Bwindi Impenetrable forest National park

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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

The highlight of any Uganda safar trip is to track gorillas and the best place to visit for gorilla trekking, is Bwindi impenetrable forest is a UNESCO world heritage site and habitat for half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population. Gorilla tourism in Uganda started in Bwindi after successful habituation of 3 gorilla families at Buhoma in 1993. Fast forward today, there are 23 gorilla families habituated and guided gorilla treks allow visitors to see these endangered species in their natural habitat. The park is divided into four areas each with a number of habituated gorilla families as listed below;

• Buhoma
• Ruhija
• Rushaga
• Nkuringo

There are pros and cons to consider the best of Bwindi areas. Most important to note is to book a gorilla permitting advance 3-5 months for the area you think suits your interests. Interesting to know on the Bwindi areas is that the altitude and how easy or difficult it is to see gorillas, accommodation, accessibility depending on the itinerary and route. The rule of the thumb is that all sectors guarantee travelers to see gorillas any time of the year.

Wildlife In Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Bwindi impenetrable forest national park covers about 331 sqkm, area of ancient evergreen tropical rainforest at the end of the Albertine rift valley in the southwest of Uganda. Altitude ranges from lowland forests in north around Buhoma at 1600 meters to afro-montane vegetation at 2,600 meters above sea level in the south Ruhija area. It’s considered one of the world’s most biologically diverse forest because it has stood the test of time having survived the last ice age 2,5000 years ago when earth’s rainforests shrunk and disappeared.

Nature walks give you the look and feel of the flora and fauna.

Wildlife found in Bwindi forest include 120 mammals, 10 primates including chimpanzees, over 364 birds including 26 species endemic to Albertine rift valley, 220 butterflies, 100 ferns, 163 species of trees, 27 species of frogs as well as 27 geckos and reptiles. The major attraction of the park is mountain gorillas making it the most famous park for travelers on a Uganda safari.

Bwindi’s Conservation history

Created as blocks of rain forests in 1932, Bwindi came to be designated as a national park in 1991 with the main objective of habituating gorillas to promote gorilla tourism. Bwindi is managed by Uganda wildlife Authority as Bwindi-Mgahinga Conservation Area. Habituation of gorillas started in 1993 and still continues to this very day. More families have been habituated to attract more travelers which also increases revenue from sell of gorilla permits. Money generated is put into local community support such as alternative ways of income generation to reduce dependence on forest.

Mountain gorillas are endangered, therefore strict eco-tourism limits human disturbance which can result from daily visits to gorillas. As a result, there’s a set of gorilla trekking rules and regulations which limit the number of gorilla trekkers to 8 people to visit one gorilla family per day.

Uganda Wildlife Authority offers a variety of volunteer opportunities for travelers as part of the various activities available in the departments such as research, tourism and community. there are support organizations that work with Bwindi such as conservation through public health (CTPH), gorilla doctors, international gorilla conservation program. These also work across the gorilla range states including Rwanda and DR Congo.

Some volunteering areas like research require skills and knowledge while others just need you to have the desire and enthusiasm such as community education and conservation.