Uganda is a well known destination for mountain gorilla trekking in Africa. This country located astride the Equator is home to nearly half of the remaining 900 mountain gorillas left in the whole world. Mountain gorillas turn out to be major tourist attraction though the country is also a fascinating destination with many other touristic adventures/ activities including white water rafting along the Nile, chimpanzee tracking, game viewing in small groups, mountain trekking and more.
The country has two gorilla national parks and the endangered mountain gorillas can be trekked from Uganda’s hilly and forested national parks basically from Bwindi Impenetrable Natural Forest ( a home to almost half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas) and Mgahinga National park in the Gahinga ranges in the South West of Uganda.
See the Mountain Gorillas in the Wild
Nearly half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas can be found in Uganda’s jungles of Bwindi Natural forest and Mgahinga ranges. Tracking mountain gorillas from Uganda, is an exciting an thrilling encounter/ experience one can ever have. Mountain gorillas too are a close relative of human race, sharing so much character in common like caring for the young ones, eating, and playing among others.
In Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable Natural Forest hosts the highest number of these endangered species and with 14 habituated gorilla family groups (Mubare Group, Habinyanja Group:, Rushegura Group, Bitukura Group among others) for visitors. In their family groups, a Silverback-a male adult gorilla is usually the head and therefore responsible for the protection of its family members from any sorts of attacks if any.
Visiting the mountain gorillas is such a wonderful experience, however it’s done only in groups of 8 members where 8 visitors are allowed to visit a gorilla family group per day and limited to only an hour’s stay with the animals . During this one hour stay, tourists are permitted to take photos, make videos and even watch them as they play, eat and even tease each other.
Planning a Gorilla Trek
A gorilla safari in Uganda is one of the highlight of most travels made to this beautiful country located in Eastern Africa. Most holidays in Uganda cannot end without taking a gorilla trekking trip to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla Park, two of the four national parks in Africa that host the mountain gorillas. These two parks are all located in south western Uganda.
Places to Go
Bwindi national park which occupies an estimated area of 331 square kilometers is habitat to almost half of the world’s endangered species of the mountain gorillas. A drive by car from Kampala to the park takes around 8 to 10 hours. However gorilla trekking activities are done in the four different sectors where several mountain gorilla families have been habituated. These four sectors are Buhoma sector, Ruhija sector, Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors.
Buhoma
Among these sectors, Buhoma sector was the first to be established for gorilla tourism and it’s the well-known by tourists. This is where most of gorilla trekking activities are done. The sector is also starting point for various nature walks trails and among these include; the Munyanga River Trails, Rushura Hill Trail as well as the Muzabajiro Loop Trail and the River Ivi Trail.
Nkuringo
Within Bwindi Forest, gorilla trekking safaris are also carried out in the Nkuringo sector which is positioned next to the Buhoma sector. The sector is located just a distance of about 10km from Buhoma. A drive through the Impenetrable forest roughly takes 4 hours to reach the Nkuringo side from Buhoma.
Ruhija
The Ruhija sector is one of the best trekking areas when one can enjoy gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda. The region is the most remote part of the park compared to other trekking sectors and the sector is very much recommended due to its being gifted with various bird species which can be easily sighted when one is trekking the mountain gorillas.
Trekking gorillas in this particular sector exposes the visitors to a three hour hike trail where visitors can tour the Mubwindi swamp which is the heaven for the bird watchers because in this place they can enjoy the sounds and sights of countless bird species. The habituated gorilla families which can be trekked in this area include the Ruhija gorilla family as well as Bitukura gorilla group and Kyaguriro gorilla group.
Rushaga Sector
The Rushaga sector is one of the prominent regions where one can enjoy gorilla trekking safaris but it comes at cost of walking and hiking the various hills which are dominant in the sector.Trekking is challenging but very rewarding to those visitors who take time to participate in it.The region is where one can get the various habituated gorilla families living in various hills located in the area. Some of these gorilla groups include Mishaya gorilla group, Nshongi gorilla family, as well as Kahungye, and Busingyegorilla groups. It lies between Kabale and Nkuringo when one is travelling from either Kampala or Ruhija.
Getting There
The journey from Kampala to Bwindi Forest takes between 7 and 9 hours to drive from Kampala to the two mountain gorilla homesteads in Uganda. During this drive, you can be able to enjoy en route views of the real Uganda’s scenic views as well as enjoying game drives in Queen Elizabeth or Lake Mburo national parks.
Alternatively, you can use charter planes from Entebbe airport or Kajjansi airfield to Kihihi or Kisoro airstrips that are near Bwindi and Mgahinga gorilla national parks.
Important Things to Know Before Going on a Gorilla Trek in Bwindi
There are several ways you can reserve the gorilla permits in Uganda;
- Through the Uganda Wildlife Authority
- Through a local tour operator
- Booking a fully inclusive gorilla safari with a local tour operator or a travel agency.
Where to Stay on a Gorilla Trek
For accommodation, its best to book those around and near the established sectors since this gorilla tracking activity starts early mornings. And are various accommodation facilities in both Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga gorilla National Park such as lodges, camps and cottages with standard bed services and cuisines. Upon making your booking for a gorilla safari you need to get to know the location of the gorilla group prebooked so that you can get possible lodges where you will stay.