What is the best region or sector of Bwindi for gorilla trekking
Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is separated into four administrative regions, or sectors. The 327 square kilometers that make up Bwindi Park are covered by forest cover. The Buhoma area in the north, the Ruhija area in the east, and the Nkuringo area and the Rushaga area in the south make up the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s division of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Although permits are booked based on the locality, gorilla families are found in all of these areas. Previously, travelers and tour companies favored obtaining gorilla permits for the Buhoma region. This is because a variety of lodge amenities were offered, and this is the primary administration. Nowadays, you may choose from a variety of lodge options in every area.
It can be difficult to choose the finest gorilla trekking location in Bwindi’s impenetrable National Park because each has unique characteristics. Every traveler has a different idea of what they want to see when they go gorilla trekking, and this is shown in various places. For instance, some people would like to witness a large family of gorillas, others babies, the most active family, another region with many of birds, the largest dominant silverback, and so on.
You may not be able to choose which gorilla family you are assigned to, particularly during the busiest time of year when demand for gorilla trekking is at its highest. However, following a briefing during this time, you are able to choose a gorilla family based on factors including age and physical health.
Take a safari in each of these locations to get your own opinion on which is the finest place to go gorilla trekking. Similar to determining which gorilla family is the easiest to journey, this is a challenging topic to answer because a family that feeds closer to the beginning site might move into the deeper reaches of the jungle during nesting season. The current state of affairs in the forest determines this.
Which Gorilla Families Are Found in Each Area?
Bwindi Forest’s Buhoma Area
The Rushegura, Mubare, and Habinyanja families are the three gorilla families that are exposed to tourists in this, Uganda’s oldest gorilla trekking area.
Situated in the northern sections of the forest, this is the primary administrative region for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Bwindi Forest’s Ruhija region
This is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s top birdwatching spot, particularly if you hike to Mubwindi Swamp. Regretfully, the region’s road system is subpar, and navigating the slick roads requires a 4×4 wheel drive.
The Bitukura and Oruzogo families are among the gorilla families present.
Area of Bwindi Forest in Rushaga
The Rushaga region is located in the southern section of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. There are more than eight gorilla families that tourists can reserve.
The following families are susceptible to gorilla habituation: the Nshongi, Mishaya, Busingye, Kahungye, Bweza, Bikingi, Mucunguzi, and Rwigi families.
The Nkuringo region
Despite being a large family and the first to become accustomed to the southern sector, the Nkuringo area is located in the southern portion of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In 3004, the Nkuringo gorilla family—which consisted of roughly 19 members—opened for tourism. The Bushaho and Christmas families are two other gorilla families in this region.
How to Reserve a Gorilla Trekking Permit in a Specific Location
It takes time and effort to decide the area you want to pick up your gorilla permit from. Unless you are lucky enough to be able to request a specific place in advance, each gorilla permit is booked in random locations. If you buy your permission six months before to the trekking date, this might be feasible, but you will need to have a specific cause for making this special request.
You need to know how many people you want to travel with and which date you would like to go gorilla trekking. The purpose of this is to eliminate the possibility of repeatedly hunting for gorilla permits.
Our safari consultant verifies availability according to the date when you send us an inquiry. One of the fortunate businesses in Uganda with access to the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s list of gorilla permit availability is Katland Safaris. As a registered business, we are able to check the status of gorilla permit availability at any moment.
To prevent last-minute anxiety while applying for a gorilla permit, we suggest our guests to buy their permits as soon as possible, if there are any available.
A certain quantity of gorilla permits are made available for public reservation each day. The public is granted up to eight gorilla permits per family. This is the only cap on the number of gorilla permits available for daily tourist reservations, notwithstanding the overwhelming demand.
Following a gorilla walk, we ask for personal information such as your full name as listed on your passport, country, birthdate, and passport expiration date. According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, these are used for documentation purposes, and certain information is included on the certificate of accomplishment.
How to Get to Every Gorilla Trekking Area in the Buhoma Area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The gorilla trekking headquarters are located here. The majority of paths lead to the Buhoma area because it is located in the impenetrable National Park area of Bwindi. The following are a few routes to the Buhoma area:
Travel from Kampala to Ntungamo, Rukungiri, Kihihi, and Buhoma
This is the fastest way to get from Kampala to Rukungiri, which is about 390 kilometers away, and then to Buhoma, which is about 82 kilometers away.
Kabale, Kampala, Kanungu, and Buhoma
The 414-kilometer travel from Kampala to Kabale takes five to six hours. After there, it takes more than four to five hours to travel the remaining 150 kilometers to Kanungu and Kanyantorogo. You have to drive a four-by-four.
