Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is best known for its superb gorilla tracking and is the natural habitat for just over half the world’s last surviving population of mountain gorillas. It also provides refuge to elephant, chimpanzee, monkeys and various small antelope and over 350 different bird species.

Gorilla Trekking

The main reason for a safari in Bwindi is to track and spend time with the Mountain Gorillas. The gorillas you will track will belong one of the ‘habituated’ family groups, Only six permits per gorilla group are issued per day and you may spend anywhere between half and eight hours in search of these animals

Once the gorillas are located, you will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them observing their behaviour and interaction with each other.

Clients wishing to track mountain gorillas should be of a reasonable fitness as it is a strenuous excercise and if you are in good health you will benefit far more from the entire experience.

Bwindi Impenetrable forest contains a number of other species which are sometimes encountered in the thick cover.

What to wear

The weather may be quite variable during your trip. For the most part it should be warm and dry during the day, but it can be rainy and wet underfoot when trekking for the gorillas and chimps. It is therefore advisable to take a light raincoat.
The best colours to wear on a safari wear is khaki colours, greens and browns, basically colours that blend into the bush so that the animals don’t see you, avoid bright colours or whites.

For the day time, shorts/light cotton trousers and t-shirts are the norm, with long trousers and long sleeves advisable to cover up from insects in the evening. Clothing is generally casual, but practical. Even in the evening, clothing remains fairly casual. A fleece is always a good idea for early mornings and evenings.

For the trekking

The terrain in Bwindi is rough and forested and it commonly rains so sturdy shoes, long trousers and long sleeved shirts are recommended. It is advisable to wear layers so that you can take your long sleeves off if you get too warm during the trek. Whilst not essential some people do take gardening / hardy gloves for the gorilla trek. This can be helpful if you need to grip plants or undergrowth. A “walking stick” is provided by the guides and for $10 you can take a porter with you, who will carry your rucksack and push and pull you as required on the trek! It is advisable to carry as little as possible and you shouldn’t need long camera lenses as you should be close enough, especially to the gorillas, not to need one. The chimps can be up in the trees, but if you are lucky they will come down onto the ground.

A Uganda safari circuit could combine Bwindi with Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kidepo Valley and Semliki Valley to make a very varied and exciting safari holiday in Uganda.

Speak to our experts about tailor-made and group tours to Uganda telephone 0845 0545 889