Does Uganda Have Gorillas? Uganda the Pearl of Africa is known to be one of the best destinations in Africa which is a home to more than half of the world’s endangered mountain Gorilla species and it well known that there are specific two gorilla species that are recorded to be available in the whole of Africa and these are; the Western and Eastern gorillas. More so, Uganda has only two gorilla trekking spots where tourists can visit and have the best gorilla trekking experience and that is; Mgahinga Gorilla National park and Bwindi Impenetrable national park. Gorilla trekking is one of the top tourist’s activities that attract large numbers of people to travel from all over different parts of the world to Uganda and this contributes a lot to the tourism industry of Uganda. however there is another big numbers of gorillas that stay within the Virunga mountains which share boarders with other countries like; The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda involves tourists to walk and hike through the dense forests while using different trails as they are being accompanied by the park guides/ rangers who have a role and a responsibility of ensuring the security of both the tourists and the wildlife species and also have major role of leading and guiding the trekkers due to the fact that they are more familiar with most of the parts in the national parks. More so, before the trekking activities begin, tourists are encouraged to gather in one place most especially at the park headquarters where they go through a registration process as they represent their trekking permits and they are given short briefings about the rules and guidelines to follow while during the trekking such as; to avoid maintaining a direct eye contact the gorillas most especially the silver back, to lower the tone of their voices, to keep a distance of about 8 meters between them and the mountain gorillas in order to avoid any harm, to disable the use of flash lights in their cameras and phones while taking pictures and recording videos of the mountain gorilla species and avoid drinking and eating while in the presence of the mountain gorillas and many more. Later, they are put in groups with a maximum number of eight people depending on what gorilla groups/ families they are going to trek and each group is being assigned to with a park guide.
Where to see Gorillas in Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Bwindi impenetrable national park is located in the South-western region of Uganda in Kanungu district and it covers a total surface area of about 321 square kilometers and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site which is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority which is known to be a government agency programme that has a role of protecting all the national parks in the country. Bwindi Impenetrable National park is famously known as the best destination where one can go for gorilla trekking activities in Uganda because it is a home to over 400 endangered mountain gorilla species and there are 19 habituated gorilla families which are always available to be trekked in the park and they are easily spotted within the four sectors such as; the Buhoma sector, Rushaga sector, Ruhija sector which is located within the Eastern region of the park and the Nkuringo sector which is situated in the Southern part of the park. More so, tourists should note that the gorilla trekking within Bwindi Impenetrable National park is charged at a fee of about 700 USD per person while the gorilla habituation process is charged at a cost of about 1500 USD per person.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Mgahinga national park is located in the Southwestern region of Uganda, it was established as a national park in 1991, it covers a total surface area of about 34 square kilometers, and this makes it to be considered as the smallest national park in the country. More so, this national park is also considered to destination for gorilla trekking activities in the country because it is a home to one habituated trans-boundary mountain gorilla group which is commonly known as; Nyakagezi gorilla group that is always available for the trekkers to track. More so, tourists should note that the trans-boundary mountain gorillas are referred to like that because they are noticed always crossing movements between three countries like; Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, the trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla national park is ranked to be much easier compared to the trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable national park because the Mountain gorilla species in this park are easily located within their natural habitats.
However, tourists who travel to Uganda on a gorilla trekking safari are also always blessed with great opportunities to engage in other interesting activities like; hiking, guided nature walks, cultural encounters, bird watching, golden monkey tracking, community visits for example tourists can visit the Batwa village communities and many others.
Contact our trusted tour operators in case of more information and inquiries about if Uganda had Gorillas and Book with our tours and travel companies such as; Achieve Global Safaris who offer the best tour packages to individuals while their gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda.
