Are you looking forward to going gorilla filming in Uganda? Yes, Uganda is home to more than half of the population of world mountain gorillas living in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is the only place where you can do gorilla habituation, giving you a great opportunity to be with mountain gorillas for a maximum of four hours in their natural habitat. Gorilla filming in Uganda can be done at Mgahinga Gorilla Park or Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park; these gorilla national parks offer photographers, filmmakers, and those who wish to make documentaries about Uganda a chance with mountain gorillas.
With over half of the world’s mountain gorilla population living in the thick forest of Bwindi and the southern Ugandan gorilla national park of Mgahinga, Uganda is the ideal destination for gorilla cinematography. Uganda is the ideal location to shoot gorillas in their natural environments because of the large number of gorillas there. There are now one habituated gorilla family in Mgahinga Gorilla Park and twenty in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
It’s important to know before going on a safari in Uganda that flash cameras are not permitted when filming gorillas because the lights can annoy and unnerve the animals. Instead, you can either carry a camera without a flash or turn off your flash when filming these amazing primates.
Another benefit of gorilla filming in Uganda is that it raises awareness of gorilla conservation worldwide and promotes Uganda to the outside world, which draws more tourists to the nation. All professional photojournalists or team members will also need to obtain media cards and gorilla filming equipment at Entebbe International Airport.
Depending on the gorillas’ movements and the film crew’s pace, a mountain gorilla search can take anywhere from two to eight hours. If you have a gorilla trekking permission, you can spend an hour with these mountain gorillas after you have located them; if you have a gorilla habituation permit, you can spend four hours with them.
Gorilla filming permits in Uganda
Commercial gorilla filming licenses in Uganda cost $4200 per hour, and you can only receive a $100 refund at the conclusion of the gorilla filming if you provide the Uganda Wildlife Authority a copy of your CD, which may then be used to sell Uganda mountain gorillas. Permits to film gorillas are available from the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Kampala or from any reliable travel agency. It is recommended that you reserve these licenses three to four months in advance, particularly if you want to shoot during the dry season.
For a modest fee, potters are always on hand at park headquarters to assist you with carrying your bags.
Best time to go filming mountain gorillas in Uganda
Although it is possible to film mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest at any time of year, most journalists and film crews prefer to visit these areas during the dry season when there is minimal chance of rain. The park’s roads are open, and the paths are dry throughout the dry season, which runs from June to September and December to February.
Other wildlife to film in Uganda
Among the various Ugandan national parks and reserves, including Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Kibale Forest, Lake Mburo, Semuliki, and Mount Elgon National Park, one can also film chimpanzees, various bird species, mongoose, lions, leopards, crocodiles, reptiles, and the Batwa people.