Are you looking to taking a gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park? Would you like to meet the gorillas in the wild but you are traveling on a shoestring budget? Here is helpful advice for the gorilla trackers looking to visiting Bwindi on an independent tour.
With improved access to Bwindi Forest, today there are more travelers who travel independently to the park for gorilla tracking.
1. Book your gorilla permits early enough
It is advised to book your gorilla permits early enough so that you may not have surprises of “no availability”. I have seen many tourists traveling to Bwindi and missing tracking the endangered gorillas because of no availability in the peak months of June – September and December – February. If you are “good at risking” atleast make sure that you check for availability a day before the tracking date.
Gorilla permits can be booked at Uganda Wildlife Authority offices in Kampala or through local travel agents listed on this website.
2. Traveling to Bwindi
Given the long distance between Bwindi and Kampala or Kigali, you need to travel at least a day before and stay a night in one of the lodges in the park. From Kampala you can use public transportation – buses to Kisoro or Kabale. It is also possible to hire a car for your trip to Bwindi from local car rental agencies in Kampala or Entebbe.
3. On the D Day
As time for the gorilla trek is approaching, before 8:00 am you are advised first to report to the ranger station either in Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura or Nkuringo for registration depending on which group you will be tracking the gorillas. Talk to one of the many rangers around to brief you about the activity.
Let the guides take you through the trek (½ – 5 hours) into the forest while pushing your way through the undergrowth and parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas.
It will be a memorable feeling spending your time in such an impenetrable forest with the few last remaining (about 650 in the whole world) mountain gorillas our 98% close cousins.