Is Bwindi a top spot for gorilla trekking in Africa?

Is Bwindi a top spot for gorilla trekking in Africa:The best place to trek mountain gorillas in Africa is undoubtedly Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The national park was gazetted in 1991 to protect the remaining species of mountain gorillas that were in the region. Bwindi gorilla park comprises of thick tropical rain forest where these mountain gorillas find food and comfortable homes.

Bwindi gorilla park has got the best infrastructure in form of roads connecting to the different sectors of the park – Nkuringo, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Buhoma. The only species of gorillas found in Bwindi gorilla park are the mountain gorillas and these are said to be having 98% human DNA. The other place in Africa where mountain gorillas can be seen is the Virunga conservation area and this includes Mgahinga national park of Uganda, Virunga national park of DR Congo, and Volcanoes national park of Rwanda.

There are a lot of things that make Bwindi a top spot for mountain gorilla trekking in Africa. The first reason as to why Bwindi is a top spot for gorilla trekking in Africa is that the park hosts the highest number of mountain gorillas across the world. Bwindi gorilla park is home to more than 650 mountain gorillas and these do live in the thick tropical forest of different sectors of the park.

With all these mountain gorillas, there are 100% chances of meeting mountain gorilla families when trekking. There has never been a day when the trekkers missed locating the gorilla family because they are all over the park. The trekking time in Bwindi takes 2-7 hours because of the size of the park and this time depends on the location and movement of the gorilla group and the speed of the trekkers.

Bwindi is a top spot for gorilla trekking because it has a variety of mountain gorilla families to choose from for trekking activities. The national park has the highest number of mountain gorilla families habituated in the whole world. There are over 19 mountain gorilla families fully habituated in Bwindi and these live in different regions of the park. Rushaga sector has the highest number of gorilla families which are 7, Nkuringo sector has 3, Buhoma sector has 5 among which include Mubare the oldest gorilla family, and Ruhija has 4.

Bwindi is a top spot for gorilla trekking in Africa because it has gorilla families open for habituation. Bwindi is the only place in Africa where a traveler can do gorilla habituation in the whole world. The gorilla habituation experience is open all throughout the year in the park for those that would love to spend more time with mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. There are only 2 mountain gorilla families Bikingi and Bushaho open for habituation experience in the southern sector of the park.

Bwindi has the highest number of gorilla permits. The national park is a top spot for gorilla trekking in Africa because of the number of gorilla permits. The national park has over 19 mountain gorilla families and each gorilla group is trekked by a maximum of 8 people which brings the total number of gorilla trekking permits in the park 152 every day. Travelers will always find the permits available for trekking although it’s advised to book in advance to avoid last minute booking disappointments. There are 8 gorilla habituation permits in the park for the 2 semi habituated gorilla families.

Gorilla trekking permits for Bwindi are cheaper. Yes, Bwindi is a top spot for gorilla trekking in Bwindi because the permits are cheaper compared to those of Rwanda which go for $1500 per person per trek. Bwindi gorilla trekking permits do cost $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of East Africa. With $1500, you can be part of gorilla habituation in Bwindi and encounter mountain gorillas for 4 hours which is better than visiting volcanoes national park Rwanda to trek the same gorillas for 1 hour.

Encounter the Giants of the Ape family tein their natural habitat Bwindi

Bwindi gorilla trekking is not tiresome and this is another reason as to why the park is a top spot for hiking in Africa. To trek mountain gorillas, it’s said you need to be physically fit because the activity takes you to high altitudes searching for the gorilla family assigned but this is not the case for Bwindi gorilla park. Bwindi gorilla park is not a mountainous area like Mgahinga national park, volcanoes national park, and Virunga national park where mountain gorillas live on the slopes of Virunga mountains. The national park is just hilly and so you don’t need to be physically fit because you will still make it.

Bwindi gorilla park is safe making t a top spot for gorilla trekking in Africa. Unlike parks like Virunga of DR Congo where rebels are still believed to be staying in the thick forest, this is not the case in Bwindi national park. The national park is very safe for trekking activities because you will never hear wars in this park for Uganda is a safe country. There are armed ranger guides that lead the trekkers through different trekking trails in the jungle and these do protect trekkers from animals that could be dangerous.

Bwindi gorilla park has a variety of accommodation facilities where travelers can stay while on a safari. The national park has 4 sectors and each sector has accommodation facilities that range from budget to mid-range to luxury options. Some of the lodges in Bwindi include Buhoma Lodge, Engagi Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge, Ruhija Community Rest Camp, and Gorilla Heights Lodge among others.

Best time to go. Bwindi is one of the parks that can be visited throughout the year for all park activities. The national park has dry season and rainy season but the dry season is the best to visit the park. The dry season occurs from June to September and December to February and is characterized by little or no rainfall that leaves the trekking trails dry, less muddy, and passable, the vegetation is short and thin with clear views of the mountain gorillas and the roads connecting to different sectors of the park are in good condition.

Travelers most especially the budget ones can trek Bwindi gorillas 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 too much rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall and thick giving unclear views of the gorillas and the roads leading to the park are in a bad state.