We carry glad tidings from Bwindi! Over the weekend of 26th October 2024, another baby Mountain Gorilla was born from Mucunguzi Gorilla Family in Rushaga sector. The baby was born of an adult female Migogo. This brings the total number of individuals in the family to 15.
The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is inhabited by a population of about 459 individual mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which make up almost half of all the mountain gorillas in the world.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years and contains almost 400 species of plants. This biologically diverse region also provides shelter to 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. This forest hosts around 350 species of birds, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics. Bwindi is home to at least 200 butterfly species, including the eight Albertine rift endemics, and many reptiles.
Gorilla trekking is the most sought-after tourist experience in Uganda. There are 23 fully habituated Gorilla families in Bwindi impenetrable national park that are ready for daily trekking sessions. Through the process of Gorilla habituation, wild Gorillas are accustomed to the presence of humans and therefore become tolerant to daily visits during Gorilla trekking. There are 184 slots available daily for Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable National park across 4 sectors namely; Buhoma and Ruhija in the North, Rushaga and Nkuringo in the South.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is proximate to Kisoro airstrip in the South and Kihihi airstrip in the North. The distance from the airstrips is 1.5 hours respectively. Daily scheduled flights are available to and from Entebbe International Airport. The flights are very important because they significantly shorten the travel time to Bwindi which is between 8-10 hours by road from Entebbe. Bwindi is 5 hours by road from Kigali International Airport.
Because of the daily scheduled flights, it is now possible to offer Gorilla trekking in Bwindi as an extension to tourists completing safaris in neighboring countries like Kenya and Tanzania or Southern Africa. The most desirable extension packages are the three-day, four-day, and five-day Gorilla trekking packages.