Mountain Gorillas In Uganda

The Mountain gorillas in Uganda live in only two National Parks Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park located in south western part of Uganda. World over, mountain gorillas are living in only three countries that is Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.Congo. According to the last mountain gorilla census, approximately 1062 gorillas are living in the world.

Uganda has the largest number of mountain gorillas almost half the total number with majority as residents of Bwindi forest. Because of the vast size of Bwindi forest and impassable features that act as obstructions to crossing from one area to another, the forest is divided into four areas that is Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Rushaga.

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Brief History on Gorilla Trekking in Uganda

Gorilla- Trekking-Booking After Diane Fossey sounded the alarm of plight of mountain gorilla conservation in before the 1980s that awas at the extinction rim, the world conservation bodies took centre stage.

In Uganda, the first gorilla families to be opened for conservation were;

Mubare gorilla group in 1993 with 10 gorillas

Habinyanja gorilla family in 1998 with 21 members

Rushegura gorilla family in 2002 with 10 members

Nkuringo gorilla family in 2004 with 19 members

The gorilla habituation process is still going on and the list of gorilla trekking families is growing over time with so far over 23 gorilla families open to the public. This number can change anytime as gorilla habituation process is still going on.

Gorilla habituation experience is new encounter open to the public with currently about four gorilla families. For gorilla habituation experience 4 hours with semi habituated mountain gorillas and maximum 4 tourists accompany a team of researchers to visit these gentle giants.

Requirements For Booking Gorilla Trekking Safari And Gorilla Habituation Experience In Uganda

Book a gorilla trekking permit for Uganda however, there supply is limited to maximum 8 per gorilla trekking family or maximum 4 per gorilla habituation family per day.
Reserve accommodation to use during gorillas trekking especially that within or close to the park
Age limit for gorilla safaris is 15 years and beyond in Uganda
Maintain some level of fitness before gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience to help with hiking in the jungle. Sedan chair or basket means are available for those with physical challenges.
Stay health towards and during gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience and when you catch a communicable infection treat it or you may be stopped from seeing the highly vulnerable and susceptible mountain gorillas.
Carry personal documents to present at the briefing point before gorilla trekking like passport, verified National Identification Card and more.
Pack the right gorilla safari gears suitable for the jungle like garden gloves, sturdy safari boots, rain proof gears and more.

Key Details Of Gorilla Trekking Or Gorilla Habituation Experience In Uganda

Location of gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experiences in Uganda is in the south western part of the country specifically Bwindi forest and Mgahinga forest.
Altitude of Uganda gorilla safari destinations on average is between 1140 meters above sea level and 2670 meters above see level.
Time to take on gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience in Uganda varies with factors prevailing in the forest and physical fitness.
Maximum 8 tourists for gorilla trekking and maximum 4 tourists for gorilla habituation experience are allowed to visit each gorilla family every day.
Pack right for gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience in Uganda to feel safe while moving in the jungle. Carry safari boots, rain proof gears, warmers and more.

Best Gorilla Trekking Or Gorilla Habituation Experience Time In Uganda

Gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience time is all year however, the dry season which is June to September and December to January is preferred when the forest is expected to have less humidity.

Competition for gorilla permits for this tourism season in Uganda is high therefore its is safer to book your in advance. Many tourists book gorilla permits as early as a year in advance.

How To Book Uganda Gorilla Permits

Identify a date when to do gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation Experience in Uganda, number of permits you wish to book too.
Find gorilla permit availability and purchase them as soon as you can because they are first come first served basis.
Reserve the gorilla permits in the shortest time possible because they are limited.
Avail necessary personal details to include on your gorilla permits card.

Do not give up booking the gorilla trekking safari or gorilla habituation experience in the wet season that is March to May and November. This is because you will still see the mountain gorillas in Uganda. Most of the time mountain gorillas keep in sheltered spots during the wet season .

On the Way To gorilla tracking Bwindi Forest

What Are The Chances Of Finding Mountain Gorillas During Gorilla Habituation Experience Or Gorilla Trekking In Uganda

Gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience is a must see with over 99% chances. Locating the mountain gorillas is determined by factors like food location, weather conditions prevailing in the day, mood in the forest and more
Even though sometimes finding the mountain gorillas is challenging, getting to them is assured. Each day a team of ranger guides wakes up earlier to trace where the gorilla family may have nested them update the rangers with tourists. Sometimes the gorillas may relocate but this is one of the clues to finding them.
At briefing tourists are explained in details about the mountain gorillas and what is expected of tourists when searching, when with and when leaving their presence and these guidelines assist with tracing them too.
Tourists are requested to assist with tracing the clues the mountain gorillas leave behind which are sometimes unrecognisable. The mountain gorillas may leave behind some fresh foot prints, freshly chewed foliage, listen to their murmurs and more as these may lead to their location.
No matter when you find the mountain gorillas during gorilla habituation experience or gorilla trekking adventure, keep positive.

Gorilla Safari Destinations In Uganda

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

The largest home of the mountain gorillas in Uganda is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park covering approximately 327 square kilometres. Bwindi forests is separated by impassable features that is why it was separated into four administrative areas Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Rushaga.

Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda are reserved according to four areas under which the park is divided so note this before booking accommodation to use during this adventure.

