Kwita Izina or more commonly known as the Gorilla Naming Ceremony will be held on 24th September 2021- World Gorilla Day, where 24 endangered mountain gorillas born this year and the previous year, will be named virtually, keeping in mind the Covid-19 pandemic situation. It also marks a week of celebration in September to raise awareness for conservation, which is hosted near the town of Kinigi, at the foothills of Virunga Massif. Local students and artists come and perform for the duration of this one week, along with this there are traditional music and dance performances too. This attracts a wide range of visitors from across the country as well as dignitaries, international celebrities, and the countries president himself.
Though this is not an isolated event Kwita Izina is preceded by the Fam trip or the Familiarization trip, where Rwanda hosts 30 tour operators from the country as well as around the world to learn more about the nature reserves, promoting East Africa as a single destination.
Supported by the Private Sector Federation, Rwanda Development Board invited many international tour operators, media personalities from across the world to visit Rwanda’s key tourist and environment conservation sites from 15th to 25th September 2021. This will give the tour operators an idea of the country and will also become familiar with the tourism products and therefore sell better packages to market Rwanda to bring tourism to the country
The Rwanda development board announced the topic for this ceremony “Conservation and Sustainable Tourism — A Foundation for Future Generations.” To promote and create awareness around the world about Gorillas and carry on the legacy of Dian Fossey who started her groundbreaking work to study and protect gorillas in 1967.
It is also interesting to note that about 10 baby gorillas that are being named are in groups that the Fossey Fund monitors. The names will be chosen by front-line conservation staff, including the park rangers, trackers, and veterinarians who protect and care for these baby gorillas every day. It is important to also note that this ceremony has been done for human babies, as an age-old tradition in South Africa, and now baby gorillas will be named through the same ceremony.
Rwanda aims this year for more attention and involvement around the world, as the ceremony will be held virtually, and also hosting it on World Gorilla Day, will bring in more audience from around the world, garnering more attention to the gorillas.
“This year Rwanda is inviting the world to be a part of the ultimate celebration of life, as 24 new baby gorillas will be named at the ceremony, bringing the total number of newborn gorillas named to 328 since the start of this yearly event in 2005,” said acting chief tourism officer of RDB ( Rwanda Development Board) Ariella Kageruka.
We at Earthy Hues have great packages, which cover both gorilla trekking as well as gorilla watching, in and around Rwanda.
The trek initially starts with tourists, first landing at Kigali International Airport, in the capital city of Kigali, followed by a minimum 6 hour isolation pertaining to Covid-19 guidelines. From here starts the 4-day trip, sprawling with flora and fauna. The first will be spent touring the city as well as sightseeing in the historically beautiful city of Kigali with its own dark story to tell the next day will involve traveling from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park. The next two days will be more physically active, as we will first take you to the Volcanoes National Park Trek, and the day is mostly spent trekking the national park. As the name suggests, the national park houses a chain of dormant volcanoes making up the Virunga Massif, the mountain range home of gorillas. The last and final day will mostly focus on the main attraction of the trek, visiting the gorillas. The trek itself can sometimes take as long as 6 hours or more if the gorillas move before the park rangers locate them the next morning. Apart from the gorillas trekkers also get to witness a beautiful variety of wild animals, like hippopotamuses, okapis, antelope, warthogs, and pelicans. It is necessary to not all the personnel will be following covid protocols, and we will expect the same from you. The return journey while departing from the foothills of the Virunga mountains is a view worthy to watch. At the end of the day, we can assure you that you will take home a plethora of memories, and a vivid experience to remember for years!
To read more about our packages, as well as other great destinations click here!
Golden Monkey trekking in Rwanda is another major activity that diversified the tourism in Kigali, as Rwanda’s major attraction has been gorillas.
Explore MoreRolling hill after rolling hill covered with agri-land or tea farms that made way for dense forests, lakes, and massive volcanic mountains. One of the greenest places you will see... that's Rwanda for you!!
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