Uganda Gorilla Trekking from Kigali : The Republic of Uganda and Rwanda are some of the most cherished tourism destinations in the world. Because these tiny countries are home to one of the rare and critically endangered species of mountain gorillas. These two in addition to Democratic Republic of Congo are the only places on earth where you can view Mountain gorillas in their natural environment.
Uganda unlike its two neighbors – Congo and Rwanda has two designated parks where guests can encounter the magnificent primate creatures throughout the whole year. These are Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park. Bwindi boasts protecting more than half of the world’s last mountain gorillas in the wild and makes a great place to experience your gorilla adventure.
Mountain gorilla trekking.
The mountain gorilla trekking experience is an exciting adrenaline-inducing activity done in a few of Africa’s forests where travelers embark into the dense jungle to track the largest primate – mountain gorilla. These magnificent apes nearly faced extinction but are now listed as critically endangered on the IUCN list. Therefore many people desire to encounter them before maybe they become extinct again.
Though the experience is exciting and among the most memorable African adventures, it comes at no easy cost. In addition to being one of the most expensive adventures, it also requires a traveler to put in their effort to relish it. The adventure requires you to be in great shape as the gorillas normally reside on the slopes of rugged volcanos and dense bamboo plantations and thickets. This calls for strenuous hiking to get to the gorilla families.
However, all the energy, money and time you invest in trekking these gentle giants is rewarded once you encounter them face to face in their natural habitat. A face-to-face encounter is testified by many as the best adventure they have ever experienced even when doing it for the second or tenth time.
Uganda presents more than 18 habituated gorilla families to choose from while planning a gorilla adventure and this is only possible by booking a gorilla permit which allows you to carry out this mind-blowing experience. Gorilla families can only be interacted with only once in a group of 8 individuals per day. This makes the permits scarce and calls for guests to plan earlier like 4 months ahead before your gorilla tour in Africa.
Although visitors can do gorilla trekking in both Rwanda and Uganda, most of them over the years have opted for gorilla trekking in Uganda while accessing it through Kigali in Rwanda. There are a few reasons for this.
Why Uganda gorilla trekking from Kigali?
The main reason travelers prefer gorilla trekking in Uganda through Kigali is because it greatly reduces the time traveled to access the parks of Bwindi or Mgahinga, in contrast to getting there when you use Entebbe airport. Visitors who start from Kigali city save about 5 hours of traveling as it’s roughly 4 hours from Kigali to Bwindi or Mgahinga while it’s 7-9 hours from Entebbe airport to any one of these parks.
Another reason is for travellers to seize an advantage of the discounted rates of permits in Uganda which is at $700 as compared to Rwanda’s $1500 for a gorilla trekking permit. For guests who prefer to save a bigger percentage on gorilla permits and while traveling for a shorter distance and time, then Uganda gorilla trekking from Kigali is the best alternative.
For visitors looking for more than gorilla trek in Africa, Uganda is a better alternative than Rwanda. This is because the pearl of Africa offers a wider array of experiences from epic safaris in any of its 10 national parks compared to Rwanda’s three, cultural experiences with over 54 recognized ethnic groups, best water adventures in East Africa and more varied landscape to explore than its smaller neighbor. On top of all this Uganda is far more affordable in all aspects than Rwanda.
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