Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Gorilla Safari Uganda

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, and it is among the most popularly visited game park in the country receiving thousands of visitors annually who travel from all parts of the world to see its resident population of the endangered Mountain Gorillas.  This 327 sq km national park is also listed among the UNESCO world heritage sites and the best place to enjoy a Gorilla Trekking Tour in the world. Despite the large variety of wildlife found in the park, it is most popular for having the highest number of the endangered mountain gorillas in the world (with about 1006 mountain gorillas remaining in the world today).

The word “Bwindi” in the local language means “darkness” and when you hike in this verdant forest, you will surely understand why it’s called impenetrable as it not only has a dense forest undergrowth but the tree canopy in many areas is thick limiting the amount of light reaching the forest floor. It is for that reason that for anyone to engage in the mountain gorilla trekking tours they are required to be somewhat physically fit as it will require walking on these somewhat challenging steep slopes.

Wildlife in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Thanks to its high altitude and densely forested slopes the forest park offers habitat to a variety of wildlife such as:

Over 300 butterfly species, 350 species of bird, over 50 reptile species, more than 80 moth species, 10 primate species including the endangered mountain Gorillas, L’Hoest’s,  baboons, red tailed monkeys, black & white colobus monkeys as well as blue monkeys, and 120 mammal species like different antelopes and forest elephants.

Best Time To Visit | Weather in Bwindi National Park

Bwindi National Park can best be visited in the dry season when the trails are somewhat dry and passable, however, the park is very cold especially early in the morning and in the night, with temperatures dropping to as low as 7°C, and June & July are the coldest months in the year.

March to May, and September to November are the wettest months so the terrain is more challenging.

Never the less, irrespective of what time of the year you travel, we recommend that you park warm clothes and a rain jacket since the rain is unpredictable being a rainforest.

Top things to do in Bwindi National Park

Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Since 1993, Gorilla Trekking is the leading tourist activity within this park. During this unique but thrilling activity, visitors are offered a chance to hike through the forested slopes of Bwindi forest as they search for these gorillas in their natural habitat.

Sadly there are less than 1,006 gorillas remaining in the world and Uganda has half of this population. In Bwindi you will only be allowed to track only the habituated groups and today there are 14 of these found in Bwindi. Each habituated gorilla family can be visited by just 8 people at a time and only persons with trekking permits are allowed. Habituated – means that these gorillas are familiar to human presence.

So enjoy our exciting and most popular 3 Days Bwindi National Park Gorilla Tour for a memorable experience, and don’t forget to make your safari reservation with us early to ensure that we guarantee availability of a gorilla permit.

Bird watching

with ore than 350 different bird species living within the verdant forest of Bwindi, this is one of the best bid watching destinations in the world, there are 23 endemic species only found in this park. Bird watching tours are all guided by knowledgeable guides and an armed ranger.

The Batwa Cultural Experience

The Batwa are pygmies living near the park. They offer a cultural experience that includes an exciting cultural walk to their community led by the locals themselves. During this 3 hours walk you will visit their traditional homesteads, the local beer-brewery, and the traditional healer and enjoy cultural entertainment performances

Nature Walks / hikes

The park offers various forest trails that can be explored during guided Nature walks in Bwindi and these can best be enjoyed when you are spending at least 2 days in the park. These take you to the different sectors in Bwindi area and you will see different plant and animal species as well as the beautiful waterfall.

Cycling Tours

For those seeking some additional adventure, you can go on a mountain bike expedition in Bwindi which is an initiative by one of the local women group here.  They offer well trained guides and a bicycle repair shop. All proceed obtained from this project directly help sustain the local people and uplift the family well being of the people employed under this.

Tourist Areas within Bwindi Park

The Buhoma Area

This is the busiest tourism-center and it’s found in the northern part of the Park. Gorilla track activities is this area begin from here. it has a number of nice accommodation facilities. Bird watching and nature walks are the other activities done here.

Nkuringo Area

This is on the distant Nteko Ridge. Gorilla tracking is the leading tourist activity here although it’s a bit challenging since the terrain is generally steep. Other activities here are community walks to the traditional healer, local homesteads, the local blacksmith and the brewers

Ruhija Area

This is another tourist area and it’s also good for nature walks to see different primates plus birds.

 How to Get to Bwindi National Park

This park may be accessed by either air or road transport during your Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari

 By Air Transport

There are 3 airstrips around the park and these include: Kihihi, Kisoro and Kayonza. So visitors can fly from either Entebbe or Kajjansi airfield found in Kampala to the park

By Road: for those of you travelling by road in our nice safari cars, there are a number of routes you can use to access the park and these include:

  1. The Kampala-Kabale-Nkuringo Route.
  2. The Kampala Masaka – Kabale Kanungu road to Buhoma Route
  3. The Kampala-Ntugamo Rukingiri- Kihihi to Buhoma Route
  4. You can connect from Queen Elizabeth National Park, or from Kasese, or even from Fort Portal

Accommodation, Where to Stay in Bwindi National Park

There are a variety of accommodation facilities inside and around the park and these can be categorized as follows ranges from budget, mid-range to luxury facilities; below we have listed some of them.

 Luxury and Mid-Range Accommodation:

  • Gorilla Forest Camp,
  • Gorilla Resort,
  • Lake Kitandara,
  • Buhoma Homestead,
  • Mantana Tented Camp,
  • Volcanoes Bwindi Camp

 Budget Accommodation:

  • Buhoma community Campground,
  • Bwindi view bandas
  • Plus different camp sites

Cost of a Bwindi Gorilla Safari Tour

when we talk about how much does it cost to enjoy a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi, there are various factors that you should look at which will determine the overall cost of your safari and these include: a trekking permit – a Gorilla Trekking Uganda permit Costs today $700, then you will think about the type of accommodation as their cost varies from $400 to $1600 basing on your travel budget, and lastly are additional costs like the driver and car hire fee

Combining Uganda Gorilla Tours with other Safari Destinations

Majority of Holiday makers who visit on a Uganda Safari holiday to see Gorillas also combine this tour with wildlife adventures to many of the amazing national park in Uganda such as Queen Elizabeth National Park – home of the tree climbing lions for game viewing and a memorable Launch cruise on our 5 Day Gorilla and Wildlife Safari, or combine it with Kibale National park home of the Chimpanzees, or visit the Murchison Falls National Park on our 7 Day Gorilla and Chimpanzee Safari to see the powerful falls found on River Nile (the longest river in the world) which flows through the Park.

In addition, a Uganda Gorilla Safari can easily be combined with a safari in Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. Please checkout our sample itineraries for more information