Day 3 - The habitat of King Kong

‘No one who looks into a gorilla's eyes – intelligent, gentle, vulnerable – can remain unchanged, for the gap between ape and human vanishes; we know that the gorilla still lives within us. Do gorillas also recognize this ancient connection ‘(from ‘Gentle Gorillas,Turbulent Times’ - National Geographic)

After yesterday's excesses,  I enjoy at sunrise the view from my room terrace over Lake Mutanda, located not far from Kisoro. A large idyllic lake, for a number of reasons. In the first place because of the small islands that color the lake, but especially because of the Virunga mountains that form a beautiful background. The Virungas that throw a shadow over the emerald Lake Mutanda, consist of eight large volcanoes that are mostly dormant. They are located along the border of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. 

You can admire as many as three of these volcanoes from Lake Mutanda, including the oldest of them all, the Sabyinyo. IThe vulcano is  also the border between these three countries. Given its shape, it was nicknamed ‘Teeth of an Old Man’. The top does indeed look like worn-out teeth. On the flanks of the volcano no less than three national parks are situated where the mountain gorilla can be found: Virunga NP in Congo, Volcanoes NP in Rwanda and Mgahinga NP in Uganda. The other two volcanoes in my view are the giant Muhabura and Gahinga. Amazing how this morning the clouds play a cat and mouse game with the top of the volcanoes. It makes the spectacle even more mystical.

Just outside Kisoro is the Travelers Rest Hotel located, one of the oldest hotels in Uganda. The hotel exudes calm and was built in a colonial style with a beautiful, flowery garden. But we can't really take advantage of that, because we are only here to take a quick look at the hotel and especially the ‘Virunga’ room.

The hotel was bought by Walter Baumgartel in 1955. He was the first to lead a gorilla trekking, which required a particularly long wait for permission from the British authorities in Entebbe. He is therefore also called the father of gorilla tourism. The hotel quickly became a meeting place for people with an interest in the mountain gorilla. One of them was gorilla expert Dian Fossey who said, ‘Walter's hotel was an oasis to many scientists who came here before me’. Over the years, she regularly stayed at the hotel to study, relax or exchange ideas with other like-minded people. She called the Virunga room her second home. 

Another recurring guest was George Schaller. This biologist went to the Virungas in the late 1950s, early 1960s to study gorillas by living with them. He experienced how intelligent and sweet gorillas are. Together with Dian Fossey, he tried to convince the public of the deep empathy and social intelligence among gorillas and how close their behavior is to that of humans. The general perception then was that gorillas were mainly wild and ferocious animals. Both scientists were crucial in the conservation and rescue of the gorillas. And we should be eternally grateful to them for that.