Travelling to Africa for a safari holiday is cure to most adventure quenching travelers. Gorilla trekking in Uganda is one of the African top choices to make for one to enjoy the totality of the untamed wild jungle.
Gorilla Trekking Safari In Uganda
Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga forest in Uganda form the largest home of prehistoric home of mountain gorillas. This makes Uganda the top destination for mountain gorilla trekking in Africa.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda exposes you to a golden hour with in the same vicinity with the mountain gorillas.
For one to be sure of meeting the gorillas, a gorilla trekking permit is the entry ticket. Each day 8 gorilla trekking permits per gorilla tracking family are released to the public to book. The Uganda wildlife Authority (UWA) books each person according to area other that a particular family. This is to give people a chance to explore the fun presented by different areas.
Bwindi forest being a vast forest is quite challenging to navigate just in a single day of gorilla trekking so for this reason the forest has been partitioned into gorilla trekking areas.
Buhoma gorilla tracking area is placed in the northern sector of the park where the main headquarters of Uganda Wildlife Authority of Bwindi is found. Ruhija gorilla trekking area enjoys the Northern area too and for any birding fanatic, this is the real deal.
Nkuringo gorilla tracking area governs the southern sector and its where the Uganda Wildlife Authority offices for the south are found. Rushaga gorilla trekking area also enjoys the south too with incredible gorilla families to trek.
How Interesting Is Gorilla Trekking In Uganda
It all starts with preparing for gorilla trekking where you need to awaken your muscles so as to withstand the huddles in the forest. Bwindi forest topography is generally volcanic with several ridges to hike at times in order to locate the mobile mountain gorillas.
Having specific wear to pack for gorilla trekking also makes it’s a special African adventure so in case you violet your packing list you do not enjoy the jungle.
If you have played hide and seek then this is similar to it. You personally participate in searching the gorillas from within the wilderness. Mountain gorillas are jungle masters which makes the game quite challenging at times.
Time of locating the gorillas may range from 2 hours after starting to about three quarters of the day. This uncertainty is quite tiring and requires some patience at times but finding the gorillas is about 99% guarantee.
The prevailing conditions in the forest make easy to so hard to locate the gorillas. Some examples in question include the weather changes especially when its so wet, the gorillas tend to feed and stay at the slopes yet dry seasons with scarcity of food pushes them to the bottom hills.
Things You Must Know About Mountain Gorillas
Gorillas are shy animals so during gorillas trekking, you must try not to stare into the deep brown eyes of the gorillas. This irritates them.
Mountain gorillas may be huge but entirely feed on vegetation. That ginormous body would be expected to be satisfied by some meat but foliage is the gorilla delicacy.
Each gorilla live in a family under the leadership of a despotic silverback. He is responsible for defending the honor of the family and succession is by blood.
Unfamiliar lightening scares the mountain gorillas and this is why you are recommended to carry a flash-less soundproof camera to keep memories of your trip alive.
Mountain gorillas have about 96% human gene making them susceptible to human infections. For this reason, in case you catch any infectious illness like Corona Virus, Influenza, dysentery before gorilla trekking, volunteer to stay behind to save the endangered remnants of the ice age era.
Never feed the mountain gorillas because they are wild animals that should always fend there own meals.
The cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is $700 but however this price supports a lot of work in the mountain gorillas conservation move.
Every gorilla trekking permit sold supports the gorilla conservation program. At times the mountain gorillas fall ill and require medical support part of the price of the gorilla permit supports this.
Gorilla habituation also involves a lot of details so in order to expand on the number of gorilla families some financial assistance is required.
Paying the salaries of the ranger guides comes from the gorilla permits cost. In order to motivate them to still support the gorilla conservation work they need to receive payment.
More research about the mountain gorillas is still going on so some of the proceeds to support this are got from the price of the gorilla permit.
Before entering any national Park, you need to pay park entrance fees which are incorporated within the price of a gorilla permit.
The annual earnings are shared with the community around the park to encourage them to value the mountain gorilla lives and protect them. 10% of the annual earnings are given back to support the local community.
Carrying the right gorilla trekking gears makes you comfortable while in the jungle. You never forget all the experience in detail once you are successful. Meeting the gorillas is the ultimate goal for this safari but other interesting game live freely in the forest.
Long sleeved shirt and trousers cover your body from biting nettles that the forest protects.
Tracking boots save you from the soggy ground which is wet throughout the day because of little sun rays that penetrate the thick forest
Insect repellant that is comfortable on your skin make it easy for you to walk through the forest.
At least 4 masks to use during gorilla trekking since corona virus has affected the world and chance of transmitting it to the gorillas must be minimised.
Garden secure a tight grip in case you slide in the forest. Your palms also get a safe landing in case you slide in the forest.
Uganda being the Pearl of Africa and at times referred to as the Kew Garden Of Eden has it all that you would want on an African safari. Combining gorilla trekking with either of these would make a fantastic Africa Safari.
The Source of River Nile emerges from Uganda Lake Victoria to carry on its course up to the Red Sea. Who can resist the magical point where River Nile water miraculous separates from calm Lake Victoria water.
Most of the wild game of Africa can be seen On a Uganda safari like lions, elephants, herds of buffaloes, giraffes, water bucks, bush bucks, zebras, leopards, cheetahs, jackals to mention but a few. During morning or late evening game drives, you have high chances of spotting some of these animals.
Birding in Africa cannot be complete without visiting Uganda. Bwindi forest the home of the mountain gorillas has about 90% of the renowned Albertine endemics. Ruhija gorilla trekking Area in Bwindi within Mubwindi Swamp is the best point for Keen Birders.
Mountaineering is a super activity for anyone who want to check there fitness. Climbing Mountain Rwenzori is one of the plans you can take advantage of even after gorilla trekking in Uganda.