Best place for gorilla trekking in Uganda

Best place for gorilla trekking in Uganda; Gorilla trekking is an adventurous and one of the major activities in Uganda that attract many tourists and it involves moving on foot into the tropical rainforest in search of the habituated mountain gorillas and once found spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. Gorilla trekking in Uganda is done in two national parks that is Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park. Apart from Uganda, gorilla trekking is done in Volcanoes national park in Rwanda, Virunga national park and Kahuzi Biega national park in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Where to go for gorilla trekking in Uganda

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Bwindi impenetrable national park is located in southwestern part of Uganda and its one of the most visited gorilla destination in Uganda due to the fact that it harbors the highest number of mountain gorillas. Bwindi impenetrable national park is a home of over 22 habituated gorilla families which are found in four sectors namely Rushaga sector in the south, Ruhija sector in the East, Nkuringo sector in the south and Buhoma sector in the north.

Bwindi impenetrable national park also offers gorilla habituation experience where the wild mountain gorillas are trained for a period of about 2 to 3 years to get used to human presence and visitors who engage in the habituation experience will be allowed to spend four hours with the mountain gorillas.

Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park

Mgahinga gorilla national park is another gorilla destination located in southwestern part of Uganda in Kisoro district. The national park is a home of one habituated gorilla family called Nyakagezi which is available for trekking on a daily basis.

Gorilla trekking in both Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park starts early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing, you will be subdivided into groups of 8 people where each group will be allocated a habituated gorilla family to trek and an experienced park guide who is well conversant with gorilla trekking trails. Trekking of mountain gorillas in Uganda takes about 2 hours to 7 hours depending on where the mountain gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. Once the gorillas are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities, learn more about their behaviors, take photos and record incredible videos to show people back home.

Best time to go for gorilla trekking in Uganda

Gorilla trekking is an adventurous activity in Uganda that can be done anytime throughout the year though the best period is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. During the dry season, there is less rainfall in the gorilla destinations therefore access roads and gorilla trekking trails will be dry and passable which makes trekking easy compared to the rainy season when the trails are wet, muddy and slippery which makes trekking difficult.

Cost of gorilla trekking permits in Uganda

Gorilla trekking permits in Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park costs 700 USD per person for foreign non residents, 600 USD per person for foreign residents and 250,000 UGX per person for East African citizens.

How to book gorilla trekking permits in Uganda

Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda can be booked through a tour company where you will contact us at Achieve Global Safaris with the dates, month, year and gorilla destination that you wish to visit. After contacting us, we will check for permit availability and if there are permits available on your preferred dates, you will be asked to make a deposit for the permit. Once the payment has been made, we will purchase the permit on your behalf and send you a scanned copy of the receipt as confirmation

What to pack for gorilla trekking in Uganda

When going for gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park, there are a number of items that travelers should pack including long sleeved shirt and trouser, hiking shoes, insect repellent, garden gloves, camera and extra batteries, long socks, energy snack and drinking water, a pair of binoculars, waterproof rain jacket, warm sweater, face masks, walking stick, back pack among others.

Gorilla trekking in Uganda can either be done in Bwindi impenetrable national park or Mgahinga gorilla national park depending on what you prefer as both destinations offer the best gorilla trekking experience. For more information about the best place for gorilla trekking in Uganda, you can contact us at Achieve Global Safaris or visit our website to book an affordable gorilla trekking safari package.