Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Composed of 321 square miles of both montane and lowland forest, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda bordering the Virunga National Park along the Democratic Republic of Congo Border. In 1994, UNESCO declared Bwindi as a World Heritage Site.

The park is among the most diverse forests in East Africa providing habitat to half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. Since 1993, 19 gorilla families have been habituated for gorilla tracking. These families are located in four different sections of Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo.

Gorilla Tracking & Gorilla Habituation
Tracking mountain gorillas in Bwindi or Mgahinga is one of the most sought-after experience in the world. At the trailhead of the forest, you will be led by ranger guides, only eight visitors are allowed to visit a particular gorilla family for one hour per day, participants must be aged 15 or over.

Tracking the gorillas can last from a few hours to a whole day, depending on how far the group has moved since it was observed nesting the previous evening. In all sectors of the park, guests who sign on for the gorilla habituation experience will spend four hours with the gorillas and only 4 people daily can join these groups.

Gorilla Research Clinic
Spend a portion of your day in the life of a gorilla doctor at the Gorilla Research Clinic. Conservation Through Public Health is a grass roots, Uganda based Non-Government Organisation in partnership with Uganda Wildlife Authority. It was established as a field clinic for mountain gorillas and other animal species in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 2005.

The initial objective was to establish a long term wildlife health monitoring system in Uganda. Much of the focus was on recognising early warnings of disease outbreaks. The clinic primarily analyses gorilla faeces for parasites but since its establishment in 2005, has grown to care for livestock, park staff, and symptomatic members of the Bwindi community.

Village Walks
A village walk is a wonderful insight into the customs and practices of local people, you will learn about farming, brewing local beer, dispensing traditional medicines and watch cultural dance performances by members of the Batwa community.

Nature Walks
There are daily guided nature walks available inside the park. Aside from the gorilla inhabitants to tick off your list include; 27 species of frog, 163 species of tree, 1000+ flowering plants, 104 species of fern, 348 species of bird, 220 species of butterfly and 120 species of mammal including other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees.

Hiking
Weather permitting, daily guided hikes between Buhoma and Nkuringo ranging from three to eight hours  offer the opportunity to cross paths with duikers, monkeys, sitatunga, mountain gorilla and birds.