Short Rwanda Gorilla Safaris

Best Uganda Birding Safaris

GO UP
3-day Uganda mountain gorilla trekking safari starts in Kampala and ends at Entebbe international airport in Uganda. It involves meeting eye to-eye with the magical mountain gorillas

Bikingi Gorilla Group

Bikingi Gorilla Group

Bikingi Gorilla Group

Bikingi gorilla group / family- Gorilla trekking has turned out to be one of the most exciting tourist activities in Africa, people travel from all over the world just to have an encounter with their close relatives sharing 98% DNA with human beings, gorillas also have nose prints unique to each individual just like humans have thumbprints unique to each one of them.

Bwindi impenetrable forest national park found in the southwestern part of Uganda is one of the national parks where you can trek endangered mountain gorillas in Africa. The Park is not only home to more than half of the surviving mountain gorillas in the world but has also been dubbed as the primate capital of the world boasting 13 species of primates.

Bikingi Gorilla Group is located in Rushaga sector where gorilla habituation experience takes place. Gorilla habituation is the process of making mountain gorillas get used to human presence. Gorilla habituation is done by a group of researchers and rangers who visit a particular gorilla family on a daily basis for 2-3 years and study each individual manners and later give them names according to their characters.

When researchers and rangers think that the mountain gorilla family is ready for trekking, the family will undergo a mocking exercise whereby more people in the habituation process, and if the mocking exercise is passed then that family can be introduced for trekking. Tourists visiting the Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park have a great opportunity of joining the gorilla habituation process at a fee of $1500 and spend a maximum of 4 hours in the presence of mountain gorillas.

Bikingi gorilla family

Bikingi gorilla family can be trekked from Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, the habituation of this gorilla family stated in 2012 following the disappearance of some members of Mishaya gorilla family.

Some members of Mishaya gorilla family were found with non-habituated gorilla groups hence declares for habituation in order to monitor the former members of Mishaya gorilla group. Bikingi mountain gorilla family derives its name from the Bikingi area of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where the gorilla family was first sighted.

Bikingi gorilla family is made of 15 members and these are 1 silverback, 5 adult females, 5 infants, 2 sub-adults, and 2 juveniles. The dominating silverback of the group is called Bikingi named after this group.

Cost of gorilla trekking permits for Bikingi Gorilla Group

Mountain gorilla trekking permits cost $700 for foreign nonresidents, $600 foreign residents, and shs250,000 East African citizens per person per trek while gorilla habituation permits cost $1500 per person per trek. Gorilla trekking permits should be booked 3-4 months in advance before the actual trekking or habituation date because of high demand most especially during the dry season.

What to carry to trek Bikingi Gorilla Group

Mountain gorilla trekking is best done by people who are physically fit because gorillas live on high elevations that require one to hike so you will need to come with good waterproof hiking boots, sunscreen, garden gloves, a lot of drinking water, energy giving snacks, long-sleeved clothes, good quality camera, insect repellents, and so much more.

Best time to visit Bikingi Gorilla Group

Bikingi gorilla family of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park can be visited at any time of the year but the best time to trek this gorilla family is during the dry season which occurs from June to September and December to January. It’s during these months that the roads are accessible and the trails are dry.