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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park Uganda Gorilla Trekking – Uganda Gorilla Tours And Gorilla Safaris

Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting

Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting

Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting

Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting: This tour takes you to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and jinja city. The two main highlights of this safari are gorilla trekking which is done in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and then white water rafting on River Nile in jinja. This tour package is for travelers that are interested in encountering endangered mountain gorillas while at the same time love water sports activities.

The safari can be done at any time of the year but requires advance booking because of the gorilla permit. The gorilla permit should be booked 3-4 months early in advance to avoid last-minute booking disappointments, The gorilla permit on this safari will be booked by your tour operator and it costs $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of East Africa.

Summary of gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting

A Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting first takes you to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where you encounter mountain gorillas. When you arrive in the country, you will be picked up by a driver-guide whole will brief you about the whole trip and then transfer you to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The journey to Bwindi starts from Kampala/Entebbe and takes you through Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, and Kisoro for about 9-10 hours. The moment you reach the sector of the park where you are going to trek mountain gorillas from, you will check in your booked accommodation, relax, have dinner and prepare for gorilla trekking the following day.

On the second day of the Gorilla tour, you will wake up very early in the morning and have breakfast. Your safari driver will transfer you to the sector offices where you will meet other trekkers. The park wardens will check for the permits and those that have signs of transmitted diseases. Trekkers will be taught about the rules and regulations of the gorilla trekking activity and then armed ranger guides will be ready to lead them into the jungle.

Those with excess luggage will need to hire porters at an affordable fee to help carry the luggage to and from the gorilla trekking activity. The armed ranger guides lead the trek which takes 2-7 hours of meeting different park mammals, primates, and birds. The time taken to locate the mountain gorilla family depends on the location of the gorilla family as well as the speed of the trekkers.

Trekkers after finding Gorillas in Bwindi

Trekkers after finding Gorillas in Bwindi

When you are about to locate the mountain gorilla family, the rangers will ask you to lower your voices and when you get around the mountain gorilla family you must keep a distance of 7 meters away. You will be given 1 hour to be around the mountain gorilla family and this will help you to learn about their habits, take photos and watch them do daily activities such as coupling, breastfeeding, nesting, and hunting among others.

Later you will trek out of the jungle, meet your driver-guide, go collect your trekking certificate, and then head to your lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you can decide to have a nature walk with other tourists in the sector where you will explore the national park on foot. The nature walk will enable you to encounter different mammals, birds, primates, and plants. You can as well decide to be part of the group going to visit the Batwa community where you will interact with the locals, get to know how they live their day-to-day life, and get entertained by the traditional dancers.

On the third day of the safari, you will wake up to a relaxed morning breakfast and later check out of the lodge. You will meet your driver-guide ready to transfer you to Kampala. The journey from Bwindi to Kampala is long taking 9-10 hours. You will come having different stopovers at places such as Igongo cultural center where you get to know about the Ankole culture, the equator at Kayabwe, and Mpamnire where drums are made. Lunch will be served along the way. On arrival in Kampala, you will check in your booked lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

On the fourth day of this safari, you will wake up to a relaxed morning breakfast and later check out of the lodge. You will join your driver guide to transfer you to Jinja where you will pass by the source of the Nile for a boat cruise. The boat cruise will take you around the river where you will get an opportunity to see some of the water animals such as hippos, crocodiles as well as birds. You will also get to see the source of the Nile which was discovered by John Hanning Speke. Later you will check in your booked lodge and then wait for white water rafting the following day.

On the fifth day of Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting, you will wake up to a relaxed morning breakfast, meet your driver-guide and then go for white water rafting. The white water rafting activity will be done at Itanda falls and it starts with a briefing and then you get to check which grade you want to go for. There is grade 1, 2, 3, 4, and grade 5 rapids and you will choose according to your experience. The rafting can take half a day or a full day depending on what you booked. After you are done with white rafting, you will meet your driver guide who will be ready to transfer you to Kampala/Entebbe to your place of residence or Entebbe international airport for your flight back home.

When to have this safari?

A safari of Gorilla tour in Bwindi and white water rafting can be done at any time of the year however there are months that are better than the rest. The dry months are the best to have this safari and this happens from June to September and December to February. They are characterized by little or no rainfall that keeps the trekking trails dry, water levels on River Nile low, vegetation short and thin with good views of the wild animals and the roads leading to the park passable.

Travelers especially the budget travelers can have a safari of Gorilla tour combined with white water rafting in the rainy season to enjoy the huge discounts on accommodation facilities. The rainy season that happens from March to May and October to November is however characterized by little or no rainfall which keeps the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall with unclear views of the wild animals, water levers are high on River Nile and the roads leading to the park are impassable.

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