Tourist activities in Bwindi gorilla park

Bwindi gorilla park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the southwestern part of Uganda and it features a number of tourist safari activities. The national park is home to endangered mountain gorillas that are said to be closest relatives to human beings with 98% human DNA. Bwindi gorilla park has the highest population of mountain gorillas in the world and this has made it famous. The park was gazetted in 1991 and as of today, it protects mountain gorillas, 10 primates, 120 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 51 reptiles. Mountain gorilla trekking and habituation are the most done activities in Bwindi gorilla park but there are also other activities such as birding, cultural encounters, and nature walks done in the park any time of the year.

Tourist activities in Bwindi gorilla park.

Gorilla trekking: Gorilla trekking is the most done tour activity in Bwindi gorilla park done in the 4 sectors of the park. Gorilla trekking is done among 19 gorilla families of the park and the activity starts early in the morning. Gorilla trekking starts at the sector offices where wardens teach the trekkers about the rules and regulations of the trekking activity. Armed ranger guides lead the trekkers into the jungle till they meet the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking takes 2-7 hours and as soon as the trekkers locate mountain gorillas, they are given 1 hour to around these apes, watch them do daily activities, learn about their habits and take photos.

Gorilla habituation: This is a unique activity done in Bwindi gorilla park alone in the whole world. Gorilla habituation in Bwindi gorilla park involves searching for mountain gorillas and making them get used to human presence for 4 hours. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi gorilla park is done in the Rushaga sector and Nkuringo sectors between two gorilla families Bushaho and Bikingi. Gorilla habituation is done by 4 trekkers accompanied by researchers, conservationists, and armed ranger guides.

Gorilla habituation starts early in the morning at the sector offices with a briefing from the park wardens, these teach about the rules and regulations of the gorilla habituation activity and then armed ranger guides lead the trekkers throughout the whole trek. Locating mountain gorillas involves going through different trekking trails, meeting different park primates, mammals, and birds.

The gorilla habituation activity takes 2-7 hours and this depends on the nature of trekking trails as well as the speed of trekkers. When the semi habituated gorilla family is located, trekkers are given 4 hours to be around the mountain gorillas taking photos, learning about their behaviors, and watching them do daily activities such as hunting, nesting, breastfeeding, climbing, and much more. Trekkers will be taught how to make mountain gorillas get used to human presence.

chestnut-throated apalis in Bwindi Gorilla Park

Bird watching: Bird watching is one of the tourist activities done in Bwindi gorilla park. The park which is home to more than 350 bird species attracts a lot of birds most of which combine gorilla trekking with birding. The birding activities are led by armed range guides who take the birders through different birding trails most especially in Buhoma and Ruhija sectors.

Bird watching activities in Bwindi gorilla park expose birders to birds such as collared apalis, handsome francolin, Rwenzori nightjar, black bee-eater, bar-tailed trogon, chestnut-throated apalis, grey cuckoo-shrike, dwarf honeyguide, African wood owl, handsome francolin, shirt tailed warbler, western green tinkerbird, dusky twinspot, strange weaver, regal sunbird, hit hylia, strip-breasted sunbird, Rwenzori batis, blue-headed sunbird, chapin’s flycatcher, and montane oriole among others.

Batwa community visit: Batwa community visit is another exciting experience that is carried out in Bwindi gorilla park. The Batwa people were the first people to live in Bwindi gorilla park but they were evicted by the government in 1991 when they wanted to gazette Bwindi gorilla park. The Batwa people live at the margins of the park and to visit them you are led by the local guides.

A visit to the Batwa people takes you around the forest where the Batwa show you how they used some of the local herbs to cure illnesses, bows and arrows to kill small animals, and much more. You will go through different community homesteads, meet the local people do daily activities, be part of the food preparations, visit art shops, and get entertained by the traditional dancers.

 Nature walks: Nature walks in Bwindi gorilla park are the best way to explore the thick tropical forests. There are so many nature walk trails in Bwindi and some of them include Munyanga waterfall trail, ivy river walk, Rushura trail, Kashasha trail, Muzubijiro loop trail, and Kashasha trail among others. The nature walks in Bwindi gorilla park give travelers an opportunity to see some of the park mammals, primates, and birds.

Adventure lovers viewing Bwindi Forest

When to visit Bwindi gorilla park?

Bwindi gorilla park is open for tourism activities throughout the year but there are months that are better than the rest. The drier months are the best to visit this park and they occur from June to September and December to February since they are characterized by little or no rainfall. During the dry months, the trekking trails are dry, the vegetation is short with clear views of Bwindi wildlife, and the roads leading to the park are passable.

Tourists can still visit Bwindi gorilla park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November to enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities. However, during the rainy season, there is too much rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall with unclear views of park animals and the roads leading to the park are impassable.