Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the top activities that travelers engage in Uganda when they visit on their Uganda Safari Tours. Bwindi impenetrable national park is the home to half of the endangered mountain gorillas that can only be found in the park and in the virunga massif where you will find Mgahinga National Park, Virunga National Park and Volcanoes National Park where they can be found during the virunga mountains hike.
In Uganda, gorilla trekking is carried out mostly in Bwindi impenetrable national park because it has 18 habituated gorilla families which give 144 gorilla trekkers a chance to participate in gorilla trekking as compared to Mgahinga National Park where you can only trek 2 gorilla families that is Nyakagezi gorilla Family and the newly migrated Hirwa gorilla family from Volcanoes national park. Therefore visit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to have the best Gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda
Price of a permit and where to get them
A gorilla trekking permit will enable you to participate in gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park at only a fee of 600USD but come July 1st, 2020 the price will increase to 700USD. It should also be noted that with the gorilla trekking permits in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you will be assigned to a different gorilla trekking sector where you will carry out your gorilla trekking activity, therefore, you should book accommodation facilities that are close to the different sectors in the park in order not to miss out on the activity since some of the accommodation facilities are about 2 hours away from the different gorilla sectors.
Gorilla trekking in the park
After you have acquired the gorilla trekking permit for you to participate in the activity in the different sector of the park, you will present your gorilla trekking permit to the receptionist for verification who will then lead you to the guide who will take you through a briefing session of the activity in the park.
During the briefing session, you will get to know how to act during your gorilla experience in the park, the rules and regulations, the guidelines to follow when you get in contact with the gorillas and at the end, you will then embark on your journey to the different hiking trails in the park in order to get to the different gorilla families in the park and when you get to the gorilla family you will spend one hour with the gorillas observing the behavior in the park, taking pictures of the gentle giants among other amazing features that you will get to know more about them.
The activity is safe because, during your gorilla trekking experience, you are accompanied by an armed ranger who will offer protection in case of any animal attacks however this is uncommon because the guide and ranger take you on the safest routes in the park.
GORILLA TREKKING SECTORS IN BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
There are four different sectors in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where tourists can carry out gorilla trekking from these include Nkuringo, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Buhoma. The different sectors in the park have different gorilla families that tourists can access in order to participate in gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Buhoma sector: The gorilla trekking sector was the first sector that was visited by the first gorilla trekking group in Uganda and during your trekking activity in the sector, if you are lucky you can visit the Mubare Gorilla family which is was the first habituated gorilla family in Uganda. The sector will also enable you to access Queen Elizabeth National Park through the Ishasha sector where you can see the tree-climbing lions in Uganda.
Ruhija sector: Just like the Buhoma sector, tourists can also carry out gorilla trekking where you will have a chance to trek one of the three gorilla families in the sector and only 24 permits can be issued daily, therefore, it is advisable for you to book for a gorilla trekking permit in advance because the gorilla permits in the sector are sold on a first come first serve basis. In the sector, you can also participate in the Batwa trail experience where you will visit the forest people and get to know more about them.
Nkuringo sector: Located in the southern part of the park, tourists can also carry out gorilla trekking in the park where you will get the chance to have an amazing time in the park when you visit the different gorilla families in the sector and get to know more about the gorilla families in the park. One gorilla family that will interest you is the Nkuringo Gorilla family, which is the only gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park whose adult female gave birth to twins which is an unusual characteristic in gorillas because they only give birth to one infant at a time. During the gorilla trekking experience in the sector, you will come across a number of other interesting features like the numerous bird species, animal species and so on.
Rushaga sector: There are 5 gorilla families in the sector in which tourists can trek to have an amazing gorilla trekking experience in Uganda. During your gorilla trekking experience through the sector, you will be able to see the waterfalls in the park which will offer the best photographic views and after your gorilla trekking experience, you will also participate in community encounters where you will visit the local communities around the sector to know more about the culture of the people of Uganda, you will be entertained with traditional dances, they will show you the preparation of local dishes among other interesting features.
Other activities in Volcanoes National Park
Batwa trail experience: After your gorilla trekking experience in the park, you can participate in the Batwa trail experience where you will get to know more about the pygmies also known as the forest people who are believed to be one of the original inhabitants of the forests. Interesting about the group of people is the fact that they depend mainly on the forest products like how they feed on small creatures of the forests like the squirrels, ants, they also harvest honey and eat it. While you visit the Batwa people you will be taught how to hunt small creatures of the forest, how to harvest honey among other interesting activities.
Bird species: The park is a birder’s destination with over 380 bird species that can be seen during your gorilla trekking activity in the park. During your gorilla trekking experience, you will see over 100 bird species as you go through the different hiking trails in order to access the different gorilla families within the park. Therefore carry your binoculars for the added benefit of seeing a number of bird species, some of the bird species that can be seen include; Rwenzori Batis, Dusky turtle love, paradise flycatcher, double collared sunbird, marsh harrier, long-crested eagle handsome Francolin Ruwenzori turaco, common moorhen Ruwenzori nightjar, the dusky crimson wing, red-faced woodland warbler archer’s ground robin, African Rwenzori grey throated tit.
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