With fewer than 900 mountain gorillas that are left in the world today, Uganda is incredibly one of a must to visit destinations for you to catch a glimpse of these unique Apes while in their natural habitat.
The two gorilla parks; Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga National Park are the only 2 (two) protected areas in Uganda that reward gorilla trekkers on Uganda safari with lifetime experiences. The two protected are part of the only 4 (four) national parks where these spectacular Apes are tracked in the wild. The Virunga National Park in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Volcanoes National Park in Northwestern Rwanda are the other conservation areas where visitors realize their dreams with these large primates. When you think about lifetime adventures in Africa, Uganda is incomparably one of the most exceptional destinations that you shouldn’t miss to visit. About 480 mountain gorillas out of 900 that thrive on earth are all confined in Uganda’s thick jungles in Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga National Park.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is situated in Southwestern Uganda and it is bordered by Kanungu, Kisoro and Kabale districts. It offers refuge to more than 400 mountain gorillas making it the highland of mountain gorillas in the world. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park features as the only protected area in the world with about half of all these Great Apes that thrive in the world. And Mgahinga National Park is a home to only 80 individuals.
Mgahinga National Park is situated on the extreme Southwestern Uganda and it is one of the 3 (three) protected areas that make up the Great Virunga Mountain ranges that are shared by Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park features several habituated gorilla families, Mgahinga National Park only has one group (Nyakagezi) for visitors to track every day of which visitors are not guaranteed to find this migratory group though it has settled at Mgahinga National Park and this explains why few tourists visit the park for this life changing adventure.
Bwindi National Park alone features about 11 (eleven) habituated gorilla troops which tourists track each day making it one of the most sought after destination for this lifetime experience. Besides, Bwindi National Park features 4 (four) main tracking areas each of which come with gorilla groups; Buhoma sector which lies North of Bwindi comes with Mubare, Habinyanja and Rushegura group; Ruhija sector East of Bwindi features Bitukura, Oruzogo, Kyaguriro family; in the south-Nkuringo sector you will track Nkuringo family or Visit Rushaga area and track Nshongi, Kahungye, Busingye and Bweza. This means that there are over 88 permits that are available for visitors to purchase to track mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and only 8 (eight) permits are available for visitors on a safari to Mgahinga National Park.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is exceptionally the only protected area in the world where Gorilla Habituation Experience is conducted. Habituation experience allows visitors to spend 4 hours on a face to face encounter with the Great Apes while in their natural habitat unlike the usual trek which is conducted across all the gorilla protected areas which allows only one hour for visitors to strike their imaginations with these impressive creatures in the wild. Two families (Bushaho and Kinigi) have been set for this tremendous adventure in Bwindi National Park.
While Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is best known to be the only national park in the world where chimpanzees and over 350 distinct birdlife share with mountain gorillas the same habitat, Mgahinga National Park is also the spot where Golden monkeys thrive with the rare mountain gorillas in the same habitat in Uganda.
In terms of safari lodges and accommodation, Bwindi offers a wide range of accommodation (about 95% safari lodges confined within Bwindi alone) for visitors to choose from while on safari in the park. They range from budget, mid range to Luxury and in Mgahinga National Park, there are few lodges for tourists to make a choice and others are found in Kisoro town.
When it comes to accessibility, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park can be accessed through other protected areas. When you are in Queen Elizabeth National Park, it is reachable with 2 (two) hours’ drive from the North of Bwindi. This means that visitors can combine wildlife viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park where he or she will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the rare tree climbing lions at Ishasha sector or go for the most exciting and thrilling boat cruise along the Kazinga channel to sight the largest population of hippos and crocodiles or visit Kibale National Park for the most rewarding chimpanzee adventures and then continue Bwindi National Park for mountain gorilla trekking.
In conclusion, Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are among Uganda’s ten (10) most spectacular conservation areas. They are the only places where mountain gorillas are protected. The two parks are all accessible by road and air. By road, visitors can take Kampala-Ntungamo-Kagaba-Rukungiri, Kihihi and finally to Butogota and Buhoma. By air, you can fly from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield to Kisoro Airstrip and you will make your dream come true in Uganda.