Why Trek Bwindi Gorillas in 2022

The endangered mountain gorillas are only found in the wild and not in any zoo, thus trekking into their natural habitat-mountainous slopes blanketed with dense forests is the only opportunity to get a glance into their simplified and remarkable daily life. Since these beautiful primates can’t survive in captivity, the only possible way to see them is by undertaking physically demanding treks up to their natural environments-misty cloud forests that reach elevations of 2500 to 4000 meters above sea level.

Just getting the opportunity to sit silently on the cold grounds of a Ugandan jungle for one hour is one of the most fulfilling things of a lifetime. First, there are only about 1063 mountain gorillas in existence and the adventure of searching for them offers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of observing their day-to-day interactions within their families/groups.

These beautiful gentle beats only occupy the thick vegetation of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest alongside the slopes of the Virunga Mountains range that extends across Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park of Uganda, and Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, there are so many reasons for choosing Bwindi National Park for achieving your dream of meeting face to face with the Great Apes in the wild.

Bwindi National Park is where almost half the World’s population of mountain gorillas live

While there are four magnificent gorilla trekking locations, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has about half the World’s total mountain gorillas. It’s not as if it’s the largest of the four Parks but this UNESCO World Heritage Site of 321 square kilometers has about 459 mountain gorillas while the rest are distributed among the remaining three Parks. Its thick treetops earned its title of “place of darkness”. Thanks to its 21 habituated gorilla groups, over 168 gorilla permits are available every single day, at $700 per person per trek.

An opportunity to enjoy the Gorilla Habituation Experience

While standard gorilla treks are offered in all the four Gorilla National Parks, the Gorilla Habituation Experience, involving visits to semi-habituated gorillas and a chance to spend four hours observing as well as photographing is only possible within Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This experience is enjoyed in Rushaga, one of the four gorilla trekking sectors/regions of this Park. This adventure is done in the same way as standard gorilla treks, except visitors, follow a team of trackers and researchers to search for gorilla groups still undergoing habituation, and when located travelers are offered four whole hours of observation and photography.

More affordable Gorilla Trekking permits

A number of stringent measures are placed to ensure perfect health and survival of mountain gorillas in the wild, and this begins with issuing of limited gorilla trekking permits (only 8 permits for each habituated gorilla group). Daily interactions with each habituated gorilla group are limited to 8 persons, hence tourists have to apply for permits at least several months before the intended trekking dates.

Bwindi Gorilla permits cost $700 per person for the foreign-non-resident travelers, $600 for the foreign resident travelers, and the East African community travelers are charged only Shs. 250,000 per person per trek. This, compared to Rwanda’s gorilla permits is more affordable.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has numerous starting points as well as several habituated gorilla groups to trek and spend time with. Daily treks are led by expert Park Rangers and groups of 8 visitors are allowed to interact (through photography and observation) for one hour in total silence as well as a safe distance of 7 meters away from the Great Apes.

Perfect for travelers looking for more challenging terrains/hikes

Getting to south-western Uganda, where Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is located gives you the real picture of what you are about to venture into. This clearly tells you that the verdant erased rolling hills are not for the faint-hearted and this when added to the high elevation makes gorilla trekking in Bwindi the most thrilling adventure of a lifetime.

It is a real challenge, requiring hard work and patience to get to the mountain gorillas, because travelers maneuver up and downhill through dense tangles of thick vegetation, pricking thorns as well as huge roots. These clearly explain why Bwindi was referred to as “impenetrable” and because there are no clear trails, directions, or signs, Park Rangers will be required to use machetes to make way through the forest. However, the reward makes the whole challenge worthwhile.

A thousand and one chances of other primates crossing your path

The phenomenal Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has about 11 primate species. In addition to being the stronghold for endangered mountain gorillas, the chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, Pottos, De Brazza’s monkeys, spectacled Galago, red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoests monkeys, Olive baboons, and Demidoff’s Galago are likely to be seen during gorilla trekking in Bwindi.

How to access Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

About 500 kilometers by road from Kampala City, there are two ways to access Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The easiest and fastest way is air travel from Entebbe International Airport/Kajjansi Airstrip to Kihihi or Kisoro Airstrips, then the remaining part of the journey is completed by road.

The second and commonly used way is road transfer from Kampala City to Bwindi, taking about 8-10 hours of scenic driving. Still, on-road transport, travelers can connect to Bwindi from Kigali City and this journey takes 4-5 hours including border crossing at Cyanika or Katuna.