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Uganda Beyond Mountain Gorillas

Uganda Beyond Mountain Gorillas

Uganda is a beautiful country placed along the equator, it is commonly termed as the pearl of Africa with an evergreen environment, the destination is home to half of the worlds remaining population of mountain gorillas living in the conservation areas of Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park, mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) do live freely within the forest and are typically herbivorous animals feeding on plants and mushrooms, they live in groups of up to 20 individuals per gorilla family. Each sector of the national parks contains habituated gorilla families for visitors, tracking is done in groups of eight, time taken depends on how far the gorilla families have moved and an hour is given while with the animal species. There are several factors to why Uganda is beyond mountain gorillas.

Uganda Beyond Mountain Gorillas

Gorilla tours in Uganda are one of the countries assets giving it a difference from the neighbouring states as it hosts much of the gorilla population. It contributes to the country’s foreign revenue generated from the selling of gorilla permits, however, this comes in handy with other wildlife the country has present for tourism, at most times gorilla tour packages are combined with wildlife tours routes are chosen carefully to ensure you don’t only stop at seeing the mountain gorillas but also along the way have chance to experience other tourism attractions.

Beautiful scenery and landscape

The landscape towards most of the conservation areas contains a unique scenery comprising of beautiful rolling hills, mountains, lakes, rivers, bananas, tea plantations and the vast grassy areas of the savannah national parks. Most of the landscapes were placed as a result of volcanic activity and the formation of the western rift valley, Uganda’s conservation areas like Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park is situated in the great Albertine rift valley regions.

Savannah National Parks

Savannah national parks are homes to a large diversity of birds, animals and plant species, popular animals include the African big five (lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhino, elephant), other mammals that might be sighted are Jackson hartebeests, oribi, Rothschild’s giraffes, zebras, elands, topi, primates like olive baboons, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkey, red-tailed monkeys, l’hoest monkey, it is home to birds of beautiful colour piac piac, African green broadbill, Abyssinian ground hornbill, African eagle, herons, ducks among other bird species, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies are present.

Uganda has a well-decorated vegetative cover ranging from the bushy grasslands, acacia woodlands, tropical rain forests and swampy vegetation. It is heaviest in the south and scattered towards central and northern Uganda, the areas are habitats to animal and bird species within the conservation areas.

Conducive Weather (Climate)

Uganda’s climatic conditions are favourable, it can be visited all year round but best during the dry season of December-February, June- mid-September, it is a season where routes can easily be accessed, however, it should be noted that during the dry season it rains sometimes it is not dry, it is advisable long-sleeved shirts and trousers, boots, hand gloves, warm clothes for highland areas, sunscreen, insect repellents and any other personal material needed for a safari.

Gorilla Trekking In Uganda

Gorilla trekking in Uganda is the topmost sought of activity on a safari to the African destination, the country boats with 13 primate kinds including the mountain gorillas a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, gorilla trekking is interesting and adventurous as you pass through a series of angelic vegetative covers, sloping up and downhill in search of the critically endangered species, the surrounding of the conservation areas is one of those amazing things you can witness on earth, standing in the middle of the forest, look up the sky through the canopy is a clear cloud on a good day.

Mountain gorillas are located in two places of Uganda the Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park, Bwindi is strategically placed in the southwestern corner of Uganda it comprises four sectors (Nkuringo, Buhoma, Rushaga, and Ruhija), each of these has got habituated gorilla families present for visitors to track, Bwindi hosts half population of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla while Mgahinga is home to the Nyakagezi gorilla family it is a very mobile group living in the Virunga range with fewer guarantee chances of viewing the other population of the mountain gorillas can be found in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Buhoma sector is the most popular for gorilla trekkers, it might be challenging to wander in the wilderness because the families live in very high land areas, and sometimes locate to further places however it is very rewarding by the time you come back the experience is memorable.

Mountain gorillas are wild animals and above all primates, it should be noted that they too are prone to disease and can be furious, therefore some rules have been put in place by the Uganda Wildlife authority to consider while with the majestic creatures, these include 1-hour allowance with the gorillas, maintaining a 7-meter distance rule, avoid the using flashes while taking pictures, observing silence as you enjoy the moment is important, avoid directly looking into the eyes of the gorilla in case it charges at you, trekking mountain gorillas are done in groups of eight per gorilla family it could take 2 or more hours depending on how far the gorilla families have moved, they are led by an armed game ranger from the Uganda wildlife authority

Dressing for the main event of the day, it is advisable to wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers, waterproof boots for the underground of the park can be quite Socked, wear hats and hand gloves for protection from thorny bushes, carry waterproof covers for phones and cameras, the best time to visit the mountain gorilla is during the dry season from December –February, and July to September due to the ease accessing the trails.

Affordable Travel Destination In Africa

Ugandan gorilla permits are priced depending on the season, busy seasons go for USD 700, and the lower seasons prices come down, the busy tourism season is during the dry months in the country, while Rwanda costs USD 1500 and the democratic republic of congo USD 450, it is advisable to buy permits before the trekking time.


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