Bwindi gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

Bwindi gorilla trekking and wildlife safari will take you to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park to encounter endangered mountain gorillas, visit the Batwa communities around the park and Queen Elizabeth national park for wildlife viewing. The safari can start from Kampala/Entebbe and end in Kigali or Kampala/Entebbe. The safari can also start from Kigali and end in Kigali given that the distance is shorter taking 4-5 hours. This safari is for those that love to see different kinds of wild animals as well as endangered mountain gorillas. On this safari, you have an opportunity to double trek mountain gorillas and in Queen Elizabeth national park you can be part of the game drives and boat cruise where you will spot a variety of park animals.

If the safari starts from Kigali, travelers can first visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and visit Queen Elizabeth national park last and if it’s from Kampala, it can start from Queen Elizabeth national park and then Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. On this safari, you will see mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and several wildlife animals both in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Queen Elizabeth national park.

Bwindi gorilla trekking and wildlife safari can be done at any time of the year and it can be organized by yourself or a trusted local tour operator. The safari requires one to have a gorilla permit first which is a ticket to allow them to encounter mountain gorillas in their natural habits. The gorilla permits can be got from a trusted local tour operator or Uganda Wildlife Authority and this should be done in advance of 3-4 months. To get the permits, you will need to get the dates of the month and year you want to travel and they will check for the availability of the permits. Once they are available, you will send the money for your permit to be booked, and thereafter you can look at other things like transportation to these places and accommodation.

Activities to do on this safari

Encountering mountain gorillas: With your gorilla permit in your name, you will be able to encounter endangered mountain gorillas in other natural habitats. Gorilla trekking can be in Buhoma which is close to Bwindi, Nkuringo, Ruhija, or Rushaga sector. The gorilla trekking activity will start with a briefing at the sector offices early in the morning. The park wardens teach rules and regulations of the trekking activity, group people not exceeding 8, and get armed ranger guides to lead the trek.

After the allocation of the mountain gorilla families, armed ranger guides communicate with the trackers to see where the mountain gorillas are s that they use the quickest routes. The search for mountain gorillas can take 2-7 hours in all park sectors and these depend on the location of the gorilla family as well as the speed of trekkers. During the search for mountain gorillas, there are opportunities of meeting different park mammals, primates, and bird watching.

The moment mountain gorillas are spotted, trekkers must be 7 meters away from them and then armed ranger guides will keep them 1 hour to be around them while keeping rules and regulations as taught by the park wardens at the briefing centre. Trekkers will have a chance to learn about their habits, take photos record videos, and watch them do daily activities such as grooming, nesting, coupling, playing, hunting, eating, breastfeeding, and much more.

Batwa community tour: This activity is optional and it can be done by travelers that love to experience the African culture. The Batwa live outside the park and it’s always a local guide who picks you up and takes you to their communities. A walk to their homes starts with a simple nature walk around the forest where you get an opportunity to know how they survived in the jungle on meat, honey, meat from small animals, and using plants as local medicine. You will move to their communities where you will visit different homesteads and interact with the members and get to know how they live their day to day life. The elderly will tell you stories of long ago, you will visit traditional healers that still use plants to cure illness, you will visit gift shops and in the end, you will be entertained by the traditional dancers.

Game viewing: Game viewing can be done in queen Elizabeth national park where travelers get an opportunity to explore several animal species. Game drives in queen Elizbeth national park are mostly done in Kasenyi where the highest number of wild animals live. For tree climbing lions, game viewing activities are done in Ishasha sector. The game drives can be done in the morning or evening and travelers will be able to see animals such as tree-climbing lions, lions, buffaloes, elephants, spotted hyena, Ugandan kob, topi, hippo, warthog, crocodile, waterbuck and leopards among others.

Boat cruise: You can enjoy the cool breeze on the waters of Kazinga channel while encountering different park animals around the shores of the lake. This can be done by taking part in boat cruise activities in the morning or evening hours. The boat cruise on Kazinga channel enables takes you around the water body for 2 hours and during this time, you will be able to encounter different water animals such as hippos and crocodiles, birds like the open-billed stork, African shoebill, African jacana, and animals such as buffaloes, elephants, lions, antelopes along the lake shores especially in the rainy season.

When to have Bwindi gorilla trekking and wildlife safari

Bwindi gorilla trekking and wildlife safari can be done all throughout the year but there are months that are better than the rest. The dry months from June to September and December to February are the best to have this safari and they are characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trekking trails and game trucks stay dry, the vegetation is short and thin with good vies of the animals, and roads accessing these parks are passable.

Travelers especially budget travelers have Bwindi gorilla trekking and wildlife safari in the rainy season to enjoy low prices on accommodation facilities. The rainy season which occurs from March to May and October to November is however characterized by too much rainfall that makes the trekking trails/game trucks muddy and slippery, vegetation is short and thin with unclear views of the park animals and the roads leading to the park are in poor conditions.

Apart from Queen Elizabeth national park, other national parks that can be combined with Bwindi impenetrable forest national park to make this safari memorable can be Lake Mburo national park in western Uganda which is home to over 68 mammal species, Murchison falls national park in northwestern Uganda which is a home to over 76 mammals and Kidepo valley national park a home to 77 mammals. The national park to combine with the Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for a gorilla and wildlife safari depends on the number of days you want your safari to happen and your travel budget.