The bio-diverse ecology of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a popular destination for tourists entering the nation, was created as a means of preserving the critically endangered Mountain gorillas. They are allowed to exist in the natural habitat that is hidden away along Uganda’s borders with Rwanda in the country’s southwest. One of the few surviving expanses of Uganda’s tropical rain forests, Bwindi is home to half the population of mountain gorillas, a subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It was gazetted in 1991 and designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994. The conservation area is elevated between 1160 and 2607 metres above sea level and has habituated gorilla families that may be seen throughout the year and in any sector.
The national park is divided into four sectors: Nkuringo, Buhoma, Rushaga, and Ruhija. The forest regions are surrounded by a beautiful natural vegetative cover that spans a variety of vegetative zones, and the bamboo forest region is where you can find gorillas, which eat mushrooms, tree backs, and other plants from the forest. Afro-montane forest, dense plants, and shrubs cover the majority of the park’s land, except the area covered in bamboo. In these various altitudinal zones, mountain gorillas have a better chance of surviving. Other animals that can be found in the conservation area include elephants, golden cats, yellow-fronted duikers, side-striped jackals, giant forest hogs, mountain duikers, chimpanzees, and the last of Uganda’s short-skulled people, the pygmies. They used to live in the forest peacefully together with other creatures.
The forest is home to more than 350 species of birds that have been recorded to date, including the African green broadbill, grauer’s broadbill, white-bellied robin chat, blue-headed sunbirds, and collared apalis, to name a few. If you want to enjoy the birds of the park, consider bringing binoculars and good cameras. The Mubwindi and the Buhoma trails are two of the more well-known trails. Bring binoculars and be prepared to spend more time in the outdoors if you want to get the most out of your birding trip.
Gorilla trekking is one of the park’s most well-liked activities. After receiving a briefing from park rangers, groups of eight people are divided to track one gorilla family. The experience can take two or more hours, depending on how far the families have travelled, and one hour is allotted for spending time with the gorillas. However, visitors under the age of 15 are not permitted to track. The national park is a respectable place to go birding because it is a haven for numerous bird species.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park may be reached by road from Entebbe, taking around 8 hours, or by air, landing at Kisoro or Kihihi, taking 2 hours to reach the location. It is important to book lodging in the region where you purchased your gorilla permit, which costs $700 and can be obtained from the Uganda Wildlife Authority through your ground handling team. Permits should be purchased prior to the time of tracking and examples of facilities include Buhoma Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, and Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge.