Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is the most popular of Uganda’s national parks. Located in the southwestern Uganda, this is one of the only four national parks that host the endangered mountain gorillas! Given this uniqueness of the biodiversity it keeps, the park has been recognized by the UNESCO as one of the world heritage sites in the world.
Location
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located on the edge of the western arm of the great East African rift valley. It occupies approximately 321square kilometers of forests and wetlands. This forest is one of Uganda’s oldest rainforests with a rich biological diversity that include almost 400species of plants and animals. The forest dates back over 25000 years including endemic herbs and shrubs of East Africa.
Bwindi Forest shelters to further 120 mammals including primate species such as mountain gorillas, baboons and chimps that can easily be seen in the park. There are also forest elephants and antelopes that are often seen by tourists.The park hosts over 400 mountain gorillas which is almost half of the world’s total population of gorillas.
The forest was first designated as a reserve and an animal sanctuary in order to provide extra protection to its mountain gorillas; however, in 1991 the reserve was designated as a national park and named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, most notably for its mountain gorillas. Gorilla tracking became a tourist activity in April 1993 and the park became the country’s most popular tourist destination. The park was then divided into four gorilla tracking sectors which are the; Buhoma, Rushaga, Nkuringo and Ruhija. The first sector to be developed was the Buhoma sector and it’s still the most popular one of all the four sectors.
Today there are 15 gorilla families that have been habituated for tourist visits! Each gorilla group is visited by a maximum of 8 tourists!
Gorilla tourism in the park has been developed along the lines of ecotourism and the two most popular activities done in the park are:
- Gorilla tracking where tourists are given up to one hour to visit, learn and take photograph s of the mountain gorillas
- Gorilla Habituation – This is relatively a nee activity that was introduced in Bwindi. Tourists are allowed to engage in watching and following the mountain gorillas for up to 1 hour. Bwindi is the most famous destination for gorilla safaris in Africa. Currently, a gorilla permit costs only USD600 per person per trek. It is advised to book your gorilla permit early enough given that gorilla permits are sold out on first come, first serve.
In terms of birds, Bwindi is a birder’s paradise. There are around 350species of birds in this forest including 23Albertine rift endemics. Therefore if you are interested in a birding safari, a visit to Bwindi is a must.
Why Visit Bwindi
Till date, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the top attractions in Uganda and gorilla tracking is continuously taking the first position in the activities done there. These mountain gorillas feed on roots, leaves and fruits from the parks many tree species. They mostly feed at the edge of forests; therefore different trails have been created and maintained to allow gorilla tracking while in Bwindi. There are also different gorilla families in the park that can be habituated for tracking, for example, the Rushegura, Mubare, Habinyanja, Bitukura, Kyaguriro, Ruhija, Mishaya, Nshongi, Kahungye, Busingye and Bishaho plus others.
Today in Uganda, if there is any activity that you can never miss, start planning for a magical moment with the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Your trip will be a once in a life time expedition that you will never forget.
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