Gorilla trekking in Uganda is one of the most popular tourism activities in the country and has since made a name as one of the only lucky homes for the surviving mountain gorillas. The other two countries that mountain gorillas call home are Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. This has in turn made the country popular and internationally recognized hence receiving both local and international visitors from all parts of the world.
The tourism sector of Uganda has always been registering success as a result of the rare endangered mountain gorillas where travelers cannot wait spend their quality time with them. most of them admit that gorilla trekking is once in a life time activity and gives the most humane and breath taking experience.
Gorilla Trekking in both Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park.
Mgahinga national park is the smallest national park in the country yet among the most visited national parks in Uganda since is the second popular home for the endangered mountain gorillas after Bwindi. There is only one habituated gorilla family group in Mgahinga national park commonly known as “Nyakagezi national park” and can be tracked in about 2 to 4 hours depending on the location of the tracked gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park starts off at Ntebeko, the park’s headquarters, in the early morning hours around 7:00am with a simple brief by the tour guides and park rangers where they share knowledge of the park, informative knowledge about the tracked family group and some of the dos and don’ts especially in the presence of the mountain gorillas.
There are about 80 mountain gorilla individuals in Mgahinga but only one group family named the “Nyakagezi” is open for tourists and since Mgahinga is also dominated by the forests and volcano, they harbor and offer shelter and food to the mountain gorillas. This is why they can actually be seen on the slopes of the volcano mountains. Some of the advantages of gorilla trekking in Mgahinga are that the Nyakagezi family group feed and is kept with in closer ranges unlike in Bwindi the gorilla tends to move for longer distances in search of food.
Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi.
In all a thousand mountain gorillas that survive globally in the wild, Bwindi impenetrable national is endowed with about 600 gorilla individuals and this makes this destination a top tier and a unique one. The park has attracted a big number of guests from all parts of the world and has also largely boosted the tourism sector of Uganda.
There are four gorilla tracking regions in Bwindi and they include Buhoma sector, Ruhija gorilla sector, Nkuringo and Rushaga gorilla sector all scattered in different parts of the park. Buhoma sector in the northern part of Bwindi is the easily accessed one and the most visited gorilla sector in the region. Buhoma gorilla sector shelters only five habituated family including Mubare as the older family and the first habituated, Katwe, Rushegura and Habinyanja gorilla family that split with Rushegura.
There are about 24 gorilla families in Bwindi and the chances of sighting these human like primate species stand at 99%. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi also starts in the early morning hours of 7:00am and later trekkers are put into a group of eight members and each trekking group is allocated to one particular gorilla group family. Trekkers can only spend one full hour the gorillas once they are allocated and the whole experience is just an amazing one.
How much are gorilla trekking costs in Uganda.
Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda are quite affordable and even though the activity is somehow costly, gorilla trekking is worthy of every penny spent.
Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda cost 800 USD for foreign non-residents per day per person, 700 USD for foreign residents and 300,000 UGX for East African citizens.
The process of acquiring gorilla trekking permits in Uganda and the best time to book a permit.
Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda can be booked through a trustworthy and professional tour operator or through the Uganda Wildlife authority and the best time for gorilla trekking permit bookings is the low season of the year for easier and early preparations unlike during the peak season where booking a ticket becomes a little bit challenging as a result of high demand.
