There is a lot to do as you visit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Southwestern Uganda. The park covers an area of 331 Square Kilometers and is famous for inhabiting the rare and endangered mountain gorillas. Impressively the park has the highest number of mountain gorillas hence having a big number of gorilla families.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in Kanungu District, a distance of 490km from Kampala capital city. The park is covered by an impenetrable forest and has an array of inhabitants such as over 350 bird species of which 14 of the species can only be spotted in this park, over 230 butterfly species among others. The park also has a few species of big mammals like elephants, duikers, buffaloes, golden cats, bush pigs, giant forest hogs, black-fronted Duikers, yellow-backed duikers and clawless otters.
Bwindi has many sectors, where you can access and be able to visit the park and these, are Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Rushaga and they have up to habituated gorilla families which are open to tourists to trek. These sectors sit on hills covered by rainforests that were formed over 25,000 years back.
What to do and see in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park?
Gorilla trekking.
This adventure starts at 08:00hours with briefing session and the armed ranger / guide will take you to the forest to meet your cousins. Only 8 visitors are allowed to trek a particular gorilla family and given an hour in the presence of a trekked gorilla family. During this experience, you will spot different primates, birds and other large mammals. Remember the whole activity can take over 4 hours of adventure.
Gorilla habituation experience.
Habituation is aimed at getting mountain gorillas accustomed to human presence. The activity is done once a day and it takes over 8 hours including 4 hours of face to face interaction with gorillas. The experience takes place in only Rushaga sector and it starts at 07:30hours. The visitors get an opportunity to learn the behaviors of gorillas like feeding habits, leadership skills by the silverback – head of the group, lifestyle and much more.
Bird watching.
The forest boasts over 350 bird species including 23 rift valley endemics with 14 of these only found in this Impenetrable forest, bird watching is therefore possible. The birds that are spotted here among others include Kivu ground Thrush, white-tailed blue flycatcher, African emerald cuckoo, African blue flycatcher, red-headed blue Bill and Common Bulbul.
Cultural encounters.
Take a community walk where you will explore either the Batwa or Bakiga cultures in their natural setting. And enjoy their legendary cultural activities like music dance and drama, dish preparation and tasting, story tales and visiting traditional healers. Also, you can take a community tour through a guided walk and learn more about the way of life of these local cultures.
Nature walks / forest hikes.
For those willing to explore the wild on foot, this is the best way as you take a guided nature walk with a help of the armed park ranger. There are well maintained trails that will take you to the numerous waterfalls, untouched forests, get to meet different primate species, birdlife and admire the panoramic mountain sceneries. Some trails will expose you to the distant views of Lake George, Lake Edward and Rwenzori mountain ranges.
Cycling / mountain biking.
Cycling is done on special request and aimed to support the local women in Buhoma. The project is managed by Buhoma community camp and the trails are well demarcated with beautiful views and dotted with wildlife like colobus monkeys, bushbucks, red-tailed monkeys among others. There is a 7 hours and 13 hours cycling trails but all are encouraging and amazing to try out.
Lake Visits.
Visit either Lake Mutanda in Kisoro or Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale and take part in different leisure activities like canoeing to the numerous islands, sport fishing, hiking and community tours. These lakes give impressive and breathtaking views of the towering Virunga Mountains.
There is more than the above experiences that you can engage in while visiting Bwindi National Park, all you need to do is to take a step today and contact our professional team to plan for you an all-inclusive holiday to this part of Uganda.
