Bwindi four hours Gorilla trek experience – Gorilla habituation experience – Gorilla habituation experience permits
Bwindi four hours gorilla trek experience – Besides the popular normal Gorilla tracking adventure in Bwindi, the Uganda Wildlife Authority introduced a four hour Gorilla trek since January 2014 in Bwindi. This four hour Gorilla trek experience is not available in the other Gorilla areas of Virunga Conservation Area including Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda – Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
If you are interested to participating in this four hour Gorilla trek experience you should book a Gorilla habituation permit with us at Great Adventure Safaris or any registered tour operator who can also arrange for you other Gorilla safaris. You can also contact Uganda Wildlife Authority’s reservations office directly by mail.
This four hour Gorilla trek experience is done all year round in Bwindi Forest as well as booking for its permits, however, we recommend early bookings. A single Gorilla habituation permit goes for USD1500 per person per trek inclusive of park entry fees. Once you have booked your permit, you are guaranteed to spend four hours with a semi-habituated Mountain Gorilla family which start counting when you reach the fresh trails some times where they last nested the previous night.
Apparently, Uganda Wildlife Authority has two Gorilla families under the habituation process which include Bikingi and Bushaho located in Rushaga Gorilla tourism sector south of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Rushaga is accessible by car taking 8-10 hours from Kampala city, 4 hours from Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Time bound you can sometimes use the available fly-in scheduled charter flights. Even when you travel by air, you must at least have an overnight near Rushaga area. There are several accommodation ranges, have enough relaxation at your lodge to prepare for strenuous four hour Gorilla trek experience which commences very early in the morning.
The number of trackers is limited to 4 people per family per day who can spend four hours trekking observing these semi-habituated Gorillas including time spent when searching for them. Mountain Gorillas are still wild or semi-habituated and unstable. Viewing them depends on the mood they are found in that very day; however, researchers, guides and trackers are experienced with ethics of Gorilla behaviour to give you a memorable Gorilla habituation experience.
Normally you begin with a briefing from the guides at Rushaga Gorilla trail head, and then you are led by rangers hike through the thick forest. Once Gorillas are located, you are helped and involved in the habituation process by researchers, guides and trackers. You will spend time observing, photographing and learning the Gorilla behavior adapts to human presence. Upon return from the forest you are awarded a Gorilla habituation experience certificate for your lifetime memories.
This four hour Gorilla trek in Bwindi Forest involves researchers, few tourists and trackers who repeatedly train wild Gorillas without any threatening or reinforcement but neutral actions directed not at altering their natural wild status including imitating their behaviors by chewing on vegetation, mimicking their vocals, walking on knuckles leading to their reduction in fear of human presence. It’s done on a daily basis and can take up to 3 years or less depending on how naturally Gorillas adjust to ignoring tourists as threats and ultimately become fully habituated for normal Gorilla trekking.
As a way of conserving the Mountain Gorillas and their habitat which are highly threatened by poaching, habitat loss and spread of human diseases, by Gorilla habituation, Gorillas are able to pay for their conservation given the limited fund for conservation and also foster economic development of local communities living around Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
In addition, it gives you and the researchers a deep understanding of Gorilla social and ecological behavior on top of being a once in a life time wildlife experience in the whole world.
