Gorilla filming in Bwindi
Gorilla filming in Bwindi: is an activity that involves people taking videos of gorillas while in their natural habitats doing their daily activities. Travelers intending to do gorilla filming should look at visiting Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The gorilla park is found in the southwestern part of Uganda and covers a total area of 331 sq. km. Bwindi is the best national park to visit when it comes to gorilla filming because it has got over 19 fully habituated mountain gorillas and 2 semi-habituated gorilla families.
With over 21 mountain gorilla families, travelers can choose any of the families they to film. It can be a fully habituated mountain gorilla family for 1 hour or semi-habituated gorilla families for 4 hours. To see a fully habituated mountain gorilla family you need a gorilla trekking permit and for a semi-habituated gorilla family you need a gorilla habituation permit and all these together with a filming permit.
Film Gorillas in Bwindi forest
Cost of gorilla filming in Bwindi
To film mountain gorillas in Bwindi, you need permission from Uganda Wildlife Authority. Gorilla filming requires one to have a filming permit and this is sold by UWA at a fee of $4200 per group. The filming permit fee excludes the gorilla trekking permit fee. Those going for filming gorilla safari must pay gorilla permit fees separately and even if the filming crew is less than 8 people the crew must pay gorilla permits for the remaining people in the group.
Normal gorilla trekking permits in Bwindi cost $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 for citizens of East Africa. Gorilla habituation permits cost $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East Africa. Travelers going for filming gorillas in Bwindi should look at booking habituation permits because they come with 4 hours around mountain gorillas which are enough for one to capture the best videos.
What does it take to do gorilla filming in Bwindi?
To do gorilla filming in Bwindi, you need a gorilla trekking or habituation permit and you need a gorilla filming permit. Apart from permits, you need media cards from the Media Center and you need your filming equipment cleared at Entebbe international airport. Travelers going for filing in Bwindi must pay $1000 to Uganda Wildlife Authority before filming and this money shall be refunded back only if you give them a copy of what you filmed at the end of the experience.
Book a gorilla filming safari in Bwindi with a local tour operator.
We can only advise travelers intending to film gorillas in Bwindi to use a local tour operator as much as they can book the gorilla permits and gorilla filming permits themselves. Africa adventure vacations limited is one of the local tour operators that can help you book and have a memorable gorilla filming safari in Bwindi.
To book with us, you will have to contact us via email with the dates of the month and year you want to encounter and film mountain gorilla and we shall use this information to first check for the availability of gorilla permits with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Once the gorilla permits and gorilla filming permits are available, we shall send you an email letting you know and the email will also contain the different banking details and how much all will cost. You will send money and we shall secure permits first since they tend to sell out quickly.
After securing the gorilla permits and gorilla filming permits, we shall go ahead and contact the Uganda Media Center for a media card which is to allow you to do filming in the country. We shall as well help you clear your filming equipment at Entebbe international airport on arrival.
Best time to have gorilla filming in Bwindi
Gorilla filming in Bwindi can be done throughout the year but the dry season is the best time to have this done. The dry season occurs from June to September and December to February and these months are the best for gorilla filming because they are characterized by little or no rainfall which can’t destroy the filming equipment. During the dry season, the trekking rails are dry and less slippery, the vegetation is short and scattered with the best views of the animals and the roads going to the park are in good condition.
Filming in Bwindi can still be done in the rainy season of March to May and October to November and those who will do so will enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities. The rainy season is however characterized by too much rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of the park animals while the roads connecting to the park are impassable.
Have an African treat at Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
Where to stay on a gorilla filming safari in Bwindi
Travelers visiting Bwindi gorilla park for filming shouldn’t worry about where they will stay because the tour operators will always book for them accommodation based on their travel budget. There are several accommodation facilities enough for travelers to Bwindi in all park sectors and these range from budget to mid-range to luxury options.
Some of the accommodation facilities in Bwindi include Engagi Lodge, Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, Lake Kitandara camp, Bwindi Forest Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Broadbill Forest Camp, Agandi Lodge, Chameleon Hill Lodge, Cuckoo Land Tented Lodge, Haven Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, and Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge among others.
How to access Bwindi for gorilla filming
Bwindi can be accessed for a filming safari by air transport or road transport. The national park can be accessed within 1 hour and 45 minutes by using chartered flights. Flights to Bwindi are operated by Fly Uganda, Aerolink Uganda, and Bar Aviation Uganda on specific days of the week. To fly to Bwindi, you will need to book your seats earlier in advance. Flights start from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe international airport and land at Kisoro airstrip for those visiting the southern part of the park and Ruhija region. Those visiting Buhoma region, use Kihihi airstrip because it is the one near the region.
Travelers can still access Bwindi gorilla park using road transport from Kigali or Kampala/Entebbe. From Kigali to Bwindi can take 4-5 hours of going through Katuna border in Kabale or Cyanika border in Kisoro to any of the sectors of the park. From Kampala, it takes 9-10 hours and the drive takes you through Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, and Kisoro to any of the sectors of the park.
