Stay at Lake Bunyonyi & trek ruhija gorillas – Bwindi impenetrable national park – With Gorilla permits
Stay at lake bunyonyi & trek ruhija gorillas – Mountain Gorillas live in a thick tropical rainforest of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park situated in south-western part of Uganda, the Pearl of Africa. Bwindi Forest comprises of four sectors altogether facilitating Gorilla tracking experience and they include: Buhoma sector in the North, Ruhija in the East, Rushaga and Nkuringo in the southern region of the forest. The fact that Buhoma sector is closer to Ruhija, travelers have always preferred to stay in Lake Bunyonyi and track Gorillas in Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. There are various reasons why travelers would prefer staying Lake Bunyonyi and tracking Mountain Gorillas in Ruhija sector. It’s both advantages and there are also some pitfalls that you should be aware off and take proper precautions before making your final decision.
Staying in Lake Bunyonyi and tracking Gorillas in Ruhija
Lake Bunyonyi is found in the South-western part of Uganda in Kabale district popularly known as the Switzerland of Uganda. Lake Bunyonyi is been documented as the deepest lake in Uganda and others say that it is the second deepest lake in Africa after Lake Tanganyika of Tanzania. The lake derives its name ‘’Bunyonyi’’ from a Rikiga word for small birds that are very common around the area.
It has been discovered that many tourists who trek Bwindi Gorillas in Ruhija the East of the park prefer staying at Lake Bunyonyi instead of Ruhija or Buhoma areas which have alternative accommodation options. This article therefore is concentrating on the advantages and disadvantages of staying at Lake Bunyonyi and trek ruhija Gorillas. Ruhija region is popular because of its four habituated Gorilla families of Bitukura, Kyaguliro, Oruzogo and Mukiza and on top of it being the bording haven for avid and keen bird watchers.
Another advantage is that Lake Bunyonyi provides many options in as far as tourism activities are concerned compared to Ruhija region. Ruhija mainly has two activities of bird watching as well as Gorilla tracking but Lake Bunyonyi has more activities where one can take a boat ride to explore the different Islands including the famous punishment Island where girls who could get pregnant outside marriage would be dropped and left to die. You can as well go bird watching, visit the Batwa community and the Bakiga for cultural performance. If you have more time, you can tour around Kabale town and visit the regional museum and many more. These activities can be done on the day you arrive or after your Gorilla tracking.
The disadvantage with staying at Lake Bunyonyi and trek Bwindi Gorillas in Ruhija is that you should be prepared to wake up very early to start your drive to Ruhija Gorilla tracking trailhead which takes about two hours. Many travelers who stay at Lake Bunyonyi have to take get to the briefing point at 8:15am for registration and the general briefing about the dos and the don’ts while on your Gorilla tracking. Sometimes the road tends to be slow in the rainy season as it becomes slippery and mudslides can as well block the way for some time.
Lake Bunyonyi is also known to be peaceful and stable with few waves due to the fact that its showers are sheltered by hills. You will confirm this on your visit and you will notice that children and women use simple canoes for transport and fishing which is not common on other lakes.
The nature of formation and the location, Lake Bunyonyi has become one of the tourist attractions many like while in South-western Uganda. Many people go to Lake Bunyonyi for swimming, sport fishing, bird watching, hill hiking, boat rides among others. Due to many accommodation options which provide services to all categories of tourists Lake Bunyonyi gets many visitors all year round.
