Bwindi gorilla trekking from Canada
Bwindi gorilla trekking from Canada: Are you from Canada and you would love to trek mountain gorillas? Well Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in the southern part of Uganda is the best place to go. The park was gazetted in 1993 to protect mountain gorillas and apparently it harbors the highest population. These mountain gorillas do live in the four different sectors of Bwindi namely Rushaga, Nkuringo, Buhoma and Ruhija.
Tourists from Canada can go gorilla trekking in Bwindi where they have a chance to trek any of the mountain gorilla families with the most affordable gorilla trekking permit. Most of the mountain gorillas with in this park have been habituated and used to human presence around them. On a gorilla trekking safari from Canada, trekkers will get 4 hours around the mountain gorillas.
The gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi
Tourists in Bwindi impenetrable Forest National Park from Canada will need to wake up very early in the morning to go for gorilla trekking. The activity starts with a briefing from the rangers about the rules and regulations of the activity before grouping the trekkers not exceeding 8 people. Armed ranger guides are assigned to each group to lead them into the jungle where they search for where the mountain gorilla family could be.
Trekkers and armed ranger guides are driven to the starting point of the trek and left to go into the jungle. They use different trekking trails to search for the mountain gorilla family and as they search they are able to meet some of the forest attractions such as mammals, primates, birds, and rare vegetation covers.
To locate a mountain gorilla family, it can take 2 to 4 hours and the time taken usually depends on the nature of trails and the speed of trekkers. Once a mountain gorilla family is spotted, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around the members and they an opportunity to learn about their habits, watch them do daily activities, take photos and record videos.
Once the gorilla trekking is done, trekkers are asked to move away from the mountain gorilla family so that they continue with day to day activities. Tourists can drive back to the lodge or move to another destination such as Lake Mburo National Park for wildlife viewing, Mgahinga National Park for primate trekking or Lake Bunyonyi the deepest lake in Uganda.
What is the cost of gorilla trekking permits in Bwindi?
Tourists who are interested in meeting mountain gorillas in their natural habitats require a gorilla trekking permit. These are documents that allow tourists to go trek and they are issued out by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. A gorilla permit costs $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 for Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 citizens of East African Member states.
Accommodation on a gorilla safari in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Tourists on a safari to Bwindi have several accommodation facilities which they can stay at if they want to stay for a night or more in the park. Bwindi has 4 sectors and each has enough accommodation facilities ranging from budget to mid range to luxury options. Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Buhoma Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Bweza Lodge, Bakiga Lodge, and Mahogany Springs lodge to mention but a few.
Getting to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park from Canada
Tourists from Canada can access Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park using road transport or air transport. Air transport is the quickest way tourists can get to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Its takes about 2 hours to fly to Kisoro or Kihihi Airstrip from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip. From the airstrip to the lodges, it takes less than an hour.
By road transport, tourists do access Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in 9 to 10 hours from Entebbe/Kampala and 3 to 4 hours from Rwanda. From Rwanda, tourists cross over to Uganda via Katuna or Kyanika borders to any of the sectors of the park. From Kampala/Entebbe, tourists go via Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale or Kisoro to any of the trekking sectors.
When is the right time to go gorilla trekking in Bwindi from Canada?
The driest months of the year are the best for Bwindi gorilla safari from Canada. June to September and December to February are the best times to trek mountain gorillas because of the good weather. They are characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine which keeps the trekking trails dry and easier to walk through.
During the dry season, the vegetation is short and scattered giving trekkers clear views of photography of the mountain gorillas. Tourists from Canada ca n still travel during the low season of March to May and October to November. Tourists should however know that the trekking trails are muddy and slippery and vegetation is very tall with unclear views of the mountain gorillas and other parks wildlife.
