BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is situated in Southwestern Uganda. Over 400 species of plants dominate the tropical rainforest. More importantly, the Bwindi impenetrable forest protects an estimated 459 mountain Gorillas, almost half of the world’s population, including several habituated groups that can be trekked.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest also hosts about 120 mammals including several primates like baboons, chimpanzees, and other forest animals like elephants, buffaloes, antelopes among others. About 350 species of birds make Bwindi Impenetrable National Park one of Uganda’s Important Birding areas.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is endowed with tall trees making canopies. Tree species in the park include African brown mahogany trees, Ceiba trees, Cecropia trees, Ebony tree species, and Nature Walks in Bwindi Forest. Bwindi is made up of thick undergrowth which makes it hard to access different locations easily. Great thanks to Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers who tried to define some Gorilla Trekking trails to facilitate Gorilla tourism.
Bwindi Forest Park boosts of a tree species count of about 163 different species including over 100 species of Afromontane trees. This park alone has about half of all the tree species in Uganda.
Mountain Gorilla trekking is the major tourist activity conducted in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is inhabited by a population of about 459 individual mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), known as the Bwindi population, which makes up almost half of all the mountain gorillas in the world.
There are over 19 habituated gorilla families in Bwindi plus many un habituated individual gorillas. Gorilla trekking is conducted in four different sectors of the Buhoma sector, the Ruhijja sector, the Rushaga sector, and the Nkuringo sector in the districts of Kanungu, Kabale, and Kisoro respectively, all under the management of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
Gorilla Habituation for visitors is another related tourist activity in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park however, it’s only done in the Rushaga sector. Gorilla habituation is a process through which gorillas are made familiar to human beings. It’s done by wildlife experts; gorilla doctors, game rangers, and other primatologists. In Rushaga, there are gorilla families reserved for research purposes. Gorilla habituation in Uganda currently cost US$1500 (4hrs stay with gorillas). On the other hand, normal gorilla trekking currently cost US$800 (1hrs view of mountain Gorillas).
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994 because of its rich diversity in hosting different flora and fauna and being home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. The park covers an area of 321 km2 all of which is forested with some areas being covered by bamboo and shrubs. The forest lies on steep slippery valleys with ridges and hilltops.
The weather in Bwindi is chilly because of the immense canopy, you are advised to carry some warm clothing for evenings and long-sleeved shirts/trousers for trekking. For the ultimate experience for anyone who chooses to trek the mountain gorillas or search for birds, butterflies, or shrubs, you need to be in good physical condition to go up and down the terrain. It lies at an altitude between 1160m-2607m above sea level.
