Cheap gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi

Cheap gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi: Uganda is one of the most affordable tourist destinations when it comes to mountain gorilla trekking safaris. The country’s mountain gorillas live in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park. These two places have gorilla families that are habituated and can be visited by tourists at any time of the year.

Gorilla trekking permits for Uganda are very affordable to all kinds of tourists and this means it’s possible to have cheap gorilla safaris within the park. Cheap gorilla safaris in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park are about staying at cheap accommodation facilities and using road means of transport to the park.

The gorilla trekking permit price does not change when it comes to someone’s travel budget but at Africa Adventure Vacations, we do help tourists to have cheap gorilla trekking safaris. We do so by booking them at budget accommodation facilities and getting budget safari vehicles to transport them to the park. To make the gorilla safaris cheaper, tourists are advised to stay one night in the park and participate in a few of the park activities.

Mountain gorillas are the main reason why tourists visit Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. With a very affordable gorilla trekking permit, visiting bwindi will enable tourists to search for the mountain gorillas and be around them for a maximum of one hour. After gorilla trekking, tourists can leave the park and drive to the next destination because staying around the park after gorilla trekking may be costly.

Gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Gorilla trekking is carried out every day in each sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The activity starts early in the morning with a briefing at each of the sector headquarters. The rangers teach all tourists going for trekking the rules and regulations of the activity. From there, tourists who would like to hire porters get one at an affordable fee.

The trekkers are grouped not exceeding 8 people and given armed ranger guides to lead them into the jungle. Driver guides transport the trekkers to the starting point of the trek and let the armed ranger guides lead them into the jungle. Inside the jungle, they use a number of trekking trails to search for where the mountain gorillas could be.

Searching and locating a mountain gorilla family can take 2 to 5 hours depending on the location of the family, the nature of trails, and the speed of trekkers. After locating the mountain gorilla family assigned, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around the members and this comes with an opportunity to see them carry out daily activities, learn their habits, and capture images. After getting done, tourists trek out of the jungle and drive to the next destination.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is not only a place for gorilla trekking but also for other activities. The national park is home to more than 120 mammals, 350 bird species, water sources and it is surrounded by the Batwa pygmies. On a safari to the park, tourists can engage in bird watching, nature walks, and community tours among others.

How much are gorilla trekking permits for cheap safaris to Bwindi

The costs of a gorilla trekking permit is the same whether one is rich or not. The prices are fixed and set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority for a specific period of time. Each gorilla trekking permit costs $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents,$500 Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 members of East African citizens states.

The gorilla trekking permits are only obtained from the Uganda Wildlife Authority by licensed local tour operators. These do help in purchasing you gorilla permits from the UWA offices in Kamwokya. All that is needed to get the gorilla permits is a passport or national identity card, the trekking date, and the trekking sector.

Getting to Bwindi for cheap gorilla trekking safaris

The only cheapest way tourists can get to Bwindi for cheap gorilla trekking safaris is by road transport. Bwindi is located in Kisoro and Kabale district with all sectors being able to be accessed by road transport. Tourists who are looking for cheap gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi should know that the road transport option is very affordable to all kinds of travelers.

By road transport, tourists can access any of the sectors of the park from Kampala/Entebbe and also from Kigali. From Kigali, it’s a short drive taking 3 to 4 hours while Kampala/Entebbe takes 9 to 10 hours. Tourists from Kigali are close to Rushaga and Nkuringo if they use Cyanika border and Ruhija if they use Katuna border.

Tourists who visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park from Entebbe/Kampala go through Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, or Kisoro to the park. The journey is about 9 to 10 hours and comes with beautiful views of different attractions along the way. Tourists also get a stopover for lunch along the way in places like Mbarara.

When to go to Bwindi for cheap gorilla safaris

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is open for gorilla trekking all throughout the year. Tourists can visit the park at any time for gorilla trekking the year for trekking though the best time is the period when the park is receiving little or no rainfall. June to September and December to February have the best weather that favors gorilla trekking. The trails are dry and passable while the vegetation is short with good views of apes.

Tourists looking for cheap gorilla trekking safaris to Bwindi can still go gorilla trekking in the rainy season. March to May and October to November are times when the park receives plenty of rainfall. This stops tourists from traveling and what the lodges and tour operators do is to reduce the prices to attract the few people traveling.

When the prices are low it favors budget travelers or those who want cheap safaris. Tourists should however know that the trekking trails are muddy and slippery which affects the movement of trekkers, vegetation is tall with unclear views of attractions, and roads leading to the park are in poor conditions especially when it rains.