Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Located in far western Uganda this park is mostly composed of thick afro-montane rain forest. The forest was an Impenetratable forest reserve in 1932.  Years later in 1991, it was gazetted as a national park by UWA and named Bwindi till date. This park is a habitat to the beautiful mountain gorilla, one of Uganda’s top tourist attractions. There only a few surviving mountain gorillas left worldwide with over half of the world’s surviving population resident in Bwindi. The park inhabits at least 120 mammal species. These include chimpanzees, rodents, rats, L’hoests, red tailed and blue monkeys; black and white colobus; olive baboon, forest elephant. Six antelope species occur in the park: bushbuck and 5types of forest duiker. Over 350 bird species have been recorded in Bwindi; 23 of these being Albertine Rift endemics. Endemics to this park are 14 species including: Frazer’s eagle owl; brown necked parrot, African green broadbill among others.

Activities

 Gorilla tracking
This is a relatively strenuous activity but to all trackers, the trek is very rewarding. Tracking is done in only habituated gorilla groups. A maximum of 8 persons is acceptable for each group subject to the possession of a gorilla permit by each tracker. Maximum tracking time is one hour. Mountain gorillas are sedentary creatures and move for about 1km per day. For this reason therefore; an experienced guide can locate them with ease the very next day.

Village walk
This tour takes a maximum of 3 hours and exposes visitors to the cultural practices and ways of the Bakiga and Batwa people. Encounter activities like farming, brewing local beer, Batwa cultural shows and dances. Learn the use of traditional herbs and medicine to cure ailments on this stroll.

Nature walk
The kind of nature walk is determined by the tourist’s interests. The park has different trails suitable for birding, sightseeing and wildlife viewing. Some of these trails require guides but some do not depending on their location.

Hiking
This activity is exclusive to the Nkuringo area. Haphazard exploration of this area is not advisable due to the steep nature of the Nteko ridge.

CAUTION
It is advisable to always have an early start for Bwindi since all approach routes have dirt roads that become slippery during bad weather. 4X4 vehicles are strictly recommended for this trip.