Short gorilla safaris to Bwindi

Short gorilla safaris to Bwindi are designed for travelers that have a short time in Uganda but would really love to encounter mountain gorillas before leaving the country. Mountain gorillas are endangered species of primates and therefore every traveler would love to encounter them if they step into the country. In Uganda, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is found in the western part of the country in Kabale, Kanungu, and Kisoro districts covering a total area of 331 sq. km.

Africa Adventure Vacations has professional consultants that are good at organizing for you short safaris to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The short gorilla safaris to Bwindi can range from 1 day to 5 days depending on how long you will be in the country. Short gorilla safaris to Bwindi can begin from Kampala or Kigali if you are using Kigali international airport.

Short gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi give you an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas in doing their daily activities and the activity can be combined with other minor activities such as birding, nature walks, and a community visits to the Batwa pygmies.  If you have little time in Uganda and your main goal is to encounter mountain gorillas then you can contact us and we organize a safari for you.

Short gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi can be luxury where you sleep in the best lodges and fly to the park or they can be mid-range or budget where you travel using road transport to the park and then sleep in budget or mid-range accommodation facilities. Travelers can have these short gorilla trekking safaris in Bwindi at any time of the year but the best time is the dry season when there is little or no rainfall in the park.

Things to do on a short gorilla safari to Bwindi

Gorilla trekking: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi is done in a single day and trekkers are able to locate the mountain gorilla family assigned in 2-7 hours. The search for a mountain gorilla family in Bwindi is led by armed ranger guides who know the best routes to use to locate a gorilla family. Each family is trekked by 8 people and when it’s spotted, all are supposed to keep a distance of 7 meters away from the group members while keeping other rules and regulations.

Gorilla trekking gives tourists an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas for 1 hour and during this time, they are able to learn about their habits, take photos and watch them do daily activities which include nesting, coupling, playing, hunting, breastfeeding, and much more. During gorilla trekking, trekkers are able to encounter different part attractions which include animals, birds, plants, and water sources among others.

Birding: Birding is one of the activities that can be combined with gorilla trekking on a short gorilla safari to Bwindi. The activity is guided by professional armed ranger guides who know something about the birds and these do lead birders through the best birding trails in the park. There are over 350 bird species in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and good birds are able to encounter most of them.

Birds to look out for in Bwindi do include black kite, northern pin tail, cattle egret, little grebe, African hobby, African hawk eagle, ross turaco, barred long-tailed cuckoo, red-eyed dove, yellow bill, black swift, great blue turaco, black bee-eater, speckled tinker bird, African pitta, olive woodpecker, grassland pipit, rock martin, forest robin, fire crested alethe, and yellow-throated wagtail among others.

Batwa community visit: During your short gorilla tours to Bwindi, you can ask your tour operator or the people at the lodge where you to organize for you a tour to the Batwa communities. The Batwa are known to be the initial dwellers of Bwindi who lived alongside wild animals in the forest. These people were evicted out of the park in 1991 to protect mountain gorillas from extinction and they decided to settle around the park boundaries.

Travelers who are interested in meeting these short people are able to do so when they visit the park. They are led by the Batwa guides to their communities where they visit different homesteads and interact with people, tourists are able to be part of food preparation and taste local food. The Batwa women are good entertainers who will take you through dances and drama.

Hiking and nature walks: During your short gorilla safaris to Bwindi, nature walks are some of the activities you can combine with the gorilla trekking to enable you to explore more of the park on foot. Nature walks take you to different areas of the park where you meet different park attractions. During the nature walks, one is able to encounter animals such as chimpanzees, buffaloes, elephants, duikers, giant forest hogs, olive baboons, monkeys, bushpigs, several bird species, water sources, and plants among others.

Accessing Bwindi for short gorilla tours

Travelers that are in Kigali can access different sectors of Bwindi within 4-5 hours by simply using Katuna border in Kabale and Cyanika border in Kisoro to cross to Uganda. From the border, one can head to Kisoro or Kabale and access any of the park sectors. Tourists that are in Entebbe or Kampala can access bwindi in 9-10 hours using road transport through Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kisoro or Kanungu district.

Luxury travelers on a short gorilla safaris to Bwindi can access the park using air transport. Different airline companies in the country organized flights to different national parks among which include Bwindi. Aerolink Uganda and bar aviation Uganda are some of the companies with daily flights to Bwindi. Flights start from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe international airport to Kisoro airstrip or Kihihi airstrip in 1 hour and 45 minutes.