Attractions in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

Attractions in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park lies in the southwestern part of Uganda in Kisoro district. The park is a 321 sq. km piece of land covered with thick vegetated cover. Bwindi was gazetted in 1993 as a national park to protect different attractions that were in the park at the time. Mountain gorillas that were coming to extinction at the time were the main reason why the park was gazetted.

The impenetrable forest of Bwindi National Park is home to 120 mammals, 11 primates, 350 bird species, and 200 butterfly species to mention but a few. Mountain gorillas are the main attractions in Bwindi followed by birds. Tourists who visit this great national park get to see the different attractions of the park by taking part in different tourism activities organized there.

Attractions in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

Mountain gorillas in Bwindi

Mountain gorillas are the major attractions in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. These apes said to be close relatives to human beings are the main reason as to why thousands of tourists visit the park. They live in different sectors of the park and tourists can see them in Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija, and Buhoma.

Gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation are the best ways tourists can encounter mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The activities start with a briefing at different sector headquarters to enable tourists to know the rules and regulations of the activity. Armed ranger guides lead them trekkers in the jungle where they search for where the mountain gorillas could.

The search goes through different trekking trails for 2 to 5 hours and once a mountain gorilla family is spotted armed ranger guides allow trekkers to be around them members for 1 hour if it’s a fully habituated gorilla family and 4 hours if it’s a family going through the habituation process. Trekkers take pictures, record videos, and get an opportunity to watch these apes carry out daily activities.

Bird species in Bwindi

350 bird species are said to be living in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park with over 23 being Albertine rift species. The park is one of the best birding destinations in Uganda attracting thousands of birders from across the group. Bird watching is one of the top activities within Bwindi and it’s the best way tourists can see more than half of the recorded bird species there.

Birds of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park include Shelly’s cromsonwing, archer robin chat, grauer’s broadbill, lagden’s bush shrike, dusky crimson wing, regal sunbird, Willard’s sooty boubou, black bee-eater, doherty’s bushshrike, black billed turaco, African wood owl, kivu ground thrush, montane oriole, strange weaver, short-tailed warbler, brown capped weaver, collared apalis, and strange weaver among others.

Animals

The impenetrable forest of Bwindi is not only home to mountain gorillas but also to other primates and mammals. These animals do live in the forest and trekkers usually meet them during gorilla trekking activities. Nature walks within the park are the best way tourists can see the wild animals that live in the jungle

Animals of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park include giant forest hogs, forest elephants, side-stripped jackals, l’hoest’s monkeys, chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkey, and olive baboons to mention but a few.

Batwa

Even though the Batwa no longer live inside the impenetrable forest of Bwindi they are an attraction in the park. because of their history, tourists who visit Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park usually want to interact with these people to see how they used to live in the jungle and how they are now surviving outside the park. Batwa are good traditional dancers who entertain tourists through dance and drama during visits.

Best time to explore the attractions of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park

June to September and December to February are the best times to visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and see the different attractions found there. During these months there is little or no rainfall which favors most of the park activities. The trekking/walking trails are dry and passable which allows tourists to access most of the park areas.

Still, in the dry season, the vegetation is short and scattered which allows tourists to have a clear view of the wildlife within the jungle as well as other attractions. The roads leading to Bwindi are in good condition and passable due to little rainfall though on sunny days tourists may experience some dust.

Travelers can still visit Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park to see the attractions there in the rainy season. March to May and October to November is not a perfect time to visit the park and this is because of the plenty of rainfall and little sunshine during that period. The trekking trails are muddy and slippery making trekking and nature walks difficult. Vegetation is also tall with unclear views of some attractions.

Getting to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is situated in Kisoro district in the southwestern part of Uganda. This national park is either accessed by road transport or air transport. By air transport, there are flights from Entebbe/Kajjansi to Kisoro airstrip for tourists visiting Rushaga, and Nkuringo sectors while flights to Kihihi are for those visiting Buhoma and Ruhija sectors in the north of the park.

By road transport accessing Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park depends on where one is coming from. From Kigali to bwindi tourists cross to Uganda via Katuna or Cyanika border and later connect to Kisoro or Kabale to the park. From Entebbe/Kampala tourist go through Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantondde, Mbarara, Rukungiri, Kabale or Kisoro to the park