What Else After Gorilla Trekking?
What else can you do after gorilla trekking? Travelers visiting Uganda are particularly interested in seeing mountain gorillas. Uganda offers a bucket list of activities following a gorilla walk to make the little East African country rewarding.
Uganda is the best spot to watch primates in nature. Savannah safari game drives, boat safaris, trekking, and cultural encounters are among its best attractions, along with gorillas.
Most Ugandan gorilla tours include a day or two in the neighboring savannah wildlife regions for a good African safari. Gorilla safari packages cover a greater area of southern Uganda and include activities not accessible elsewhere.
We look at various Uganda safari activities after gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or Mgahinga National Park.
Cultures Interact
In a primitive tribe that formerly thrived in the protected gorilla parks, batwa lived alongside mountain gorillas. Later, the tribe was removed from sanctuaries to preserve gorillas. The Batwa live in small rural settlements surrounding protected parks and depend on agriculture and gorilla tourism.
After gorilla trekking, most trekkers visit the Batwa for their antics, reenacted history, and community entertainment. A $20–$50 guided tour with entertainment from this historic tribe is available.
Hiking and Nature Walks
Hikers may see mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains. After gorilla trekking, climb Mount Gahinga (3,474 meters), Mount Sabyinyo (3,674 meters), or the tough Mount Muhabura (4,157 meters) in Mgahinga National Park.
From Rwanda, hikers may climb Mount Karisimbi (4,506 meters), Mount Bisoke (3,711), and the three above in Uganda.
The neighboring mountains and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest provide East Africa’s best natural treks. Mist covers the rich, muddy terrain, which is alive with hidden life’s sounds.
Mountainous streams cascade into enormous valleys made in the landscape. Forest birds unseen in the canopy cry thunderously from ferocious nettles to exquisite fern fronds hanging vines to ancient hardwood trees intermingled with bamboo thickets.
In indigenous language, “bwindi” means “impenetrable.” Nature lovers choose Bwindi deep forests after gorilla trekking.
Birding After Bwindi Gorilla Trekking
With a guide and binoculars, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park offers “some of the best montane-forest birdwatching in Africa,” a thrilling tour of the ancient rainforest. On this two- to three-hour guided tour of the park’s 350 species, many will meet your needs.
Alternatively, nature enthusiasts may take a three-hour hike through this UNESCO World Heritage Site’s unique ecosystems on a trail lined with exotic, green vegetation to witness the Munyaga Waterfall.
Rising through evergreen and montane marshes that entwine over the lush forest floor, you reach spectacular falls, a thunderous scream of pure river water crashing against gigantic stones. The sound of birds, chatter, and cascading falls is beautiful.
Walking the Buhoma Waterfall Trail, look for the White-tailed Ant Thrush, exquisite francolin, spectacular Black Bee-eater, Yellow-eyed Black, and African Sooty Flycatchers in the green bamboo zone.
Travel the Ruhija Mubwindi Swamp path to see the unique African green broadbill. Have your binoculars ready to see the African Green Broadbill, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, Short-tailed Warbler, and Blue-headed Sunbird among the woods.
Tracking Golden Monkies
Gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga National Park are complementary primate experiences.
The Golden Monkey is a local subspecies of the Sykes Monkey found in Volcanoes National Park’s high-altitude bamboo woodlands. Monkeys are curious and lively, leaping from bamboo branches or playing on the forest floor.
This Golden Monkey colony at the foot of Mt Sabyinyo has around 30 members. Like Mountain Gorilla treks, Golden Monkey treks take place in the mornings and enable travelers one hour with the monkeys.
Golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga National Park is great after gorilla trekking. Compared to gorilla permits, golden monkey permits are cheap at $60 per person.
Drive-in Games, Boat Safari
After gorilla hikes in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, 3 hours north, is easy to access.
The southern Queen Elizabeth NP game takes you into Ishasha with beautiful tree-climbing lions. An unusual show for African lions, but common with Ishasha’s prides. Instead of scanning broad savannah plains, look up for anything in the sycamore-fig trees.
Not only would tree-climbing lions lead you around this park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most popular safari park for people and wildlife. A wildlife drive in this remote reserve includes most Ugandan gorilla tours.
This park is home to the African elephant, buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippopotamus, topi, waterbuck, warthog, giant forest hog, Nile crocodile, leopard, and lion. You may see beautiful wildlife in the Kazinga Channel of the park via boat safari.
Chimp trekking
North of Queen Elizabeth National Park lies Kibale Forest National Park, another popular primate sanctuary. After Bwindi gorilla trekking, a safari game drive should include the cute chimps.
Kibale National Park offers the best primate viewing. The Kibale chimpanzee group, which is available for hiking, is Uganda’s best habituated population. There are spectacular vistas.
The park has 13 primates, including black-and-white colobus, red-tailed monkey, and blue monkey, that are often observed on treks. Nighttime species include the eastern needle-clawed bushbaby and potto.
Besides monkeys, Kibale features other rare animals. This untouched rainforest has elephant, buffalo, huge forest hog, warthog, bushpig, bushbuck, blue, red, and Peter’s duiker on the forest floor.Planning After Gorilla Trekking
Just ask your tour manager for the most exciting activities after a gorilla trekking trip in Uganda. We provide safari planning. Try Katland’s successful gorilla safaris since 3003 to plan a thrilling safari with some of the most exciting additions to your gorilla walk.
Email us and one of our specialists can help you plan your next spectacular gorilla vacation. Up north, nearby gorilla trekking programs may motivate you.
