Fly to Kisoro and trek the mountain gorillas of Rushaga
Fly to Kisoro and trek the mountain gorillas of Rushaga: Rushaga is a sector with in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park a home to mountain gorillas. Rushaga sector is located within the southern sector of the park where it harbors the highest percentage of mountain gorillas living in the impenetrable forest. Rushaga has the highest number of mountain gorilla families in Bwindi one of which is open for gorilla habituation activities.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is one of the destinations that can be accessed by air transport. The park has 2 airstrips one being Kihihi in the north of the park and Kisoro in the south of the park. Rusha sector in located in the southern sector of the park and the closest airstrip is Kisoro. Kisoro airstrip is where tourists visiting Rushaga can fly to and access the access using road transport within a short time.
Flying to Kisoro and visiting Rushaga sector to see mountain gorillas is the quickest way to access the park. Tourists should know that is a bit expensive but the flights save one from the 9 to 10 hour journey when using road transport. Different airline companies such as Aerolink Uganda, and Bar Aviation Uganda have flights to Kisoro everyday. Tourists can go through any of the registered companies to book the fkights and have a successful gorilla trekking safari within Rushaga sector of Bwindi.
Mountain gorilla trekking in Rushaga
Gorilla trekking in Rushaga is done on 8 mountain gorilla families that are fully habituated and open for trekking activities. On the morning of trekking, tourists drive to the park headquarters where they gather for a briefing from the park rangers. Before the briefing, trekkers are entertained by the locals through dance and drama. After the briefing is done, tourists are grouped not exceeding 8 people and given armed ranger guides to lead them into the jungle.
Trekkers are driven by their driver guides to the starting points of the trek where they are left to move into the jungle with the armed rangers. Inside they jungle, they used several trekking trails to search for where the mountain gorillas could be. As they search for 2 to 5 hours, they have an opportunity of meeting different forest animals and birds.
The moment the mountain gorilla family is located, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around the members and this gives them an opportunity of learning their habits, watch them do daily activities, take photos and record videos. After spending 1 hour around the mountain gorillas, trekkers leave the gorillas to be continue with their daily activities and they meet their guide for a transfer to the next destination.
Mountain gorilla habituation
Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is currently the only place to do mountain gorilla habituation in the whole world. Gorilla habituation is an activity that allows trekkers to be around semi-habituated mountain gorillas for a maximum of 4 hours and during this time they are allowed to be part of the activities that make these apes get used to human presence around them.
Gorilla habituation in Rushaga starts early in the morning with trekkers for the day heading to the briefing point. Here they are taught the rules and regulations of the activity and later given armed ranger guides to lead them into the jungle. A maximum of 4 people does gorilla habituation on a day in Bwindi and these are accompanied by doctors and researchers.
Locating a semi-habituated mountain gorilla family in Rushaga can take 2 to 5 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family, the nature of trekking trails, and the speed of the trekkers. The moment the gorilla family is spotted, trekkers are given 4 hours to be around the members and during that time they are able to take part in the activities that make these apes get used to human presence around them. They are allowed to capture images and videos and they will also be able to learn about gorilla habits.
What is the cost of gorilla permits for Rushaga?
A gorilla trekking permit in Rushaga costs $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 citizens of East African member states. A gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East African member states.
The best time for this safari
Flying safaris to Rushaga can happen at any time of the year however there are months better than others. June to September and December to February are the best times to have this safari because of the good weather. There is little or no rainfall and plenty of sunshine with in the country which is good weather for the flights and park activities.
Tourists who will fly to Rushaga of Bwindi impenetrable forest for gorilla trekking will find the trekking trails dry and passable, the vegetation will be short and scattered giving clear views of the wildlife and the roads from the airstrip to the park will be in good condition. When the trekking trails are dry and easier to walk through the trekkers get to locate the gorillas on time.
Where to stay in Rushaga
Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has several accommodation facilities with the best services, and tourists can stay for a night or more on their safari to the park. These lodges include Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Bweza Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Icumbi Gorilla Lodge, and Rushaga Havens Lodge to mention but a few.
