Things to do in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park

Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is a UNESCO world heritage site located in southwester Uganda near Uganda-DR Congo. It is formerly a home for the Batwa people who used to stay in the forest until recently when it was reserved with the intent of reserving the endangered mountain gorillas. The park is divided into four sectors namely Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Buhoma. Each sector offering a different and unique experience

The main tour activity at the park is the mountain gorillas trekking and habituation that attracts hundreds of thousands tourist all over the world to come and meet these gentle giants in their natural habitats. Bwindi is credited with being a home to over a half of the remaining mountain gorillas. The park is one of the only four places where you can meet these great apes in their natural habitats.

Other parks where you can encounter gorillas in their natural habitats are within Virunga massif and are owned by three neighboring countries of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo and they are Mgahinga gorillas national park, volcanoes national park and Virunga national park in that order.

Beside trekking these famous great apes of east Africa, there are a lot of other tour activities that can be carried out on your visit to Bwindi national park, and we have taken time to look at some of the most famous activity that you can do on your visit to the park

Summary activities at Bwindi

1. Gorilla trekking
2. Gorilla habituation
3. Birding
4. Batwa cultural experience
5. Forest walks
6. Mountain biking
7. Buhoma community walk
8. Lake mutanda visit

Bwindi activities explained

Gorilla trekking

The most popular activity the park has to offer is the gorilla trekking. With multiple fully habituated gorilla family distributed within the four sectors that makes up the park. Hundred of people flocks to the park per day to meet these great apes in their natural habitats.

The price for the gorilla trekking permit is $800 paid to Uganda wildlife authority (UWA), the body responsible for the wildlife conservation is Uganda. The permit will also indicate which sector of the park you are supposed to trek to. Trekking on the wrong location come with a sur charge of 400 dollars which is 50% of gorilla permit value. Furthermore, a gorilla permit can only be used once and on the allocated date unless otherwise communicated before the due date of trekking

Gorilla trekking starts very early in the morning where you are assigned to the group of 8 people per gorilla family and once you encounter the gorilla, you will be given one hour to spend with these great apes in their natural habitats. Choosing the right gorilla family will greatly impact your entire trekking experience.

Remember the minimum age for gorilla trekking is 15 years of age and their is no maximum age limit for gorilla trekking.

Gorilla habituation

There is currently only one place all over the world where you can spend the whole four good hour with gorillas in their natural habitats and that is the Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The park has two gorilla families undergoing gorilla habituation process. Four tourists are allowed to join the team of expert and spend four hours with gorillas while getting to know all about the gorillas with assistance of experts and rangers.

Only four people are allowed to accompany the expert on this great adventure and there are only two gorilla family open for the habituation experience, meaning only eight gorilla permits are issued per day. Therefore, for you to be part of the lucky few. You will need to do your booking early enough to avoid being disappointed. The price of gorilla habituation permit is 1500 dollars also paid to the Uganda wildlife authority

Birding

With over 350 bird species found with the park, Bwindi national park is bird lover’s dream. Out of the 350 species recorded in the park, 23 are endemic to Albertine rift vary region while 14 species are not recorded any where else in the world. On you bird viewing mission, not forget to carry your binoculars as they will be required to spot the birds from distance. All the four sectors of the park re perfect for the bird watching experience.

The Batwa cultural experience

Not miss out on encountering the natives of the forest who used to share their life with the animal’s endemic to the forest until recently when they were evicted when the park was gazetted and became squatters at nearby area.

They will narrate you their history of how they used to make fire using small sticks, how they used to use the tree leaves for medicine and food plus how they could survive the dangerous animals they used to share the forest with. They will sing for you the sad songs. If interested, you can take part in their dancing ceremonies.

Forest walk

There are also guided walk through a properly developed trails led by the park guide and the park ranger. The guided walk will lead you to discover those small things found in the park. You will also be able to appreciates the flora and fauna of the park. The Munyanga river trail will take to the waterfalls. The trail starts either from Buhoma gate or Rushaga gate and it will last for between three to four hours.

The park has also got other trails that are perfect with different experience from one another.

Mountain biking

The mountain biking experience is best done starting from Buhoma sector. It is organised by ride 4 women community group that do rent out bicycles to the interested parties and part of the earnings is invested in the women i n the community.

Also different from different sectors arrange different mountain biking experience.

Buhoma community walk

With the assistance of the local guide, you can walk through the community of Buhoma, visiting different schools, hospitals and needy while offering the possible support to those that needs while getting to know the lifestyle of the people living in the local community.

Lake mutanda visit

After the long day of gorilla trekking, it is advisable to end the day by visiting the lake mutanda where you will experience the fresh air from the lake and enjoy the sunset at the lake. The lake has different islands that can be explored using the canoes.

With the activities listed above and many others that we have not talked about, visiting Bwindi national park will leave you with a once in lifetime experience and your stay at the park will not be forgotten

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