Uganda is a very beautiful country gifted by nature. Referred to by many as the Pearl of Africa, Uganda is one of the only three countries that host the endangered mountain gorillas. This relatively small country is found right in the heart of Africa, with rolling hills, breathtaking sceneries, wildlife, source of the Nile, snow capped mountain, chimps but its most important treasure being the giant mountain gorillas found in its two National parks of Bwindi impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
The Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park alone hosts over 400 of the 900 mountain gorillas left in the whole world. There are several adventure activities done in Bwindi Forest and the most popular are;
- Gorilla Tracking – One hour gorilla viewing in one of the habituated gorilla group
- Gorilla Habituation – Four Hours of following the mountain gorillas
- Nature Walks – Learn about the flora and fauna of the Bwindi Forest
The park has 15 habituated mountain gorilla groups in four regions found in Bwindi. The Gorilla Families are divided into sections and we have the northern section and the northern section.
Gorilla Groups in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Buhoma in the north western edge of the Bwindi; Mubare, Rushegura and Habinyanja. In the hills of eastern Bwindi is Ruhija with; Bitukura and Oruzogo. Rushaga on the southern eastern edge of Bwindi with; Nshongi, Mishaya, Bweza, Kahungye (Kahungye “A”), Busingye (Kahungye “B”) and Nkuringo in the south-western part of Bwindi with Nkuringo family.
Spread over a series of steep ridges and valleys, Bwindi not only an asylum for the mountain gorillas but it’s also a source of five major rivers, which flow into Lake Edward. This organically diverse region also provides shelter to a further 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. There are around 350 species of birds hosted in this forest, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics.
Many activities can be arranged from; Birding, community-run village walks for exploring the culture and lifestyle of the local Bakiga and Batwa trails, Nature walk to Mountain biking in some parts of the forest though the most important one being gorilla tracking in Uganda Forests.
Mgahinga National Park
This is the Uganda part of the Virunga Region. The park is located on the extreme corner of South Western Uganda. Gazetted as a national park by the Uganda government, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a part of the Virunga Conservation Area, shared within three countries; Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC). The park shares its borders with two other national parks; the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park of Congo. This makes the gorillas to often cross borders and sometimes not be accessible to visitors in Uganda. This park has only 1 habituated mountain gorilla group – Nyakagezi.