
Booking a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is of the places in the world where mountain gorillas do live. The mountain gorillas of Bwindi live in the thick impenetrable forest that covers a total area of 231 sq.km. Tourists can go gorilla trekking in this park that has over 23 mountain gorilla families open for tourists visits every day.
Gorilla trekking safari are best done in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park because of the so many mountain gorilla families. All travelers that are above the age of 15 years are allowed to go see these mountain gorillas in their natural habitats as long as they have a gorilla permit. Below we look at how tourists can book the gorilla safaris to the famous Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Booking a gorilla trekking safari to Bwindi
Tourists who are interested in having a gorilla safari to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park can book easily using a local tour company and some can still book everything by themselves. Booking with a local tour operator is very simple, and safe compared to when one wants to book everything by themselves.
There are so many tour operators in Uganda and tourists only have the task of looking for the best they can work with. The best tour operators are licensed by Uganda Tourism Board and members of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators. Africa Adventure Vacations is one of the tour operators in Uganda that can help tourists to have successful gorilla trekking safaris.
When one gets a good local tour operator, they can send them the travel dates, number of people traveling, things they would love to buy, and maybe the travel budget. A good tour operator will be able to respond on time with the best itinerary and a good price. If you are okay with the price, you will have to sign a contract and later send a deposit or full payment for the safari to be confirmed.
For tourists that wish to book themselves a gorilla trekking safari to Bwindi, it’s not a simple task as it might come with challenges. Foreign residents and non foreign residents require a license local tour operator to get gorilla permits from Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Tourists can book the lodges directly by themselves, they can also book safari cars by themselves and those that can drive can do so to different destinations in the country including Bwindi a home for mountain gorillas. Tourists who book safaris in the country they are not leaving in usually get issues of dealing with fraudsters. For a very successful and well organized safari, tourists are advised to book through tour operators.
The gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi
A gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi will gives tourists an opportunity to visit mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. On the day of gorilla trekking tourists wake up very early in the morning and drive to different sector headquarters based on the trekking permit. Here all trekkers of the day gather for a briefing from the rangers who teach the rules and regulations of trekking.
After the briefing is done, trekkers are grouped not exceeding 8 people and are given armed ranger guides to lead them in the jungle. The trekkers and guides drive to the starting point of the trekking and head into the jungle to look for where the mountain gorillas could be. Different trekking trails are used to locate the mountain gorillas.
Tourists in Bwindi take 2 to 4 hours to locate the mountain gorillas and in those hours they get an opportunity of meeting some of the park attractions like the mammals, primates, and birds. The moment the mountain gorilla family is spotted, tourists are given 1 hour to be around the members and this allows them to watch the apes carry out daily activities, learn about the habits, and take photos.
Once tourists are done with their one hour around the mountain gorillas they are asked to move away from the members and let them continue with their daily activities. While leaving the jungle, trekkers are able to meet different forest attractions among which include forest elephants, side stripped jackals, giant forest hogs, monkeys, and birds to mention but a few.
Best time to have a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi
The best time to have a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi is during the dry season period from June to September and December to February. These months have little rainfall and plenty of sunshine which favors most of the park activities. During this period, the trekking trails are dry and easier to walk through, vegetation is short with good views of mountain gorillas and roads to the park are in good state.
Tourists can still go gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park during the rainy season but they should know that there is plenty of rainfall and little sunshine. March to May and October to November are the times when the trekkers will find the trekking trails muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall with unclear views of gorillas and roads to the park are in poor state.
Getting to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Bwindi impenetrable Forest National Park is located in the southern part of Uganda in Kisoro district. The park can be accessed by bot road transport and air transport in a single day. Tourists can access the park by air using Kihihi and Kisoro airstrips from Kajjansi and Entebbe International Airport. The flights are by Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda.
By road transport, tourists can drive from Kigali which takes only 3 to 4 hours, or Entebbe which is the longest taking 9 to 10 hours. From Kigali, tourists reach Uganda by using Katuna or Kyanika borders to different sectors of the park. From Entebbe, tourists pass via Kampala, Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Kabale, Ntungamo, Kabale, or Kisoro to the park.