Gorilla trekking fitness in Bwindi
Gorilla trekking fitness in Bwindi: Lots of travelers intending to visit Bwindi for gorilla trekking always ask about the level of fitness needed to complete a gorilla trek. For any trekkers to complete gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park, there is a certain level of fitness that is required and therefore travelers intending to visit Bwindi national park shouldn’t take this for granted. Failure to be it enough can break your legs and you end up having a bad gorilla trekking experience.
Most travelers are fighting to secure themselves a gorilla trekking permit and then book tickets to bring them to Uganda. But it shouldn’t be in that order, if a traveler gets a gorilla permit it’s very good because they are assured of gorilla trekking that day but the next thing they should look at should the fitness. They should try to exercise as much as they can before arriving in the country for the amazing gorilla trekking activity.
A lot of travelers plan gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi national park so many months before the actual trekking day. We believe that there is always enough time for one to carry out exercises and be fit enough on the day of trekking. Exercises can be done from back home by skipping ropes, going to the gym, running around your area, and even trying to hike a gill if there is any in your area.
Gorilla trekking fitness in Bwindi national park is very important for so many reasons which include keeping the same pace of moving with your fellow trekkers, being able to go through steep slopes and rugged terrain as well as being able to complete the hike without too much difficulty. The nature of the trails is at times not friendly especially in the rainy season because the trails are made muddy and slippery by the heavy rain pours.
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is not a mountainous area but there are sectors that have hills such as Rwamunyonyi hill in Ruhija sector. The trekking activity in Bwindi national park takes you to high elevations especially in the dry season when there is little food for the mountain gorillas. The mountain gorillas move to high elevations in the park during the dry seasons in search of food.
The good thing with mountain gorilla trekking is that the trekkers are guided by armed ranger guides through well-designed trekking trails until they spot the mountain gorilla family. If the mountain gorilla family is not so close to the trail then they will have to get off the trail and move through the vegetation and be around mountain gorillas while keeping the rules and regulations like 7 meters away from the apes.
Trek Gorillas in their natural habitat
The travelers who exercise enough have the best gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi national park and this is because they are fit enough for the activity even though it takes them to high altitudes. They might get tired but they are never tired like those who didn’t exercise at all. For the elder people who can’t exercise but they would love to trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi, don’t see people saying gorilla trekking is difficult and fail to come because there are sedan chairs in the park for the elderly. The porters carry you throughout the whole gorilla trekking activity but at a fee.
Gorilla trekking requires one to be physically fit but this shouldn’t discourage those that are not. They can try to exercise the little they can and if they don’t get the time they can still visit the park because am sure they will always complete the hike. We have never seen a person fail to complete hiking because of fitness. This is because the trekkers are allocated the mountain gorilla families to trek early in the morning at the briefing center.
Grouping is done according to fitness, and age, and the fact that the trackers are first in the jungle, they communicate with the park wardens where each mountain gorilla family is and then you get grouped accordingly. The trekkers who are seen as not physically fit are allocated mountain gorilla families easy to trek and those are those that are located near the starting points.
When to visit Bwindi
The best time to visit Bwindi national park has always been the dry season from June to September and December to February and this is because the months are characterized by little or no rainfall which makes the trekking trails dry and passable, the vegetation is short and thin with great views of the mountain gorillas and the roads connecting to the park are passable.
Travelers that are visiting Bwindi in the rainy season of March to May and October to November can still do so to enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities. The rainy season is characterized by too much rainfall which makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is short and thin with great views of the mountain gorillas and the roads leading to the park are in poor conditions.
