Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the world’s largest Mountain Gorilla population host situated in south western Uganda.
Bwindi Forest National Park is home to half of the world’s remaining Mountain Gorillas, best place for Gorilla safaris in Uganda with affordable Mountain gorilla tracking and habituation prices.
Bwindi forest is also habitat to about 120 mammal species, 348 bird species, more than 1,000 flowering plants, 163 species of trees and many more.
Welcome to a guide on all of the important and latest details about Bwindi Impenetrable Park Uganda including location, history, best time to visit, attractions, activities, how to get there and accommodation facilities for all traveler groups
Location of (where is) Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
At altitude 1,160m – 2,607m above sea level, Bwindi Impenetrable Park Uganda is found in south western Uganda just at the edge of the rift valley. Known as Bwindi Forest Park Uganda at times, it’s because the park is within the dense Bwindi Forest, one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests dating back to over 25,000 years. Found in Kanungu district, Bwindi Impenetrable Park sits on an area of 331km2 (128 sq mi).
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
In 1991, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was gazetted and declared a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site in 1994. However, it all came up as a successful conservation story that started way back in 1932 when two blocks of the forest were designated as Crown Forest Reserves.
The one in the north was designated as the “Kayonza Crown Forest Reserve” and the southern one “Kasatora Crown Forest Reserve” the two then having a combined area of 207 sq km. In 1942, the two reserves were combined, enlarged and renamed the Impenetrable Central Crown Forest with a total of 298 sq km.1964, the reserve was designated a sanctuary till 1966 when two other forests were made part of the forest, increasing the area of the park to 321 square kilometers.
It was later on designated as Bwindi Impenetrable Park Uganda to protect the diversity in the forest and especially the Mountain Gorilla population in the park. This affected greatly the Batwa pygmies who were sent out of the forest.
In April 1993, Mountain Gorilla tracking became a tourist activity in the park making the park popular and to date a renowned Uganda safari destination. The park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Best time to visit / when to go to Bwindi Impenetrable Park Uganda
The best time of the year for a gorilla tracking safari Bwindi is during the dry season months of June –August and December –February which makes it easy to go through the trails. When trails are drier, gorilla trekking is easy since trails are passable and the park is accessible. It is best advisable to track gorillas during the dry season since it’s easy to trek gorillas as well as view wildlife. However, the dry season is actually the peak or high season therefore early booking is recommended since permits can easily get fully booked as well as accommodation.
How to get to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- By road / Road distances
From Entebbe International Airport (Uganda’s international Airport) , Bwindi Impenetrable Park is 499km away with a scenic 8 -9 hours drive along Kabale- Mbarara road.
From Kampala (Uganda’s capital), it’s a 8h 29min drive covering 474km along Kabale-Mbarara road being the fastest route. Using this route offers a chance to stop at the equator line.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is 181km away along Hima – Katunguru road / Mbarara -Kasese road on a 4 hours drive.
From Kigali Rwanda for tourists undertaking both Rwanda safaris and gorilla tours in Uganda, Bwindi is 177km away on a 4h 7min drive.
- By air
Bwindi Impenetrable Park is blessed to be served with three airfields around the park, flights can be chartered from Entebbe International Airport or from Kajjansi Airstrip. From Entebbe International Airport to Kihiihi airfield its a 1 hours’ flight by Aerolink. From Kihiihi Airstrip its 70.1km to the park taking about 1h 49min drive.
Your Route to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Uganda
Attractions / What to see in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Mountain Gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The popular Uganda gorilla safari activity is Mountain Gorilla trekking / tracking along the jungle trails of Bwindi Impenetrable Park. Each morning a total of 8 tourists trek a single Mountain gorilla family. These is possible for tourists above the age of 15 and have purchased a gorilla safari Uganda trekking permit at USD 700 for foreign non-residents, USD 500 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for Ugandans/ East African citizens per person (as per July 2019).
Gorilla trekking happens at each sector of the park starting with a briefing at the park headquarters. At the headquarters, briefing on the tracking etiquette starts before 8:00am local time. During briefing, a total of 8 tourists are allocated a single gorilla family to trek according to fitness levels. Each Uganda gorilla trekking safari tourist then receives a trekking stick and heads to the jungle in company of the park rangers and guides, Mountain Gorilla trekking in Bwindi is unpredictable because of the movement behaviors of the gorillas and therefore the activity lasts about 6-8 hours. These hours are spent in search of the gorillas however only 1 hour is spent the presence of these gentle giants. At the end of this memory filled 1 hour, you return to the park headquarters where you receive a Uganda gorilla trekking tour certificate.
Mountain Gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Need to spend more time with the Mountain Gorillas? Then habituation is the way to go. Bwindi Impenetrable Park is blessed to be the only gorilla habitat that offers a gorilla habituation experience. Mountain gorilla habituation is the process undertaken by gorilla doctors and park rangers to make Mountain gorillas familiar to the process of human beings. The surest way of undertaking a gorilla habituation experience is by undertaking Uganda gorilla tours to Bwindi Forest National Park. Gorilla habituation unlike trekking takes a minimum of 4 hours in the presence of these elusive gentle giants. This is the best way to understand gorilla behaviors in the wild. Mountain Gorilla habituation costs USD 1500 per person each visit (as per July 2019).
Bird watching / Birding in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
For passionate birders, with no doubt Bwindi Impenetrable National Park should be on your itinerary. In Africa, Bwindi is one best spot for watching the montane-forest bird species. The park is also the best place to see the Albertine rift endemics, 23 out of the 24 are in Bwindi. With a possibility of spotting 100 birds in a day, the best Uganda bird watching tour sites in the park include the Buhoma water trail, Mubwindi swamp trail in Ruhija, bamboo zone, River Ivi trail (the longest in the park).
The best time for birding in Bwindi is during the months of March and September when the rains are less and birding easier. Migratory birds are present in the park from November to April.
Uganda safari packages to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is with no doubt the best gorilla trekking tour in Uganda destination and a destination with all kinds of tours made possible. Many travelers opt to include Bwindi on their Long Uganda tours after visiting other parks in many cases including Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park. With the increase in air transport being made easy, a safari to Bwindi can easily be tailored to a Kenya wildlife safari, Tanzania safari, Congo tour or Rwanda safari. Our popular trips to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park include;
