When to book a gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi: A gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a once in a lifetime activity that involves tourists visiting semi-habituated mountain gorillas and being around the members for a maximum of 4 hours. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda and is the only place where gorilla habituation can be done in the whole world.
Gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is currently carried out in Rushaga sector of the park where one mountain gorilla family called Bikingi is being prepared to get fully used to human presence around the members. Visiting members of Bikingi family comes with an opportunity of being with the members for 4 hours. The trekkers get involved in activities that make these apes get used to the human presence around them.
When to book a gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi
Gorilla habituation in Bwindi can only be done by a maximum of 4 people in a day. This is because only one mountain gorilla family is currently going through habituation and it’s only 4 people that can visit it on a day. Tourists who are interested in doing a gorilla safari to this park must know about this.
The best time when a tourist needs to book a gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is 3 to 4 months or even more before the safari date. This is because there are still high chances of finding the habituation permits available at Uganda Wildlife Authority. Tourists should know that a gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi can only be successful when one has secured a habituation permit.
How to book a gorilla safari to Bwindi National Park?
Tourists who are interested in having a gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi need to contact a licensed local tour operator to organize a safari. There are different tour companies in the country however tourists need to look for those that are licensed by the Uganda Tourism Board to organize safaris around the country. Africa Adventure Vacations is a licensed local tour operator in Uganda that can help tourists have successful gorilla habituation safaris in Uganda.
What is needed from the tourists are the travel dates to check for the availability of the gorilla permits. When the permits are available, the tourists will be required to sign a contract with the tour operator and they will be required to send in money for the safari and a permit will be secured as soon as possible. Tourists after sending the money for the safari can go ahead and ask the tour operator to send in a scanned gorilla permit.
The gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi
Gorilla habituation is an activity that every tourist would love to do if they had a chance to. It’s a four-hour time around the semi-habituated mountain gorillas where tourists make the apes get more used to human presence around them. In Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, gorilla habituation is currently done in the Rushaga sector of the park on Bikingi gorilla family.
The gorilla habituation day starts very early in the morning with trekkers moving to the park headquarters. The activity is done by a maximum of 4 people who are briefed by rangers about the rules and regulations of the activity. Once the briefing is done, trekkers are joined by a team of researchers and doctors to go into the jungle and search where the mountain gorillas could be.
Searching for the semi-habituated mountain gorillas in Bwindi goes through several trekking trails. 2 to 4 hours are enough to locate the mountain gorilla family and while searching tourists get to meet some of the attractions of the park like the animals and birds. When the mountain gorillas are located, trekkers are given 4 hours to be around the mountain gorillas.
With mountain gorilla habituation, trekkers are around the semi habituated mountain gorillas for 4 hours and during that time they are able to take part in the activities that make the apes get used to human presence around them. Once the time around mountain gorillas is done, they are left to be alone in the jungle carrying out different activities.
What is the cost of a gorilla habituation permit?
A gorilla habituation permit in Bwindi is a document that allows trekkers to be around the mountain gorilla for a maximum of four hours. There are four gorilla habituation permits in Bwindi and each costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX300,000 members of East African citizen states.
Where to stay on a gorilla habituation safari to Bwindi
Gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is currently carried out in the Rushaga sector of the park. Tourists who are interested in a gorilla habituation safari must use the accommodation facilities of Rushaga and maybe those in Nkuringo because it’s very close to the sector. Lodges include Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Lodge, Four Gorilla’s Lodge, Bweza Lodge, and Rushaga Gorilla Lodge among others.