Where in Uganda Can I Trek Mountain Gorillas?
Where in Uganda can I trek mountain gorillas? Uganda, the pearl of Africa, is among the most gifted destinations in Africa that hosts the unique and rare mountain gorillas. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park are the only two gorilla parks where mountain gorillas seek refuge. Uganda stands out as one of the few destinations in Africa blessed with mountain gorillas, with Bwindi only being home to the highest number of mountain gorillas, contributing over 53% to the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.
On the other hand, Mgahinga National Park also offers an almost similar unique gorilla trekking experience similar to that of Bwindi, especially with the Nyakagezi gorilla family, which is considered to have the highest number of silverbacks compared to other gorilla families across Bwindi.
Where in Uganda Can I Trek Mountain Gorillas?
Bwindi alone has four gorilla trekking sectors, and these include Ruhija, Nkuringo, Buhoma, and Rushaga. All these are home to the mountain gorilla species, offering unique adventure experiences to travellers who are seeking a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Gorilla trekking is the top activity that is conducted in the two parks of Mgahinga and Bwindi due to the presence of these mountain gorillas that attract visitors across the world to come and witness man’s closest cousins.
These mountain gorillas share 98% DNA with humans, genetically due to their genotype. Due to this factor, these gentle giants remain a highlight in the two parks, particularly Bwindi, attracting the biggest number of visitors in the country and contributing tremendously to the country’s revenue.
Can I Trek Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla Parks
Trekking mountain gorillas in the misty jungle of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park is a unique and sustainable wildlife adventure that offers visitors an opportunity to have a close encounter with mountain gorillas in their natural setting. Bwindi’s four sectors of Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Rushaga are all home to the endangered mountain gorillas, which is the reason for their popularity. Additionally, one semi-habituated gorilla family is set aside for gorilla habituation in the Rushaga Sector of Bwindi, and the 22 gorilla families are all open for gorilla trekking.
What Is Gorilla Habituation?
This gorilla habituation is one of the most incredible primate adventure experiences that offers visitors ample time to spend with mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, but it is slightly different from the standard gorilla trekking experience. Gorilla habituation is an adventure activity where gorillas are trained to get used to human presence.
Gorilla and nature lovers get the chance to spend ample time, about 4 hours, with the gorillas in their natural habitat, more than the standard one hour allocated to gorilla tracking. The duration of habituation may take about 2-3 years, and during this process, researchers keep on visiting and monitoring this gorilla group or family daily until it’s declared ready for tracking.
Imagine a situation of having a close encounter and interacting directly with these gentle apes, a mere few metres away in their natural environment, while learning the behaviours of these endangered primates. Look at a situation and consider the silverback’s encounter with its calm, serene, and gentle face in the dense, misty jungle, which defies all expectations from both movies and real life.
Trekking with mountain gorillas is the top attraction that draws tourists from all over the world, an unforgettable experience that will leave you stunned and breathless. For you to trek these mountain gorillas, you need to have a gorilla trekking permit that is issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
What is the Cost of a Gorilla Trekking Permit in Uganda?
Uganda offers visitors gorilla trekking permits at a slightly lower rate than Rwanda’s $1500, as seen in the following price breakdown. Gorilla trekking permits cost $800 for non-residents, $700 for foreigners, and UGX300,000 for East African citizens. This means that 75% of the funds are used to conserve and protect the few remaining gorillas in the wild.
10% goes to the surrounding communities around the park, and 15% goes to the Ugandan government. Visitors should know that the gorilla trekking permit fee also includes park entrance costs, ranger guides’ fees, tracking fees, advance trackers, and a full hour of interacting with the gorillas in the wilderness.
Why Would One Choose Uganda for a Gorilla Trekking Experience?
Considerably one of Africa’s most gifted, endowed, and secure tourist destinations, Uganda offers a remarkable and unforgettable mountain gorilla trekking experience that makes it stand out from other safari adventure destinations in Africa as a whole. Being undoubtedly an unforgettable and stunning experience to trek these unique apes in their natural habitats, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park alone offers more than a mere gorilla tracking experience.
Other attractions include the unique Batwa cultural encounter that offers visitors distinctive cultural interactions, scenic views, waterfalls, the amazing rift valley vistas, other animal species, and numerous birds, among others, hence making Uganda a must-visit destination for gorilla trekking safaris.
Consider that the Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area, which entails the misty Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park, boasts more than half of the world’s mountain gorilla population. This offers visitors a greater chance of seeing these gentle apes in their natural environment than anywhere else.
This amazing experience will offer you the chance to encounter other animal species such as forest elephants, forest hogs, bush pigs, duikers, and other primates, such as black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and other primate species like chimpanzees, among many others.
Over half of the world’s mountain gorillas are found in Uganda, all residing in five trekking centers. One of these trekking centers is located in Mgahinga National Park, and the remaining four are all part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, including the Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Rushaga sectors.
Each of these provides unique gorilla families, hiking challenges, and stunning experiences. All these trekking sectors are sure to provide gorilla trekking permits for visitors planning to do gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda. This is because travelers have a choice of accommodations that suit their preferred accommodations and degree of fitness, making it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Affordable Accommodation
Uganda has diverse accommodation facilities in different gorilla parks, ranging from luxurious options and eco-lodges to mid-range and budget options. All these facilities are distributed and dispersed equally across all parks to provide you with comfort and peace in different trekking centres of Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, such as the Buhoma, Rushaga, Nkuringo, and Ruhija sectors, and Mgahinga Gorilla Park.
