Did you know that gorilla habituation can only be done in Uganda in the whole of Africa and world over?
Uganda is one of the three countries, the other two being Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo where a tourist can spot the remaining endangered mountain gorillas. The countries share the Virunga Mountains at their borders where the mountain gorillas live. This is the only destination which favor safe refuge of mountain gorillas given its altitude and general climatic conditions.
In total, the population of gorillas is 1063 gorilla individuals as per the 2018 gorilla population census carried out by Dian Fossey team and partners in all the three countries. Out of this population, about 50% live in Bwindi national Park and research says that there are about 500 gorillas in Bwindi forest alone. This is the only park where tourists can undertake gorilla habituation experiences.
Bwindi National Park there is well situated in the Southwestern part of the pearl of Africa-Uganda with 20 habituated mountain gorillas and these are open to tourists for daily visits. There are four sectors in Bwindi National Park and these include; Rushaga, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Buhoma. Among the four sectors, only two sectors have two gorilla families set aside for habituation experience and these are Nkuringo and Rushaga regions.
Gorilla habituation experience literally means the process by which gorillas are trained to get used to human presence. Mountain gorillas are shy animals and this means that they tend to run away in case they see human beings or any other unfamiliar creature. Therefore only four visitors are allowed to habituate one gorilla family each day, for only four hours together with trackers and scientists.
Visitors spend 4 hours in the midst of gorillas as they watch them play, search for food and feed, groom their young ones and do all other daily activities. The silverback, which is the leader of the gorilla family, will be exercising its manly duties including mating, leadership responsibilities among others. Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda is worth undertaking while on your safari to Africa.
Uganda Gorilla habituation from Kigali.
Kigali is the capital city of Rwanda, and the nearest sector of Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park is Nkuringo sector. Therefore most tourists who come from Kigali desire to undertake gorilla habituation experience in Nkuringo or Rushaga sectors because distance is shorter compared to other sectors. Also Bwindi National Park is quite far from Entebbe International Airport as compared to Kigali international airport.
A tourist can therefore take a gorilla experience in the Volcanoes national park of Rwanda and then cross to Uganda for gorilla habituation experience in a single short safari of not more than 4 days. As you know that gorilla permits for habituation process are limited in number to just 4 people per day, it is advisable to book your permit as early as at least one year or 6 months before the actual day of carrying out the habituation process.
You need to spend a night in Nkuringo or Rushaga sectors since the activity starts exactly at 07:00hours not like gorilla trekking that starts at 08:00hours. The good news is that Nkuringo and Rushaga have different accommodation facilities that suit all categories of tourists. There are different categories of accommodation properties, ranging from budget, midrange and luxury lodges, guest houses, homestays and so much more.
The sector can only be accessed by road as tourists cross via Cyanika / Katuna border in southwestern Uganda from Kigali which is not possible to fly by a plane. The roads are well tarmacked and that saves time.
Therefore, anyone can take a gorilla habituation safari from Kigali, depending on their budget as long as their 15 years and above of age. We are ready to offer a full package of gorilla habituation in Uganda from Kigali.
