Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda
Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda
Gorilla habituation experience is a process where the wild mountain gorillas are trained to get used to human presence. Gorilla habituation experience was introduced in Bwindi impenetrable national park on 1st January 2014 by Uganda Wildlife Authority and it’s currently done in Bwindi impenetrable national park which is located in south western region in Kanungu district. Gorilla habituation process is carried out by a team of researchers, trackers, conservationists, park rangers among others and takes a period of 2 to 3 years to be complete.
How gorilla habituation is done
Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda is carried out in Rushaga sector southern part of Bwindi impenetrable national park. The activity only allows a maximum of 4 visitors to engage in the interesting activity where they spend time with the mountain gorillas under habituation. Gorilla habituation experience starts in the morning with a briefing about the expectations, rules and regulations during trekking. After the briefing you will start trekking in the jungle at around 7:30am with researchers, park rangers among others. Gorilla habituation experience is a whole day activity and visitors get an opportunity to spend 4 hours with the gorillas under habituation unlike gorilla trekking/ gorilla tracking where you spend one hour with the mountain gorillas.
During gorilla habituation experience visitors get face to face contact with the mountain gorillas, learn about their behaviors, habits, lifestyle, monitor their movement, take photos, record the moments and also take part in naming of each gorilla. During gorilla habituation, a team of researchers keep monitoring and visiting the gorilla group under habituation on a daily basis and when the researchers are sure that the gorillas can be trekked, they introduce a mock exercise which involves a team of journalists, scientists among others to visit the group. Once the gorilla group passes the mock exercise it will be opened trekking.
Cost of a gorilla habituation permit in Uganda
A gorilla habituation permit is a legal document which is issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority to a visitor above the age of fifteen allowing him or her to engage in a gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi impenetrable national park. A gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 for a foreign non-resident $1000 for a foreign resident and UGX 750,000 for an East African citizen. Gorilla habituation permit is expensive compared to a gorilla trekking permit which costs $600 for a foreign non-resident, $500 for a foreign resident and UGX 250,000 for an East African citizen.
How to book a gorilla habituation permit
Booking a gorilla habituation permit is easy as long as you follow the right procedure. A gorilla habituation permit in Uganda can either be booked directly through UWA by contacting their offices in Kampala via telephone calls or email. You can also book a gorilla habituation permit through Achieve Global Safaris. This is a trusted tour company that organizes gorilla safaris to different destinations. When booking through Achieve global safaris, you will contact us with the date, month and year when you want to engage in gorilla habituation experience. We will check for availability of the permit and if the permit is available, you will be asked to make a deposit for the gorilla habituation permit. Once the deposit has been made, you will be asked to send your scanned passport details which will be used to register for your permit. We will then acquire the permit for you and send a scanned copy of the receipt as confirmation.
When to book for a gorilla habituation permit
Gorilla habituation experience is only carried out in Rushaga sector Bwindi impenetrable national park. the activity only allows a maximum of 4 individuals to visit the gorillas under habituation daily for four hours therefore there are about 4 gorilla habituation permits available daily which means that due to the less number of the permits the gorilla habituation permits are expensive and usually get sold out especially during the dry season in the moths of June to September and December to February.
Difference between gorilla habituation experience and gorilla trekking
Gorilla habituation experience is a process where the mountain gorillas are trained to get used to human presence whereas gorilla trekking is an activity where you trek the habituated mountain gorillas in their natural environment.
Gorilla habituation experience gives visitors an opportunity to spend four hours with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat while gorilla trekking allows visitors to spend one hour in the presence of the habituated gorilla families.
Gorilla habituation experience only allows a maximum of four individuals to participate in the activity while gorilla trekking allows a maximum of eight individuals to trek a habituated gorilla family.
A gorilla habituation permit in Bwindi impenetrable national park costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents and UGX 750,000 for East African citizens while a gorilla trekking permit costs $600 for foreign non-residents, $500 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for East African citizens.
Best time to go for gorilla habituation experience in Uganda
Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda can be done anytime throughout the year the best time is during the dry season the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. The dry season is also known as the peak season and during this period many visitors prefer to travel because it’s a season with less rainfall which implies that the access roads to Rushaga sector will be passable, gorilla trekking trails in the jungle will be dry and passable which makes gorilla habituation successful compared to the wet/rainy season when the gorilla trekking trails are muddy and slippery which makes gorilla trekking difficult.
Where to stay during gorilla habituation experience
Gorilla habituation experience is carried out in Rushaga sector therefore visitors are advised to stay in lodges near the sector for easy access to the headquarters for gorilla habituation since it’s done early in the morning . Rushaga sector has luxury, midrange and budget accommodations where visitors can stay including Chameleon Hill, Gorilla Safari Lodge, Ichumbi Lodge, Mutanda Lake Resort, Bwindi Jungle Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge, Nshongi Gorilla Camp among others. The lodges offer quality services and facilities like double, twin, single rooms with en-suite bathrooms, sitting room, Restaurant where they serve local and international dishes, bar, free Wi-Fi in public areas, gardens for relaxation among others.
How to get to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Bwindi impenetrable national park is located in southwestern Uganda in Kanungu district and gorilla habituation experience is carried out in Rushaga sector which is situated in the southern part of the park. Bwindi impenetrable national park can therefore be accessed by road and air transport means
Road transport, when using road transport means, you will drive from Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale and then connect to Rushaga sector.
You can also use public means of transport though not advised by boarding a bus from Kampala to Kabale and then hire a private taxi to Rushaga sector.
Air transport, there are domestic airline companies in Uganda such as Aero link which operate scheduled and chartered flights daily from Entebbe airport or Kajansi airfield to Kihihi or Kisoro airstrips.
Visitors can also use another option of flying to Kigali international airport and then connect to Rushaga sector via Cyanika border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale and the distance takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive.
Gorilla habituation experience is a must do activity in Uganda in that it offers exceptional and lifetime memories on your safari during the quality time spent with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat learning about their lifestyle, taking photos and recording the moments.
