Can I fly to Kigali and trek mountain gorillas of Bwindi
Can I fly to Kigali and trek mountain gorillas of Bwindi: Yes, it’s very possible to fly to Kigali and trek mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Mountain gorillas in the world are found in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo and tourists have an opportunity to visit them at any time of the year. With DR Congo being insecure and Rwanda being expensive, tourists normally find Uganda the best place to visit mountain gorillas.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda is located in the southwestern part of the country about 9 to 10 hours drive from Entebbe International Airport. Because of the long distance, it has forced some of the tourists to use Kigali International Airport which is just 3 to 4-hour drive for their gorilla safaris to Bwindi. This saves one from the long hours of driving and the expensive gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda.
Mountain gorillas are an endangered species of primates that most tourists would love to see when they travel to Africa. Bwindi has the highest number of these primates in the whole world harboring in its thick impenetrable forest. Because of the high population, some of the mountain gorillas go through the habituation process and are later set free for mountain gorillas trekking. Gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking are currently done in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Visiting the mountain gorillas of Bwindi
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a place where tourists can go gorilla trekking and have one hour with semi-habituated mountain gorillas or habituation for four hours with fully habituated mountain gorillas. Trekking is carried out in all four sectors of the park and habituation is currently done in the Rushaga sector.
The day of visiting the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park starts very early in the morning. All trekkers must be at the briefing points early morning to be briefed by the rangers about the rules and regulations of the activity. The trekking group never exceeds 8 people while that is trekking cannot exceed 4 people.
Once the grouping is done, trekkers are given armed ranger guides to lead them into the jungle and a safari driver transfers the tourists to the starting points of the trails. Here tourists are left with the armed ranger guides to go into the jungle where they search for where the mountain gorillas could be. The search goes through several trails and trekkers get an opportunity to meet some of the animals and birds that are said to be living in the park.
After hours of searching and locating the mountain gorillas, tourists carrying out trekking are given 1 hour to be around the members and this allows them the see them carry out any of the daily activities which could be mating, grooming, breastfeeding, nesting, or playing among others. Tourists on a habituation exercise are given 4 hours to be with the mountain gorillas and this comes with an extra opportunity of being part of the activities that makes these apes get used to human presence around them.
After visiting the mountain gorillas, trekkers are asked to move out of the jungle and leave the animals to continue with their daily activities. Trekkers have chances to meet forest birds, mammals, primates, water sources, and much more. Trekkers find their driver guides and drive to the lodge or the next destination.
The cost of gorilla permits from Kigali
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has gorilla trekking permits which are used to visit the fully habituated mountain gorillas and gorilla habituation permits which are used to visit semi-habituated permits. The gorilla trekking permits cost $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 citizens of East African member states.
Tourists who are interested in doing gorilla habituation will have to pay $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East African member states. Bwindi gorilla habituation permits are only 4 at the moment and this calls for advance booking to avoid last-minute booking disappointments.
For the gorilla trekking permits, tourists who intend to visit Bwindi during the high season are advised to book and buy their gorilla permits at least 3 to 4 months in advance. That is when permits are still available in the park and the tourists still have chances of trekking in their favorite sectors. A licensed local tour operator can help to book and purchase the gorilla permits since the Uganda Wildlife Authority does not directly sell these permits to tourists.
When to purchase the gorilla permits for a Bwindi safari.
Tourists who intend to fly to Kigali and trek mountain gorillas of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park are advised to book and buy their gorilla permits 3 to 4 months or more in advance. This helps to avoid last-minute disappointments most especially during the high season when so many travelers are visiting the park.
Early gorilla permit booking helps tourists to also go gorilla trekking in their favorite sectors if permits are still available. For tourists that want gorilla habituation, only 4 permits are found within Bwindi and these can easily sell out at any day of the year. 6 months or even more is the best time for tourists interested in gorilla habituation to book their permits.
Getting to Bwindi from Kigali
Flying to Kigali to trek the mountain gorillas of Bwindi is one of the best things to do if a traveler wants to avoid the long distance from Kampala/Entebbe. From Kigali to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park it takes 3 to 4 hours by road. Tourists from Kigali drive to Kyanika border to Kisoro or Katuna border to Kabale and drive to any of the sectors where they booked the permits.
