Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Located in South Western Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable national park occupies over 331 sq km. It lies on the edge of the Western Rift valley (Albertine rift) and is shared by Kanungu, Kabale and Kisoro districts. The park occupies different vegetation zones but predominantly a tropical rain forest. This ancient rainforest is one of the few remaining forests in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age. Bwindi Impenetrable national park is a home to roughly half of the world’s mountain gorillas (326 gorillas). In the World today, it is estimated that there are only 700 remaining mountain gorillas.

Other Tourist Attractions in Bwindi Forest

Apart from the rare mountain gorillas, the park also has over 120 other mammalian species including 11 primates, 200 species of butterflies and about 324 different tree species. These primates include the black-and-white colobus, with its lovely flowing white tail, L’Hoest Monkey, Red Tailed monkeys among others. The forest is also rich in birdlife (360 species) with 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics being present in the park. Among the notable bird species include the Short-tailed Warbler, Gruer’s Rush Warbler, Bar-tailed Trogon, Yellow-eyed black Fly-catcher, Dusky Crimson Wing, White-tailed Blue Monarch, Wilcock’s Honey-guide, Rusty-faced woodland Warbler Kivu Ground Thrush, among others. These birds cannot be easily cited anywhere in East Africa.

Mountain Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi

This is the main tourism activity in the park. There are four habituated gorilla groups Mubare group (10 gorillas, 1 silverback), Habinyanja group (18 gorillas, 1 silverback), Rushegura group (10 gorillas, 1 silverback) and Nkuringo group (19  gorillas

Other Tourist Activities

• Guided forest walks –  In the park, there are four fantastic hiking trails. On these trails you have the opportunity to see and learn about different tree species, birds, butterflies, and other scenic features in the forest such as the
• Munyaga waterfalls on Munyaga River, as well as spectacular views of Lake Edward and the Rwenzori mountains are worthy to see
• Cultural performances – In the evenings, visitors to the park can participate in captivating and memorable traditional performances presented by Women and orphan groups.
• Birding –  Bwindi is the bird watchers haven! It holds 346 species of birds and contains 90% of the Albertine endemics which cannot easily be found any other part of East Africa.