Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) spans 321 km², ranging from 1,160m to 2,607m above sea level.
Bwindi was designated a National Park in 1991 and declared a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in 1994.
The Mubare gorilla group at Buhoma was the first to be habituated for tourism in Bwindi in April 1993. A total of fifteen groups have now been habituated for tourism and are tracked from four trailheads.
Tracking mountain gorillas through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in southwestern Uganda is a premier tourist attraction and one of the world’s most remarkable wildlife encounters. These magnificent apes are both rare and endangered, with a total population of fewer than 800 individuals, found in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the nearby Virunga volcanoes. With fifteen groups habituated for tourism, the Impenetrable Forest is the leading destination for mountain gorilla tracking globally.
CLIMATE
The forest can be cold, especially in the morning and at night; the annual average temperature range is 7 °C – 20 °C, with the coldest period being June and July. As well as warm clothing, wet weather gear is essential since Bwindi receives up to 2,390 mm of rain annually.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation facilities at the four trailheads cater for up-market, mid-range and budget visitors. Ruhija trailhead can also be reached from hotels in Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi, while visitors to Rushaga and Nkuringo have the option of staying in Kisoro
ATTRACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Mountain gorilla tracking
The highlight of a visit to Bwindi – and the climax of the long journey to the Impenetrable Forest by air, car and steep, forest trail – is a magical hour in the company of a family of mountain gorillas. 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 up the previous evening. Bwindi has fifteen habituated gorilla groups that are tracked from four trailheads. Three of these groups are found in the vicinity of Buhoma in northwest Bwindi; four at Ruhija in the east; and eight at the park’s southern trailheads at Nkuringo and Rushaga. Eight permits are available to track each of the fifteen habituated groups, giving a daily maximum of 120 permits. Permits must be booked in advance through the UWA Booking Office in Kampala. Registration commences at 07.30 hours followed by a briefing at 08.00 hours. Tracking starts at 08.30.
Birding
Bwindi’s four trailheads all offer excellent birding opportunities with the prospect of checking off forest rarities. The River Ivi Trail between Buhoma and Nkuringo is recommended, as is Buhoma’s forest-edge Munyaga River Trail. Ruhija’s Bamboo Trail, leading to the 2607m Rwamunyoni peak, and Mubwindi Swamp Trail are renowned for Albertine Rift endemics including the localized green broadbill.
Nature walks
Though gorilla tracking is the main attraction, other walks provide more relaxed opportunities to explore one of Uganda’s loveliest rainforests. The following walks can be arranged to depart in the morning at 09.00 and in the afternoon at 14.00.
Munyanga River Trail, in the valley below the Buhoma trailhead, provides a short walk to view birds and primates along the forest edge.
Waterfall Trail: leads through one of Uganda’s most pristine tracts of rain forest, passing beneath tree ferns, epiphytic ferns, and orchids to visit three sparkling, crystal clear waterfalls.
Rushura Hill Trail: provides expansive views across the plains of the Albertine Rift Valley, and on clear days. to Lake Edward and the Rwenzori Mountains to the north.
Wild life
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is one of Africa’s oldest and richest forests, predating the arid conditions of the last ice age (12,000−18,000 years ago). It has been forming tangles along the fissured and folded margin of the Albertine Rift Valley for approximately 25,000 years.
This long history, combined with a 1,147m altitudinal range that supports habitats from lowland forest (1,160m) to rare Afro-montane vegetation (above 2,600m), has resulted in remarkable biodiversity. Species counts include 310 butterflies, 88 moths, 200 trees, 51 reptiles, and 120 types of mammals. The mammals include several primates such as chimpanzees, blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkey, and the park’s star attraction, the mountain gorillas.
Local people
The Bwindi area is home to the Bakiga, a farming people responsible for the striking terraced hillsides that extend to the forest edge south of Bwindi. Traditionally, the interior of Bwindi was home to Batwa (Pygmy) hunter-gatherers who now live on the edge of the forest
Access
Roads
The main trailhead at Buhoma is about 460 km from Kampala and can be reached by road from several directions. The main safari circuit approaches from the north through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP), providing a chance to search for the famous tree-climbing lions. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is 160 kilometers from Mweya in central QENP and 62 kilometers from Ishasha. The most direct route from Kampala follows a surfaced road to Rukungiri via Mbarara and Ntungamo. A slow dirt road then winds through the highlands to Buhoma via Kihihi and Butogota. Ruhija trailhead is best accessed from the Kampala-Kisoro Road, turning north from the surfaced highway 18km beyond Kabale town. The southerly Rushaga and Nkuringo trailheads can be reached using dirt roads leading west from Muko, midway on the surfaced Kabale -Kisoro Road, and north from Kisoro town.
Note: A 4×4 vehicle is recommended for a visit to Bwindi
Air
Travelers can fly from Entebbe International Airport or Kampala’s Kajjansi airfield to Kisoro (for Nkuringo, Rushaga, and Ruhija) and to Savanna and Ishasha airstrips (for Buhoma). Prior transport arrangements for transfer to the park are required.
