Bwindi Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park are Uganda’s renowned homes for the endangered rare mountain gorillas.
Both parks are situated within the south western corner of the country bordered by Rwanda in the south and Congo in the west.
In addition to the rare mountain gorillas within Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks; Uganda is a naturally endowed country with several other natural resources which are all very rewarding to the tourists and among these we have the wildlife viewing at Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mountain climbing in the Ghahinga and Rwenzori ranges, canoe rides and launch cruises on the Lakes of Victoria and Nile River, fishing, Bungee jumping and the friendly indigenous people etc.
Best Time to Travel
Though the most selling attraction of them all is trekking for the unique mountain gorillas in the Bwindi and Mgahinga Parks.
Uganda is a Tropical Rain Forest and receives rains throughout the year but this however, does not have any much impact on the trekking exercise for the tourists. Therefore visitors are able to trek for the mountain gorillas at any time of the year depending on individual taste and preference of when to travel.
Gorilla Permits
It’s essential for Tourists wishing to trek for these amazing creatures to obtain the mountain gorilla trekking permits (the standing documents that permit visitors entry into the Bwindi and Mgahinga parks for the trekking expedition).
The gorilla trekking permits are obtained at $600 for per person in the high seasons of June, July,
September, October, December, January, February, and March and at $450 for per person in the low seasons of April, May and November.
These gorilla permits can be obtained from either a trusted tour operating agency or directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority given out on the first come first serve basis.
There are 12 existing gorilla family groups in Uganda available for tourists purposes with each restricted to only 8 visitors in a single day; implying a maximum of 96 gorilla trekking permits is issued out in every single day throughout the country.
This makes the availability scarce as compared to the high demand from travelers across the world.
It’s therefore very important to always have your gorilla permit secured 3 months prior to your traveling time.
On the eventful trekking day; rise early, enjoy breakfast and report at the Bwindi Forest park offices and engage in a morning briefing on the gorilla trekking code of conduct provided by the Park Warden. After this, embark on your gorilla trekking expedition; once you locate the amazing creatures, enjoy an hour with them and watch them as they play, eat tease and nurture their young ones or even go on with their daily activities in your presence without any disturbances and later retrieve the starting point, to meet your guide for your return to the lodge