Spend four hours with gorillas in Bwindi

How to spend four hours with gorillas in Bwindi? Besides spending one hour with mountain gorillas in the thick forests of Bwindi, travelers can now spend four hours with the semi habituated gorillas in the same park. The gorilla habituation experience is one of its kind only found in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda covering 331 sq. km of tropical rainforest.

The four-hour gorilla trek in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park gives travelers an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas for four hours. This opportunity is not available in other national parks such as Virunga, volcanoes, and Mgahinga where mountain gorillas do live. The four-hour gorilla trek is only done in Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors among Bikingi and Bushaho gorilla families.

Booking a safari to spend four hours with gorillas in Bwindi

Africa Adventure Vacations is one of the local tour operators that can help you book a safari to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park to spend four hours with the mountain gorillas. What you need to do is send us an email containing the days of the month and year you want to travel and using these days we shall help you to book the gorilla habituation permit first and then accommodation and transport can follow.

After telling us the days you want to travel, we do check for the availability of the habituation permits with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and once the permits are available we send you an email containing banking details. When you send money, we go ahead and book the permit for you. After booking the permits, next is the accommodation of your choice based on your budget and transport.

Spending four hours with gorillas in Bwindi

On the day of gorilla habituation, the trekkers will wake up early in for morning breakfast at their hotel and then meet the driver guide to transfer them to the briefing park sector offices. The park wardens do teach the trekkers about the rules and regulations of the habituation activity and then group the trekkers not exceeding 4.

Each of the groups is led by armed ranger guides together with the researchers and conservationists. These take them through different trekking trails with opportunities of meeting different park mammals, birds, and primates. The gorilla habituation activity takes 2-7 hours and once the semi habituated gorilla family has been allocated, trekkers are given four hours to be around these apes, watch them do daily activities, take photos and learn about their habits. During the gorilla habituation activity, trekkers are taught how to make mountain gorillas get used to human presence.

Take a shot of these magnificent creatures in Bwindi

How much is spending four hours with mountain gorillas in Bwindi?

To spend four hours with the gorillas of Bwindi you just need a gorilla habituation permit that is issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Each gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and ugshs750,000 East African citizens. Bwindi has only 8 gorilla habituation permits meaning that you should book your permits from any trusted local tour operator or Uganda Wildlife Authority in advance of 3-4 months to avoid inconveniences.

What is the best time to visit Bwindi and spend four hours with mountain gorillas?

Travelers can visit Bwindi and spend four hours with the gorillas at any time of the year however there are months that are better than the rest. the dry months happening from June to September and December to February are the best to visit Bwindi and spend four hours with gorillas because they are characterized by little or no rainfall, the vegetation is short with clear views of the animals, the trekking trails are dry and the roads leading to the park are passable.

Travelers can still visit Bwindi and spend four hours with gorillas in the rainy season of March to May and October to November so as to benefit from huge discounts on accommodation facilities. Travelers should however know that in times of rainy seasons, there is plenty of rainfall in the park and this makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall with unclear views of gorillas and photography while the roads leading to the park are impassable.

Nkuringo Gorilla Safari Lodge

Accommodation on gorilla habituation safari

Accommodation in Rushaga sector: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Bwindi Jungle Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, Nsongi Camp, Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Resort, and Wagtail Eco Safari Lodge.

Accommodation in Nkuringo sector: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Bwindi Backpackers Lodge, Mutanda Eco Community Centre, Nshongi Camp, Crested Crane Bwindi Hotel, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, and Virunga Campsite

Accessing Bwindi to spend four hours with gorillas

Travelers intending to visit Bwindi and spend four hours with mountain gorillas have so many ways they can access Bwindi in the southwestern part of Uganda. The park can be accessed using air transport or road transport in just a single day. Travelers can access Bwindi for gorilla habituation using air transport from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip. Aero Link Uganda organizes flights from Entebbe international airport daily to Kihihi airstrip and Kisoro airstrip where you can connect to the park within a few minutes.

Travelers can access Bwindi for gorilla habituation from Kampala/Entebbe via Masaka – Mbarara and finally Kabale town where they will branch off to Rushaga or Nkuringo sectors of the park. Travelers in Rwanda can drive to the Uganda Rwanda birders at Cyanika and Katuna and access Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for habituation in 4 hours. Using road transport to Bwindi for a gorilla safari takes a lot of time but there are always stunning views on the roadside as well as stopovers.