A Gorilla Adventure in Impenetrable Forest

A Gorilla Adventure in Impenetrable Forest: Several tourists are so inquisitive about what makes Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park special! Well, this is home to the highest number of mountain gorillas in the whole world. The thick impenetrable forest gazetted in 1992 harbors the highest number of mountain gorillas, most of which are habituated and open for tourist visits.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park hosts mountain gorillas in four of its sectors namely Rushaga, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Buhoma. Several mountain gorilla families have been habituated in these sectors, and tourists are welcome for visits. Rushaga is popular for currently hosting a mountain gorilla family still going through habituation, and this can be visited by four trekkers on a day.

Trek into the heart of Bwindi would take you to the impenetrable rainforest to search for the mountain gorillas. This comes with an opportunity of meeting several attractions in the forest, among which include primates, mammals, birds, water sources, and unique vegetation cover, to mention but a few.

Mountain gorilla trekking in the forest of Bwindi

Mountain gorilla trekking is the most popular activity in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It’s currently done in four sectors of the park, namely Rushaga, Buhoma, Ruhija, and Nkuringo. Different mountain gorilla families have been habituated in these sectors, and tourists are able to visit all of them every day.

Mountain gorilla trekking starts early in the morning with trekkers gathering at the sector headquarters for a briefing from the park rangers. This enables the trekkers to know the rules and regulations of the activity for their safety and that of the mountain gorillas in the wild. Groups of about 8 people are formed, and armed ranger guides are assigned to lead them into the jungle.

Trekkers who have access to luggage are able to hire porters at a fee to help them while in the jungle. Trekkers are driven to the starting point of the trekking of the gorilla family to be trekked. Here they are left to head in the jungle with armed ranger guides who help in tracing where the mountain gorillas could be.

Inside the jungle, different trekking trails are used to search for the mountain gorillas, and these come with opportunities of meeting several forest attractions, including mammals, primates, and birds. After hours of searching for the mountain gorillas, a habituated family is finally located, and tourists get to spend 1 hour around the members.

Around the mountain gorillas, tourists get an opportunity to learn about their habits, which enables them to know if these apes are really close relatives to human beings. Trekkers are allowed to take photos and videos of the mountain gorillas for future memories. Mountain gorillas may be spotted carrying out activities like nesting, hunting, breastfeeding, hunting and playing, to name a few.

Trekkers carrying out mountain gorilla habituation, while around mountain gorillas will get four hours doing activities that make these mountain gorillas get used to human presence. Trekkers will be joined by a team of professionals while doing this activity for the safety of the mountain gorillas and the trekkers themselves.

How much does it cost to trek the mountain gorillas of Bwindi

To visit the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and have a great time with the mountain gorillas, tourists need to have gorilla permits. Trekking permits are used by those who want to be around the mountain gorillas for 1 hour while habituation permits are used by those who want to be with mountain gorillas for 4 hours making them used to human presence around them.

Gorilla trekking permits cost $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 for the Rest of Africa, and UGX180,000 for citizens of East African member states. Gorilla trekking permits do work in all four sectors of the park, as these have fully habituated mountain gorillas. Habituation permits cost $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX750,000 for citizens of East African member states.

Tourists need to know that there are only four gorilla habituation permits in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park for now, and only four people can use them. We advise tourists who are interested in activities like habituation to book their permits 6 to 12 months in advance to avoid last-minute booking disappointments.

Where to stay while in Bwindi

While on a safari in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, tourists have a lot of accommodation options to stay at. Where to stay always depends on someone’s budget as these lodges range from budget to mid-range to luxury options. Tourists need to stay in accommodation facilities near the trekking sectors to avoid inconveniences on the day of trekking.

The lodges in Bwindi include Nkuringo Bwindi Lodge, Bwindi Lodge, Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bakiga Lodge, Ride 4 a Woman, Bweza Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, Kaara Mountain View Lodge, Engagi Lodge, Burungu Gorilla Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Lodge, Lake Mutanda Resort, and Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge to mention but a few.

Getting to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park can be accessed from Entebbe using road transport or air transport, while coming from Kigali everyone uses road transport. From Kigali international airport, the journey is short as tourists take 3 to 4 hours to reach the park using the Katuna or Kyanika borders to cross to Uganda.

From Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, it takes 9 to 10 hours using road transport. Tourists go through Kampala, Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Sanga, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, or Kisoro to any of the park sectors. By air, there are flights to Kihihi Airstrip for those visiting the northern sector of the park and Kisoro Airstrip for those visiting the southern sector of the park.