Habinyanja trail in Bwindi
Habinyanja trail in Bwindi is one of the several trails found in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The national park is a UNESCO heritage site in the southwestern part of Uganda protecting endangered Bwindi mountain gorillas. Bwindi was gazetted in 1991 to protect endangered mountain gorillas from extinction and over 700 mountain gorillas now live in this park.
Gorilla trekking is the most done activity in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and it’s done alongside other park activities such as birding, butterfly watching, and hiking as well as nature walks. The nature walks in this park are done by those tourists that would love to explore the national park on foot. Numerous nature walks trails have been constructed in this park and habinyanja is one of them.
Habinyanja trail is a 4-6 hours walk trail in Buhoma sector of Bwindi which is located in the northern side of the park. The trail is one of those travelers shouldn’t miss out on because it offers some of the greatest views of Bwindi forest national park as it takes you through habinyanja swamp which harbors a number of birds, Muyanga river, habigorogoro, and riyoyi ridges shaped like the African map, and Buhoma river among others.
What to see when you use habinyanja trail in Bwindi
There are lots of things to see when you use habinyanja trail in Buhoma sector of Bwindi and these include park mammals, primates, birds, and vegetation. Tourists that use this trail get an opportunity to encounter wild animals such as elephants, buffaloes, duikers, red-tailed monkeys, pottos, blue monkeys, grey checked mangabeys, giant forest hogs, gorillas, olive baboons, and chimpanzees among others.
Bird lovers get an opportunity to encounter some of the bird species of Bwindi and these include peregrine falcon, shikra, brown snake eagle, African fish eagle, African jacana, ross turaco, olive long-tailed cuckoo, red-eyed dove, black swift, yellow bill, lesser honey guide, grey wagtail, little greenbul, western nector, cape robin chat, olive thrush, chin spot batis, banded prinia, and bronze sunbird among others.
What to pack while going for a forest walk through habinyanja trail?
Tourists that are to have forest or nature walks in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park through habinyanja trail waterproof hiking shoes, long cotton stocks, gardening gloves, long-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved pants, a rain jacket, a sweater a hat, sunscreen, a camera, a pair of binoculars, drinking water bottle, energy giving snacks, insect repellents, and a light backpack to mention but a few.
Accessing Bwindi for nature walks
Travelers that want to have nature walks done on Bwindi gorilla park or those that want to have different park activities can access Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in a day using road transport or air transport.
Accessing Bwindi for nature walks by air transport: The national park can be accessed in 1 hour and 45 minutes by flying from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Kihihi airstrip or Kisoro airstrip.
Accessing Bwindi for nature walks by road: Travelers can also access Bwindi in 4-5 hours from Kigali by driving to Uganda using Katuna border in Kabale and Cyanika birder in Kisoro to any of the park sectors they want to visit. Travelers from Kampala can access the park by driving through Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale or Kisoro to any of the park sectors and this journey takes 9-10 hours.
When to visit Bwindi for nature walks?
Travelers can visit Buhoma sector in Bwindi at any time of the year for park activities among which include nature walks but there are months that are better than the rest. Walking through habinyanja trail is best enjoyed in the dry season of June to September and December to February and this is because there is little or no rainfall in the park which makes the trail stay dry and passable, and the vegetation along the trail is short and thin with good views of the animals.
