Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a tropical rainforest in the southwestern part of Uganda. It is found in the Kisoro district on the edge of the Albertine Rift and covers a total area of 321 sq.km. The thick impenetrable forest national park is home to different attractions. In 1993, the government of Uganda gazetted it as a national park to protect mountain gorillas, which were nearing extinction at the time.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is part of the famous Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The park is one of the most visited in Uganda, especially by tourists who are interested in seeing endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitats.  Bwindi has the highest population of mountain gorillas in the whole world with more than 99% chances of spotting them when one goes trekking and habituation.

Top attractions in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Mountain gorillas

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a popular home to mountain gorillas which do live in different areas of the forest. Bwindi forest has been divided into four sectors namely Ruhija, Buhoma, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. These sectors harbor mountain gorillas which have attracted thousands of tourists from different parts of the world.

Mountain gorillas are said to be close relatives to human beings and for that reason, they attract a lot of travelers from different parts of the world. Most tourists that come to Uganda end up having trekking or habituation safaris to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. These safaris allow tourists to be part of the activities that allow people to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitats.

Birds

More than 350 bird species have been recorded in the impenetrable forest of Bwindi and it’s said that about 23 of these are endemic to the Albertine rift region. On a safari to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, when birders participate in bird watching activities they are able to see most of these bird species in different areas of the park.

Bird watching in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is best done by local birders who know the best trekking trails and the best birding spots. Bwindi harbors bird species such as Ladgen’s bush shrike, willard’s sooty boubou, pin-tailed whydah, nueman’s warbler, grauer’s swamp warbler, stuhlmanns starling, grauer’s warbler, African olive-pigeon, giant kingfisher, African citril, mackinnon’s shrike, little grebe.

Shelly’s crimsonwing, black bee-eater, regal sunbird, dusky crimson wing, archer’s robin-chat, red chested fluff tail, African goshawk, diederik cuckoo, blue-headed sunbird, red-capped robin chat, ansorge’s greenbul, cape wagtail, African flycatcher-chat, purple breasted sunbird, grey crowned crane, dwarf honeyguide, great blue turaco, papyrus canary, hadada ibis, ross’s turaco, and grey wagtail among others.

Wildlife

Attractions in Bwindi: Forest is not only a home to mountain gorillas and birds, but it’s also a home to several wildlife species. These are seen during forest activities like trekking and nature walks. The animals of the Forest include forest elephants, side-striped jackals, giant forest hogs, chimpanzees, olive baboons, monkeys, chameleons, and different types of frogs among others.

The most appropriate time to visit Bwindi

The dry season is the most appropriate time to visit Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It occurs from June to September and December to February a period when the park receives little or no rainfall and plenty of sunshine. Tourists who visit the park will find the trekking trails dry and easier to walk through, the vegetation will be short with nice views of the mountain gorillas and the roads leading to the park are good to drive through.

Tourists who find time in the rainy season can still visit the impenetrable forest of Bwindi to see the different attractions found there. The rainy season happens from March to May and October to November when the park receives a lot of rainfall and little sunshine. Tourists who make the visit in the rainy season find the trails muddy, the vegetation is tall with unclear views of wildlife and roads are in poor state.

Getting to Bwindi Forest

Tourists can reach Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park by road or air in a single day. Air transport is used by luxury travelers and a few who hate traveling for long distances. Different airline companies, such as Aero Link Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda, do have flights to Bwindi. From Entebbe airport and Kajjansi airstrip, tourists can fly to Kihihi in the north of the park or Kisoro in the south of the park.

By road transport, tourists can access Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park from Kigali or Entebbe. From Kigali, tourists get to Bwindi in 3 to 4 hours by crossing to Uganda using the Katuna or Kyanika borders to any of the park’s sectors. From Entebbe, tourists drive through Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Ntungamo, Kabale, or Kisoro to any of the park’s sectors.