Queen Elizabeth National Park to Buhoma via Kihihi
Those that reserve a Uganda Safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park travel this route. The travel from the Mweya Peninsula is roughly 160 kilometers, and the distance from the Ishasha sector to the Buhoma area is 64 kilometers.
Nkuringo Region Kabale to Nkuringo to Kampala
The drive is roughly 414 kilometers from Kampala to Kabale, and then another 105 kilometers to the Nkuringo region in the southern region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Before continuing on to Nkuringo, you could want to spend the night at Kisoro, which is roughly 80 kilometers from Kabale.
It takes about an hour and a half to drive from the Nkuringo area to Kisoro town, which is about 35 kilometers away.
Area of Ruhijah: Kampala to Kabale to Ruhija
You will require a four-wheel drive vehicle because this route is one of the worst in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
It takes roughly 5 to 6 hours to travel 414 kilometers from Kampala to Kabale, then another 2 to 3 hours to go 44 kilometers on a Murram road.
When Is It Best To Reserve A Permit For Gorilla Trekking? Although gorilla trekking at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is available year-round, some visitors prefer to make reservations during the dry months of June through September and December through January.
The chimps, birds, butterflies, monkeys, and other forest inhabitants are at their most active during this season, and the mountain gorillas are in a good mood. The forest is crisscrossed by a dense network of rivers, which may not flood the routes. This area’s water catchment point is Bwindi Forest.
This season is also the busiest for other Uganda safari activities, including as chimpanzee trekking, wildlife drives, and launch trips. The best time to combine gorilla trekking in Bwindi is during the dry season.
Some travelers also favor the wet season, which is often the low gorilla trekking season, for the following reasons:
Since there aren’t many visitors in the park, there won’t be many people preventing you from taking the greatest pictures if you’re a professional gorilla photographer.
During the rainy season, when fewer reservations are made for these lodges and other amenities, there is a greater chance of receiving a cheaper rate on things like lodging.
A Gorilla Trekking Safari to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: How Much Does It Cost?
The uniform price for a luxury, midrange, or low-cost gorilla trekking safari is the same as long as you have a gorilla permit. The following are other variables to take into account when determining the cost of the gorilla trekking tour:
The quantity of individuals that pay for a gorilla trekking tour
The cost of a gorilla trekking safari decreases as the number of paying passengers increases. Some expenses, such as gas, driver’s guide fees, and car rental, can be split. These expenses are also shared when you embark on an organized gorilla trekking expedition. You are only compensated for the gross cost of your gorilla trekking expedition if you go alone.
The gorilla trekking safari’s timing
Due to the strong demand for these services during this time, gorilla trekking is typically most expensive during the peak season. The same services are used for other activities including chimpanzee trekking and wildlife drives.
The duration of the gorilla trekking safari in days
The gross cost of the safari increases with the number of days spent on the gorilla trekking excursion. Since most service providers charge by the day, the more days you spend on safari, the more expensive it will be.
A gorilla safari can be combined with a variety of other activities.
The cost of the safari increases with the number of activities you add to gorilla trekking. The cost of the safari increases with the number of activities; each activity has a separate price.
How secure is it to go gorilla trekking in the impenetrable national park of Bwindi?
Because rangers are on hand to safeguard both visitors and forest inhabitants, gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is safe. To maintain peace and order in this area, the ranger guides work in tandem with other Ugandan security services.
Additionally, you must exercise caution for your safety by
entering the woodland accompanied by a ranger guide. The presence of humans must be adapted to by many forest inhabitants. An armed ranger to guide the way for all activities would be ideal.
When on a gorilla trekking safari, avoid illegal activities like drug trading because you could be arrested if caught.
You could draw the wrong individuals to you if you count big quantities of money in public. They might even set up an ambush to steal your money, both foreign and local.
Wearing valuable jewelry could attract burglars, so keep them at bay or, if the lodge has a safe, ask the manager to store it for you. On the day of departure, don’t forget to request them.
When gorilla trekking, bring only the necessary luggage so you don’t lose any or have too little room in the car to fit them all.
If you go gorilla trekking with kids, keep an eye on them. While gorilla trekking requires participants to be at least 15 years old, in Uganda, a youngster is considered an adult when they are 18 years of age or older. Although they might be destroyed by unknown individuals, there are few signposts in the Bwindi area that allow you to follow them. The communication network itself could be improved.
Remain near the gorilla trekking group that you have been assigned to go with. This will keep you from getting lost in the woods. The ranger guide stays with the rest of the party but follows the trekker who is moving the slowest.
If you need to get in better shape for the gorilla hike, hire a porter to carry your stuff. If the mountain gorilla family is distant from the beginning point, you can become really tired.
Bring the appropriate gorilla trekking equipment, such as a first aid kit, safari boots, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, garden gloves, and other items that will last you a long time in the bush.
