At that size, the park is home to nearly half of the world’s endangered Mountain Gorillas. It is characterized by tangled vegetation, draped over a deeply fissured landscape of sheer slippery valleys and high-draughty ridges offering stunning adventure to trackers; “it is a place where only the brave can penetrate”. Its ever chilly weather and puzzling terrain offers unrivalled ambience and serenity for visitors seeking to meet and interact with these interesting great Apes.
Its altitudinal range is between 1160m- 2607m above sea level with an annual average temperature range of 70-200C, the coldest period being June and July. The forest is usually cold especially in the morning and during the nights, and receives up to 2390mm of rainfall annually; as a result, warm clothing and wet-weather gear is required.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park protects the first group/ population of the Mountain Gorillas with the second inhabiting the forested depths of the Virunga Massif; a conservation area that spreads across three (3) countries and National Parks. Bwindi has over 14 Gorilla families habituated for tracking by visitors with one group/family available for research purposes. The first group to become available for tracking by visitors was the Mubare family in April 1993, the tracking experience ranks as one of the world’s premier wildlife encounters and it’s an epic moment of greatness.
Accessibility
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 530km from Kampala; the country’s capital and can be accessed through a number of routes by road. The drive through this side of the country is just spectacular rewarding visitors/ travellers with beautiful sights of the gorgeous Kigezi Highlands. The approximate driving time from Kampala to the park is between 7-9hours. The Kampala to Buhoma route via Ntungamo-Rukungiri and Kihihi takes about 7hours. The other routes include; the Kampala to Buhoma via Kabale and Ruhija, the route to Buhoma through Kabale and Kanungu as well as the route from Kampala to Nkuringo via Kabale being the longest.
The park can also be accessed from the neighboring parks i.e. from Mgahinga National Park in the south a journey that takes roughly 2hours or from Queen Elizabeth in the North of Bwindi a route that takes about 3hours. Similarly, a cross-border journey is possible to Bwindi from Rwanda’s capital-Kigali taking about 5hours via Kisoro.
Alternatively, the park can be accessed through a domestic flight either charter or scheduled from Kajjansi Airstrip near Entebbe to Kisoro Airstrip, to Kayonza or Kihihi Airstrips near the park.
Wildlife [Flora and Fauna]
With its mist sheltered ranges, this Impenetrable forest is the oldest and most biologically diverse rainforest. Bwindi supports a tremendous biodiversity as a result of three key factors; its slopes extend over a broad altitude of 1447metres to create habitats ranging from Lowland forests at 1160m to rare Afro-montane vegetation above 2600m, it is also extremely old believed to have survived during arid conditions of ice age and its part of the exceptionally rich Albertine Rift region.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s eco-diversity ranges from its alluring evergreen vegetation composed of bamboo, to rivers and swamps among others. The forest has a lengthy list of wildlife species including; nearly 400species of plants with over 163 tree species and 100 species of ferns, 120 species of mammals with 10species of primates including the Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Baboons, L’Hoest Monkeys, Nocturnal Bush-babies and Red-tailed monkeys, among other mammals are the Elephants and various small Antelopes, 202butterfly species and 88 moths, plus 51 reptile species. The park has an impressive list of birds of over 350 species including 23 Albertine Rift Endemics which accounts to 90% of the Albertine endemics such as the; African Green Broadbill, Shelley’s Crimson-wing, Short-tailed Warbler, White-tailed Blue flycatcher, Brown-necked Parrot, White-bellied Robinchat and Blue-headed Sunbird among others as well as seven IUCN Red Data listed species.
The park also offers chance to spend more time with these great Apes on a rewarding Gorilla Habituation Experience, this activity allows visitors to accompany researchers and habituators, as they follow the Gorillas on their daily activity, and thereby getting them used to human presence without altering their natural habitat
Bwindi’s alluring habitat range makes it an ideal birding destination; in 2012, Bwindi was voted Africa’s best birding site by the African Bird Club. It offers excellent sighting of the Albertine Rift Endemics, with 23 species. With its teeming primate diversity, trails through the forest enable visitors to track primates. Visitors can also participate in Mountain Biking through a well maintained 13km trail of Ivi River, as well as taking part in various breathtaking Nature Walks to explore the forest diversity. Trails such as Munyanga River, Waterfall trail, Muzabajiro Loop and Rushura Hill trails give opportune moments, for visitors to discover and experience this pristine forest.