Gorilla Trekking Bwindi National Park: Gorilla trekking is an experience on which a group of people with assistance of experienced ranger guides hike through the thick forest to meet and spend a period one hour in the presence of a habituated gorilla family in their natural environment.
Gorilla trekking in Africa is done in done in several national parks/ destinations and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is arguably the best place to see the endangered mountain gorillas. Other national parks where you see mountain gorillas are Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda, Virunga National Park in DR.Congo and Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. All these three are found in the Virunga Conservation Stretching along the 8 Virunga Volcanoes.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is recognized as the place on earth to see the mountain gorillas as it hosts half of the world’s remaining population of mountain gorillas and is considered to be the biggest mountain gorilla population found in one park.
About Bwindi National Park
Bwindi National Park offers an exceptional gorilla trekking experience, the park is located in Southwestern Uganda protecting verdant ancient rainforest and stretching across the steep rides of the Albertine Rift Valley.
Bwindi National Park is a home to half of the world’s endangered population with over 600 gorilla individuals.
Bwindi National Park was first gazetted in 1942 as The Impenetrable Forest Reserve and in 1992 it was upgraded to a national park and a World Heritage Site. The park was then named Bwindi – a local Rukiga world meaning impenetrable.
Bwindi National Park covers an area of 327 square kilometers of tangled vegetation draped over a deeply fissured landscape of steep, slippery valleys and high ridges.
Bwindi National Park is divided into 4 gorilla trekking sectors where gorilla trekking is done namely Buhoma sector, Rushaga Sector, Nkuringo Sector and Ruhija Sector. Each of these 4 sectors hosts its own habituated gorilla family
Buhoma Sector
- Mubare Gorilla Family
- Habinyanja Gorilla Family
- Rushegura Gorilla Family
- Katwe Gorilla Family
- Muyambi Gorilla Family
Ruhija Sector
- Bitukura Gorilla Family
- Oruzogo Gorilla Family
- Kyaguriro Gorilla Family
- Mukiza Gorilla Family
Nkuringo sector
- Nkuringo Gorilla Family
- Bushasho Gorilla Family
Rushaga Sector
- Nshongi Gorilla Family
- Bikingi Gorilla Family
- Mishaya Gorilla Family
- Kahungye Gorilla Family
- Bweza Gorilla Family
- Busingye Gorilla Family
- Kutu Gorilla Family
- Mucunguzi Gorilla Family
- Rwigi Gorilla Family
When going for gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park, visitors are advised to be kind about the gorilla sector they are going to visit as it has to match with their booked accommodations.
Gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi National Park
On the day of gorilla trekking in Bwindi National Park, all trekkers / visitors are expected to report to the park’s headquarters at 07:00 am for briefing about the experience.
The briefing is conducted by a senior ranger who will take you through rules and regulations to follow while in the forest and in presence of mountain gorillas. You will be grouped into 8 people and be assigned a gorilla group to trek according to your fitness level and interest. With armed rangers and a guide you will head to the starting point and go into the forest looking for mountain gorillas, the trek takes about 30 minutes – 6 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas and where they spent the night, your rangers will be in communication with the trekkers who left earlier who will be informing them about the whereabouts of that specific gorilla family.
During the gorilla trek you will spot several bird species, chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys among others. When you locate the gorillas, you will be mind-blown by the huge fur covered bodies, gentle eyes which look straight into your soul and their canning resemblance to us “humans”. You are given one hour of watching the gorillas go on with their normal life, watch them play on trees, mothers grooming their young ones and silverbacks guarding the group. You are allowed to take pictures but keep in mind, flashlight photography is prohibited.
You will then head back to the park’s headquarters where you will rewarded with gorilla trekking certificate to mark this memorable and life changing experience.
What is a cost for gorilla trekking permits in Bwindi?
In Bwindi national park, a gorilla permit – an authorization which allows you to encounter mountain gorillas costs as follows
- USD 800 Per person per trek for Foreign Non Residents
- USD 700 Per person Per trek for Foreign Residents
- UGX 300,000 for East African community citizens
What are chance of seeing mountain gorillas in Bwindi national park?
Chances of seeing Mountain gorillas in Bwindi National Park 99.9%, the park has over 14 habituated gorilla families distributed in the 4 gorilla trekking sectors that is Buhoma, Nkuringo, Rushaga and Ruhija.
Since the introduction of gorilla trekking safaris in Bwindi, there has been on incident where trekkers fail to see mountain gorillas.
Rules and regulation for gorilla trekking, Bwindi national park
For a memorable gorilla experience, there are a set rules and regulations which are put in place to govern the experience and trekkers conduct themselves while in the presence of mountain gorillas. These rules are set purposely for the protection of the gorillas and the trekkers (visitors).
- Always keep your voices low while in the presence of mountain gorillas
- Do not litter rubbish in the forest
- Visitors with any sort of illness are not allowed to participate in trekking
- Stay at a distance of 7 -8 meters while the presence of mountain gorillas
- Do not eat, drink or smoke in the presence of mountain gorillas
- Do not mimic the gestures of the gorillas as you do not know what they mean and you might be inviting danger to yourself.
- When taking pictures make sure your flashlight is off as it scares the gorillas
- Always follow the advice from your guide
How to get there
Bwindi national park is located in the south – western corner of Uganda 540 kilometers from Kampala and is accessed using either road or air means of transport.
By road – it is a journey of 8 – 10 hours passing via Kabale and Kisoro, the 80 kilometers section between Kabale and Kisoro is winding, mountainous drive on murram taking at least 2 hours.
By air – charter and domestic flights are available from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi airstrip to either Kisoro or Kihihi airstrip.
