Gorilla Trekking in Uganda from Kigali

Gorilla trekking in Uganda from Kigali

Gorilla trekking in Uganda from Kigali :Trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda has always been the most fascinating tourist activity ever experienced by the tourists that visit the continent of Africa. Uganda has the largest number of mountain gorillas in the world in that Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has half the population of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. Uganda’s mountain gorillas are found in the south western part of the country making it a day trip to reach the national parks. This is the top most challenge that the tourists face because the trip itself is tiresome and consumes a lot of their time. Many solutions have been created such as using the chartered planes from Entebbe International Airport to these parks. However this is very expensive and makes the whole trip costly which highly affects the numbers of tourists that visit the national parks. The only solution that is cheap and effective is using the Kigali route to trek the gorillas in Uganda.

How to connect to Uganda via Kigali

In the past years, many visitors that came for gorilla trekking used to stop in Rwanda because of the existence of gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. The ease of access to Volcanoes National Park made Rwanda a one stop center for gorilla trekking.

However, this has all changed since the Rwanda gorilla permits were increased in terms of prices from 750 USD to 1500 USD making tourists opt for gorilla trekking in Uganda. Fortunately, many tour companies have put arrangements to create the short gorilla safaris that connect tourists from Kigali International Airport to Uganda national parks for gorilla trekking. Now many tourists have to reach Kigali International Airport and on reaching, they have to connect to Uganda via the Uganda-Rwanda borders. The trip from Kigali International Airport is very short and takes about 3-4 hours depending on the stopovers. The Kigali International Airport has opened a door way to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park for mountain gorilla trekking experience to the travelers.

Where to experience gorilla trekking in Uganda

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is situated in the south western part of Uganda covering an area about 321 sq km which consists of a diverse ecosystem within the dense tropic rain forests. Connecting to Bwindi Inpenetrable National Park from Kigali, the easiest route is using the Chanika border to Kisoro district but still you can use the Katuna border and connect to Kibale district in the south. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a habitat for over 480 endangered mountain gorillas. The mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are the main attraction and over 17 groups have been habituated such as Busingye group, Nshonji group, Bweza group, kyaguriro group, Nkuringo group, Kahungye group, Rushengura group, Mubare group, Habinyanja group, Mishaya group, Oruzogo group and more.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is divided into sectors making it possible to be accessed in all areas which include; Ruhija and Buhoma sectors can be accessed via Katuna border while Rushaga sector and Nkuringo are located in the south of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be accessed through the Chanika border. As you move through the gorilla trails in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you get to spot a number of species such as birds; the park has over 348 species of birds making these charming sounds in the forest, about 120 species of mammals, and this gives you a natural feeling and experience of the wildlife around you that you will not find in the cities and towns. The mountain gorillas are calm and joyful primates in that when you meet them in the wild, you find a group in an area resting and feeding and it will not mind about you since they are used to humans.

Mgahinga National Park

Mgahinga National Park covers an area of 13.1 square miles within three extinct volcanoes that is Mt. Gahinga, Mt. Muhavura, and Mt. Sabinyo, and it is operated under the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is located in the south western part of Uganda in the district of Kisoro. Mgahinga National Park is among the three parks in the Virunga conservation area and it is the smallest forest national park in Uganda.

Gorilla trekking is one of the best, fascinating and thrilling tour safaris done in Mgahinga National Park. Mgahinga National Park has one habituated family of mountain gorillas known as the Nyakagyezi which can be visited by the tourists that want to do gorilla trekking. The fact that Mgahinga National Park has bamboo and alpine forests, it has largely influenced the existence of the mountain gorillas that now reside in the park. Although Mgahinga National Park has a great number of other wildlife such as the blue, rare red colobus plus black and white colobus, forest elephants, giant forest hogs various species of birds, the mountain gorillas are still the main center of attraction

Additionally, Bwindi impenetrable National Park introduced gorilla habituation experience which involves tourists spending about four hours with the gorillas and to do so, the tourists move together with the researchers to a particular group that is under the habituation process. A maximum of four people are allowed to join the team of researchers to carry out gorilla habituation experience and it is done two times making it 8 permits issued per day and you are supposed to spend a maximum of 4 hours with the gorillas. The habituation experience was established in the southern region of Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 2014 and two groups have been habituated under this program and these are; Bikyingi gorilla family situated in Rushanga area with 21 members and Bushaho gorilla family is situated in Nkuringo sector with 8 members. For anyone to go for gorilla habituation experience, you need a gorilla permit that goes for $1500 USD per person.

Where to book your gorilla permit

The gorilla permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the permits are issued from the Uganda Wildlife Authority offices in Kampala the capital of Uganda. Travelers are advised to use the online system of booking. After you have deposited you will receive a confirmation message plus the softcopy of your gorilla permit. The permits are issued everyday however the tourists are advised to book the gorilla permits in advance like in a space of 6 months prior to their arrival. The mountain gorilla permits in Uganda are issued at a cost of USD 700 per person.

Conclusion

Gorilla trekking in Uganda from Kigali in general is one of the best ways you can trek the gorillas in Uganda because of its benefits such as the low cost and the fact that it is effective and lets you have a better experience with the gorillas in the jungles.