As a biosphere reserve, Bwindi forest is home to other 9 primate species, over 88 butterfly species, over 350 bird species including Albertine rift endemics, 312 months and more.

Gorilla habituation experience is open in Bwindi forests too. This is where maximum 4 tourists are allowed to visit a semi habituated gorilla family and spend four hours with them.

Mgahinga National Park

Even though this is the smallest Uganda National Park covering about 33.7 square kilometres of forest, Mgahinga National Park is home of the mountain gorillas. At the moment one gorilla family called Nyakagezi is open to the public.

The stunning three Virunga Volcanoes that is mountain Gahinga, Muhavura and Sabyinyo influence the topography of Mgahinga forest and this is why it is one of the amazing destinations to visit in the country.

Besides the mountain gorillas, Mgahinga forest is home to golden monkeys, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys and more. Over 115 bird species are confirmed residents of Mgahinga forest including Albertine rift endemics.

How do mountain gorillas live?

Mountain gorillas live in families under the autocratic leadership of a dominant silverback. A Silverback develops a greyish line at the back at the about the age of 13 years and may start to attract mature females from other families. In a family, there is normally one silverback and if another develops, he may either live the family or keep on attacking his family to take up leadership,

Mountain gorillas are residents of the Virunga volcanic area and can either be found at the slopes of the ridge or the bottom of the valleys depending on food availability.

Mountain Gorilla Feeding Habitats

Although mountain gorillas are huge in size, they are fully vegetarian and daily a mountain gorilla consumes over 20 kilograms of vegetable (30 pound to more than 60 pounds of foliage). Bamboo is their favourite delicacy, fruits, ants, soft stems and others. Gorillas also consume some soil to complement the nutrients they do not get from foliage.

Mountain gorilla generally spend most of there day feeding and the evening are dominated by relaxing, feed the infant and playing by the juveniles until the evening when they re-nest. Napping helps the mountain gorillas bond as family, breakdown the food and even procreation time.

On average a Mountain gorillas family stages its location in one spot for atleast 1 year in case the dominant silverback is not adventurous or no attacks from intruders or conditions in the jungle are favourable and more.

In case there is food scarcity for the gorilla family, it is the work of the dominant silverback to search for a new area for his family to feed in. In case a mother passes away, he normally takes care of the orphans to the extent of sleeping with him nest.

What else to do in Bwindi forest national park

Gorilla tracking may be the dominant activity in Bwindi forest National Park but there are other activities on ground that can be done. Some of them include:

Bird Watching in Bwindi

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a prime birding watching destination in Uganda home to over 350 bird species including Albertine rift endemics.

While on birding safari in Uganda to Bwindi forest, one may spot more than 50 species of birds in a single day even from your balcony. Teh Ruhija area especially teh Mubwindi swamp of Bwindi forest is the major birding spot of the forest.

Some of the birds of Bwindi forest include the Grey Throated Barbet, Elliot Wood Pecker, Red Tailed Bubul, Icterine And Yellow Whiskered Greenbuls, White- Browed Crombec, White- Tailed Blue Flycatcher, Narrow- Tailed Starling, Luhder’s And Doherty’s Bush- Shrikes to mention but a few. Several birds can also be identified during gorilla trekking which is a double advantage. Read More

Guided forest walks in Bwindi

Bwindi forest supports a great diversity of wildlife and highlands. Through the different trails set in the forest by Uganda wildlife Authority, you can get to know losts of other incredible creatures.

The Munyanga River trail is one of those you can take but this is placed outside the park. It starts at the end Buhoma road following the Bizenga river, to its confluence with Muyanga prior to returning to Buhoma road at the community camp site. This trail is also a birder’s haven READ MORE >>>>>>>

Batwa Community walk

The Batwa community walk is one of the activities you can participate in before or after gorilla trekking in Bwindi. The Batwa pygmies were residents of Bwindi Forest which was the soul provider of there daily needs. During the Batwa community visit, you get to know the incredible back ground through their tales, focal songs, skits and dances. This has been one of the unique community encounters READ MORE >>>>>>>

Village walk in Bwindi

Close by Buhoma are other communities like the Bakiga whose life depends on agriculture for a commercial purpose. This activity is under the leadership of the Buhoma community Rest camp and its is the one of the ways you can give back to the locals.

Other Activities to Do in Mgahinga National Park

Golden Monkey Trekking And Golden Monkey Habituation Experience

The golden monkeys are another endangered primate species living in Mgahinga forest. These monkeys have a larger body compared to other monkeys, golden brown hairs on the lower bottom, charming and many other interesting traits.

Even though golden monkeys are habituated, they still possess their natural traits so buckle up for a restless moment as they hope from tree to tree.

You need to book a golden monkey permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority to attend this adventure.

Batwa visit in Mgahinga to see the former occupants of Mgahinga forests who shared the same space with the mountain gorillas in the past but were evicted in the 1990s to give way to conservation. They show visitors demos of how they survived for all that long in the jungle.

Birding in Mgahinga forest where over 115 bird species have been confirmed as residents and you can do this during gorilla trekking.

Mountaineering in Mgahinga forest on the three Virunga mountains that is Mgahinga, Sabyinyo and Muhavura.