know How You Can Visit All the Countries of Our Region at the Same Time?
Mt Sabinyo (or, as our Rwandan brothers call it, Sabyinyo) is the answer! Its highest peak proudly stands at 3,669m/12,037ft, lies in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo at the same time, and is absolutely the preferred volcano for hiking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. We have previously presented Mt Gahinga and Mt Muhabura with ample…
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Have You Heard?! We Won a Global Responsible Tourism Award!
Gorilla Highlands was among the winners at the 2022 WTM Responsible Tourism Awards celebrated in London on Monday. We took the global “Contributing to Cultural Heritage” category and also won gold in the “Rest of the World” competition. After a decade of revealing natural and cultural landscapes of our region to discerning travellers, we were…
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Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Echuya Forest
This week we accompanied the last group of tourists into the wilderness of Echuya Forest and to the famed ritual tree of the Batwa “Pygmies”. From now on we are going to be charged USD 30 per person to enter this nature reserve, and we are simply not ready to pay this exorbitant fee. We…
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Is Tracking Gorillas Ethical?
105mm, f/3.2, 1/400s, ISO1600 Questions like this are tricky, mainly because only one of the parties involved — that would be us, the humans — can truly understand what’s happening and why. Let us explain …Mountain gorillas were almost extinct by the early 1980s, and only a concerted conservation effort brought them back from the…
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Honestly, It’s Been an Insane Six Months!
Have you noticed us going quiet? Have you explained that away with a simple, “the pandemic is over and they must be very busy”? You were right. Or did you maybe think, “Probably there isn’t much new to report”? Well, you were correct again! The last few months have seen Gorilla Highlands Ltd (our travel…
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Which GHE Project Will You Pick?
Gorilla Highlands Experts now exists for real! 10.5 years after the Gorilla Highlands idea was born in southwestern Uganda — as a humble project by Edirisa — we finally have two proper entities:• Gorilla Highlands Limited as a tour company (this one has been in existence for a couple of years and is the current only…
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Hey You, Ready to Start Shaping Our Region?
Friendly greetings from the guy who needs your energy, brains and presence. I’m back with exciting news!Hopefully, you and your loved ones are doing great? You might be curious about how far along we are with GHE Hubs, the physical and virtual spaces to bring together youngsters from Rwanda, Uganda and Congo? We will get…
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We Know What We Are (Finally)
• “Gorilla Highlands” is a tour company specialising in tailor-made offers in Rwanda, western Uganda and eastern Congo • “Gorilla Highlands Experts” is the non-profit wing engaged in tourism and non-tourism projects that boost peace, security and economic/social development of our region • these adjustments are a result of 4 years of considerations, introduced for the sake…
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New Chapter Begins: The Hubs Project
Gorilla Highlands Experts know that wildlife can only thrive if the human populations around national parks prosper as well — and we feel it’s high time we do something beyond responsible tourism. But what could best boost peace, security, economic and social development in the Gorilla Highlands region? Well, we have one big idea to…
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SABA Episode #16 – Wow! The Masisi Virtual Experience …
First Miha’s photos hit me. The beauty of the place was quite breathtaking. There is a certain aura about the Masisi territory and it absolutely did not look like I had imagined Congo. I had some quick glances of some very green pictures before my co-host left Uganda but I never found the time to…
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SABA Episode #15 — Bad Things White People Do in Africa (And How to Repent)
The goal of this episode, according to Kahiri and Miha, was to make the shortest podcast so far, and listening to the action-packed 13 minutes above we certainly managed! But it definitely wasn’t our goal to end up with the most delayed SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA ever. I will take the blame because of —…
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SABA Episode #14 — Rwanda Beyond Mountain Gorillas
Hello everyone! This is your favourite mini-blogger, Enyanja! My dad asked me to write something to support Episode #14 of the SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA podcast that talks about Rwanda beyond gorillas. (Now, this has really turned into a family business! Haha! My 14-year-old brother, Maani, is usually the person who approves the final edit…
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SABA Episode #13 — Rwenzori Trekking & Uganda’s Interventions in Congo (Plus John Hunwick’s Crazy Stories)
John Hunwick truly has a story to tell! During the first hour of our Zoom call all participants pretty much just listened to his African adventures … Hearing it all is indeed the benefit of joining us live on Tuesdays (7pm Rwandan/8pm Ugandan time) during live sessions that feed SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA — as…
News & Stories Blog
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