How to have a successful gorilla trip in Uganda
Uganda is the location of choice for gorilla safaris. This is purely down to the fact that more than half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas choose to live in the shadow of the country’s beautiful, soaring hills. To track these amazing primates in their natural habitat is, for many, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and surely ranks as one of the premier wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth. In this guide, I will take you through the essentials. These are the things you need to know to create the optimum safari experience and a successful gorilla trek.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda offers the best opportunities for viewing not just the magnificent mountain gorillas, but also the range of ecosystems and habitats that make up this well-protected part of Africa. Uganda’s two main trekking destinations, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, are both renowned for their incredible diversity of both life and habitat, as well as for their scenic beauty. Moreover, the gorilla trekking permits in Uganda are several hundred dollars cheaper than those for the equivalent experience in Rwanda, making treks in the “Pearl of Africa” a real bargain by comparison.
The optimal time to go gorilla trekking in Uganda is during the two dry seasons: from June to September and December to February. The weather is more stable and generally less rainy, which makes navigating the forest trails a bit less arduous. These dry seasons do correlate with Uganda’s tourist high times, especially the months of June through September when many people undertake “the porch to porch” Primate Path trek through Mabira Forest uptown to Kisoro and then on to Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Accommodations and gorilla permits must be secured well in advance for this peak period, during which fewer permits are available.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda can be experienced in two main locations: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Bwindi boasts nearly half of the world’s remaining endangered mountain gorillas. The park is divided into four sectors: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. Each sector contains several habituated gorilla families. As a visitor, your choice of sector can greatly influence your trekking experience. Buhoma is the most popular sector, with good reason. It is relatively easy to access, and it offers a number of varied and good-quality accommodation options. If you are a first-time trekker or someone who would prefer a less strenuous hike, the Buhoma sector should be your top choice.
Situated in the southern part of Bwindi, the regions of Rushaga and Nkuringo have some of the most strenuous and satisfying hikes, allowing visitors to access fewer-frequented gorilla families in breathtaking settings, but also offering likely encounters with the park’s other wildlife. Stretching along the border with Rwanda, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is part of the much larger Virunga Conservation Area, which also encompasses the Republic of Congo to the west and the popular tourism destination of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. The Nyakagezi family of mountain gorillas is a main attraction for hikers in Mgahinga. This made-for-Instagram family frequently wanders across the park’s borders, which is a common occurrence for gorilla families in this region, but is usually seen within the confines of Mgahinga.
Rather than Bwindi, Mgahinga draws fewer visitors and offers a patch of tranquil exclusivity, right in the thick of things with the park’s stunning landscapes and the Virunga Volcanoes. Trekking to see the alphabets of gorillas in Mgahinga is a “good to great” experience, with some opportunity for even poorer souls to take a “walk with the ancestors” (i.e., a hike to see some of the ancestral bones). Of course, there are some strenuous preparations and sit-ups for the trek involved. Should one make it to Mgahinga, only Tororo and Kamuli get a taste of a western plotline of the “Bad Man, Good Woman” trope.
Choosing the right clothing is vital. Lightweight, long-sleeved shirts and long pants that are tough but allow for a good range of motion will protect you from both the insects and the vegetation. Good, rugged hiking boots that support your ankles and have a sole with good traction are a must. The boots should be well broken in but not so worn as to impair their protective qualities. Weather can change quickly in the forest, so a waterproof jacket that has the two main functions of any good field jacket—ease of motion and accessibility—is essential. Gloves aren’t a bad idea, either. Carry your essentials in a small, lightweight daypack that you can swing around to the front if you need to access it or the tools it contains.
Paying attention to health is also very necessary. See to it that you have had all the pertinent vaccinations and that you are taking the necessary medication to prevent malaria. Trekking permits state that you must be free of any contagious ailments like colds or the flu, as the gorillas are very vulnerable to human diseases. Some trekking locations are at very high altitudes, which can create altitude sickness for trekkers not used to such heights. Go slow, take plenty of water with you and consider spending a day or two acclimatizing at the trekking lodge if you have not spent time at high altitude before.
The day of your trek starts with a briefing from the park rangers. They explain the rules and what to expect. From there, you are assigned to a group and given a specific gorilla family to track. Although it’s possible that the family you track will be close to the entrance, most trekkers experience the thrill of the hike! Park rangers stay with your group, using their knowledge of the gorillas’ movements and signs like footprints and droppings to help them maintain a direction toward the family. Once you find them, you have about an hour to take in one of Nature’s finest experiences as you watch the family from about 20 feet away.
A well-organized gorilla safari in Uganda is boiled down to a few key elements. First is the selection of the right lodge for the right experience nested within the right conditions. Second is the choosing of the correct time frame. There aren’t too many giant leaps in logic for either of these. If the lodge is selected poorly, the lodge experience will be poor. If the safari word ‘Gorilla’ is living in a sentence that is poorly timed, the adventure will be poor. The selected frame for both the conditions inside the lodge and the conditions outside will set the trip’s experience to ‘high’ or ‘low.’
