Bwindi impenetrable national park is situated in the south western part of Uganda at the rim of the western arm rift valley covering an area of 331 kilometers squared Bwindi forest is one of the ancient tropical forests that survived ice age. Bwindi impenetrable national park is home to the remaining half of mountain gorillas in the world with eleven primate species, 120 mammal species, 200 butterfly species, 360 species of birds and about 320 species of trees. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located along the south western part of Uganda near the Democratic Republic of the Congo border next to the Virunga National Park it’s found at the edge of the Albertine Rift. Its a great place for gorilla safaris in Uganda.
The land is composed of 335 square kilometers on lowland and Montane forest, this national park can only be accessed on foot, the species diversity are the main features of the park, the habitat is a home for 120 species of mammals,350 bird species,30 frog species,250 butterflies, geckos, chameleons and many more other types of species. Bwindi National Park has more than 1,000 flowering plant species these include 163 species of Guineo-Congolian Flora, the endangered species include Brazzeia longipedicellata and many more.
The park is a sanctuary for chimpanzees, colobus Monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys such as Turacos and many more. Bwindi is a home to mountain Gorillas, half of the world’s population these endangered Mountain Gorillas are inhabited in 4 sectors in Nkuringo, Rushaga, Buoma and Ruhija all these are under the management of Uganda Wildlife Authority in 1964. The reserve was an animal farm this was to provide more protection for the Mountain Gorillas which is a impenetrable center forest Reserve, the total number is about 334. The park is a forest reserve and game sanctuary, the area is covered on 330.8 square Kilometers, its protected a range of species which is most notably the mountain Gorillas, during the reclassification of the forest there was large impact on the Batwa pygmy people who were no longer permitted to enter the park and access a number of resources .
Gorilla Tracking is one of the best activities which runs throughout the year it started in 1993 it became a popular tourist hub. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the oldest national parks it became an UNESCO world Heritage Site. It’s plain forested mountain, it’s a continuum of low-altitude to high altitude in the park. It’s the richest faunal communities in East Africa with an estimation of 120 mammal species in the park of which 11 are primates, and about 45 small mammals. Bwindi impenetrable national parks, has no mountain Gorilla captivity. These endangered species were captured in 1960s and 1970s to begin a captive facilite however during the captivity no baby gorilla survived and none is known for currently captivity. The park is gazette as a national park in 1991 because of the biodiversity.
Gorilla trekking
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park has habituated 12 mountain gorilla families that can be visited by tourists, gorilla trekking is one of the most sought tourists activities in the world. This involves tracking mountain gorillas and given one hour period of observing the great apes. This is the famous attraction in Bwindi forests and costs only $600.
Gorilla habituation
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is the only place that offers gorilla habituation experience in the world, this is when tourists join researchers and scientists in the process of gorilla habituation, unlike gorilla trekking this takes four hours than the usual one hour and the cost is $1500 which is the cost of trekking gorillas in Rwanda.
Bird watching
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is home to about 360 bit species recorded, 23 of this bird species are Albertine endemics some of the birds that can be spotted in Bwindi include; Dusky crimson wing, bar tailed trogon, honey guide, yellow eyed black fly catcher, Kivu ground thrush, white tailed blue monarch.
Nature guided walks
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park boasts with three areas where gorilla trekking can be done from and all this areas have different unique walking trails established all leading to unique destinations and the to e taken depends on the route you choose like the Ivy river trail, Bamboo trail and many others tourists will also have chances of sporting primates like black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkey, red tailed monkeys and many others.
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park can be accessed from Kampala within 9-10 hours drive, alternatively tourists can fly in to Rwanda and travel for only 4-5 hours but the panoramic views from Kampala are very rewarding. While at Bwindi impenetrable forest national park tourists can sleep in hotels such as Rushaga gorilla camp, Gorilla mist camp, Matana tented camp, Nshongi camp and many others where to sleep will depend on tourists budget. The best time for visiting Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is in the dry season from June to September and December to February.
