Winter break gorilla holidays to Bwindi

Africa Adventure Vacations is the best local tour company to use when it comes to organizing winter break gorilla holidays to Bwindi. Every December to February most of the countries in the northern hemisphere experience winter and most of families can’t stay in the cold so they decide to leave their country and go on holiday to other countries.

Travelers that love to encounter mountain gorillas can decide to visit Bwindi in Uganda which is home to the highest number of mountain gorillas in the whole world.  A visit to Bwindi will give travelers an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas that are said to be sharing 98% DNA with human beings. A safari to Bwindi will enable you to have a chance of encountering any of the 21 mountain gorilla families that are in the park.

Travelers coming to visit Bwindi for winter break gorilla safaris should know that gorilla trekking in Bwindi can be done in four park regions which are Nkuringo, Ruhija, Rushaga and Buhoma. Gorilla habituation is done in Rushaga and Nkuringo regions only and only 8 gorilla habituation permits are available every day.

Encounter mountain gorillas on holidays to Bwindi

Booking winter break holidays to Bwindi

December to February is a high season in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park because it’s when the park receives the highest number of mountain gorillas. before looking at the whole booking process, travelers are advised to book their holidays early in advance of 304 months because that’s when the chances of getting gorilla permits are still available. If you fail to get a gorilla permit there is no way you can have a gorilla safari in Bwindi during winter break holidays.

Travelers can book the winter break Gorillas safaris to Bwindi by themselves or use a trusted local tour operator. Using a local tour operator is the best way to organize winter break holidays to Bwindi because they do save you from booking gorilla permits, car hire service providers, and accommodation.

Africa adventure vacations is a local tour operator in Uganda that does help travelers to organize gorilla safaris in Bwindi. To book with us, it’s better you do so early in advance of 3-4 months because that is when the permits are still plenty. You will contact us via email that should contain the number of people on the safari, activities, and the travel budget. We shall use this information to total how much the safari can cost and send it via email with the itinerary attached. If you are cool with our price, we shall work with you to have a winter break holiday memorable in Bwindi.

When to book your winter break holidays to Bwindi?

Countries in the northern hemisphere experience winter from December to February and this happens to be a high peak season in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. It’s during this time that a lot of travelers are visiting the national park for mountain gorillas trekking. Being a high season, travelers wanting to have gorilla trekking safaris in winter are advised to book their safaris earlier in advance of 3-4 months.

Book safaris 3-4 months earlier in advance enables travelers to have a good preparation for their safari. Early booking also comes with high chances of finding gorilla permits still available. Being a season when most travelers are intending to travel, gorilla permits sell out quickly and they are sold on a first come first serve basis.

Price of gorilla permits for winter break holidays to Bwindi

The price of gorilla permits for Bwindi impenetrable forest national park never chances no matter the season. Uganda Wildlife Authority sells gorilla trekking permits at a fee of $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of East Africa. Travelers that want to habituate mountain gorillas can get permits at $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of east Africa.

Travelers intending to visit Bwindi during winter break gorilla safaris should note that gorilla permits sell out quickly and therefore should think about buying them 3-4 months earlier in advance to avoid last-minute booking disappointments. Bwindi has only 160 gorilla permits per day which is few compared to the number of people that want to trek gorillas and therefore hurry to book these permits.

Encounter Bwindi gorillas in winter break holiday

When it’s winter in the northern hemisphere countries, it’s dry season in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. There is little or no rainfall in the park which makes the trekking trails stay. Trekking might take longer because mountain gorillas stay at high elevations looking for what to eat and animals are clearly seen the fact that the vegetation is short.

The trekking day starts early in the morning with taking breakfast at the lodge and later your driver guide transfers you to the sector offices where trekkers gather. Here park wardens teach the dos and don’ts of the gorilla trekking activity, group trekkers, and allocate mountain gorilla families. Armed ranger guides are given groups to lead the jungle and protect from dangerous wild animals.

The search for mountain gorillas goes through different trekking trails with the opportunities of meeting different animals, birds, and vegetation. To locate a mountain gorilla family can take 2-7 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family as well as the speed of trekkers. When the mountain gorilla family is spotted, warned ranger guides go around it for a maximum of 1 hour and this gives chances of seeing them do daily activities, learn about their habits and take photos.

packing for winter break gorillas to Bwindi

What to pack for winter break gorilla holidays to Bwindi?

Some of the items to pack for your winter break gorilla safaris to Bwindi include, long-sleeved pants, long-sleeved shirts, waterproof hiking shoes, long cotton stocks, a pair of gaiters, gardening gloves, a light backpack, a rain jacket, a sweater, insect repellents, facemask, sanitizer, camera, a pair of binoculars, energy giving snacks, and drinking water bottle.

Getting to Bwindi

Travelers can get to Bwindi in just a single day using road transport from Kigali or Kampala and air transport from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip. From Kigali, it takes 4-5 hours to access any of the sectors of Bwindi by crossing to Uganda using Katuna birder in Kabale or Cyanika birder in Kisoro. Travelers from Kampala take 9-10 hours passing via Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kisoro to any of the gorilla trekking sectors.

The quickest way to access Bwindi is using chattered flights and these are of Aerolink Uganda or Bar Aviation Uganda. The flights take 1 hour and 45 minutes from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Kisoro airstrip for those visiting Nkuringo, Ruhija, and Rushaga regions while those visiting Buhoma region use Kihihi airstrip.