Low-season gorilla safari in Bwindi

Low-season gorilla safari in Bwindi one of Uganda’s national parks located in the southwestern part of the country. The national park was gazetted in 1993 to protect endangered mountain gorillas that were about to come to extinction at the time. It currently hosts more than half of the remaining mountain gorillas in its thick impenetrable forest. This has made it one of the best national parks to go gorilla trekking in Africa.

Gorilla trekking is the main activity carried out in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and it has attracted thousands of tourists from across the globe. Seeing the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is an activity that is done all throughout the year in the morning hours. The year has the high season and the low season and in this article, we focus on the low season.

The low season in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is the rainy season a period when the park is receiving too much rainfall and little sunshine. The low season in Bwindi happens from March to May and October to November. These are months that receive plenty of rainfall and little sunshine. The weather is not so favorable and in the end, it attracts a few travelers.

Even though the weather is very bad in the rainy season, tourists still visit the park to see mountain gorillas. The budget travelers visit the park more during this period because that is a period when tour packages are discounted. The lodges reduce prices as well as tour operators attract a few travelers who are willing to travel at the time.

Low-season gorilla safari in Bwindi

Gorilla trekking in the low season in Bwindi starts early in the morning hours with a briefing from the park rangers. Being a low season, tourists are asked to go trekking well-prepared for any changes in the weather. The briefing takes a few minutes and trekkers are taught the rules and regulations of the trekking activity. Groups not exceeding 8 people are made and armed ranger guides are assigned to lead them into the jungle.

Once the briefing is done, tourists are driven to the starting points of the trekking and left with armed ranger guides to lead them into the jungle. The search for mountain gorillas is done using different trails for 2 to 5 hours. The activity enables tourists to spot different park attractions as they search for where the mountain gorillas could be.

After hours of searching, the trekkers get to locate the mountain gorilla family they have been looking for. It’s from here that armed ranger guides do give 1 hour to the trekkers to be around the apes. This comes with an opportunity to know the gorilla habits, watching them carry out daily activities, taking pictures, and recording memories to mention but a few.

What to expect on a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi in the low season?

Trekking mountain gorillas is a must.

Tourists who are looking at gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park during the low season should know that they will see the mountain gorillas. While on a gorilla safaris in Bwindi at any time of the year, tourists do get to see endangered mountain gorillas. The park has so many mountain gorillas which makes the chances of seeing them more than 98%.

Plenty of rainfall

During the low season in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, tourists should expect plenty of rainfall at any time of the year. March to May and October to November is a period when the weather is very bad within the park. Too much rainfall affects trekking and habituation activities in so many ways.

On a day it rains heavily, tourists find the trekking trails muddy and slippery which affects the movement of trekkers to and from the activity. The vegetation growth rate in the park is very high and if trekkers find it too tall, they get unclear views of the apes and other attractions within the park.

Less crowd

For tourists who love less crowded places, the rainy season is the best time to visit the park. Because of the bad weather, a few tourists travel to Bwindi for gorilla trekking safaris. Gorilla trekking is done by a few people and this favors those travelers who hate being in overcrowded places.

What to pack for gorilla trekking during the low season?

The low season in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a period when the region receives plenty of rainfall and little sunshine. Tourists need to visit the park well prepared for the weather and the trekking activities. Among the things to pack include waterproof hiking shoes, long cotton stocks, long-sleeved clothes, a pair of gaiters, gardening gloves, a rain jacket, a light backpack, sunscreen, insect repellents, a camera, a pair of binoculars, a drinking water bottle, and energy giving snacks to mention but a few.

Getting to Bwindi for gorilla trekking in the low season

Tourists intending to visit Bwindi for mountain gorilla trekking can access the park using road transport or air transport. Air transport is the quickest way tourists can access the park however tourists need to know that it’s a bit expensive. Road transport is very affordable to all kinds of travelers and tourists should know that it takes about 9 to 10 hours to get to any of the sectors of Bwindi.

By road transport, tourists can get to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park from Entebbe/Kampala via Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, or Kisoro to any of the park sectors. The journey is about 9 to 10 hours and comes with great views of the different attractions along the way. Tourists get to have stopovers at places like the equator, see rivers, lakes, and rolling hills among others.

Tourists can also travel for low-season gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park using air transport. Different airline companies help to transfer tourists to different destinations across the country. Flights are from Entebbe International Airport/Kajjansi Airstrip to Kisoro Airstrip for those visiting the southern sector of the park and Kihihi Airstrip for those visiting the northern sector of the park.