List of gorilla habituation lodges in Rushaga and Nkuringo
List of gorilla habituation lodges in Rushaga and Nkuringo
Gorilla habituation adventure is the safari where you follow a semi-habituated gorilla family to familiarize them with human presence without altering nature. Gorilla habituation in Uganda happens in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable national park.
The accommodations for gorilla habituation safari must be booked in the southern part of Bwindi impenetrable national park to minimize chances of having to rise early to catch up with briefing.
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To have the best gorilla habituation holiday, you must stay at a lodge with a cost that soots your budget to avoid inconvenience at check-out. The southern part of Bwindi’s impenetrable national park accommodations is graded according to luxury, mid-range, and budget. This southern part of Bwindi has two areas that are Rushaga area and the Nkuringo area.
Accommodations In Rushaga Area And Nkuringo Area Include
Clouds Lodge
This lodge is a super luxury facility located in the southern part of the Bwindi forest. This lodge provides ensuite rooms that are well-aerated. Each room is cozy, and you get a great view of the forest canopy from the balcony. Sometimes you may receive visits from several primates, including the mountain gorillas.
Clouds Lodge has a beautiful ambiance with a mixture of modernity and local architecture with a well-stocked bar and restaurant.
Rest assured of a personal battler who caters to all your room service throughout your stay. Then, you just lay back and relax.
Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge
It is a luxury lodge at Nteko Ridge overlooking Bwindi Impenetrable national park. Currently, Nkuringo gorilla lodge has 12 self-contained rooms, a restaurant, and a well-stocked bar. The rooms are categorized into 3 terrace rooms, cottages, and villas.
Gorilla Hills Eco Lodge
This lodge is located in Kisoro and runs a bar and restaurant, beautiful gardens, wifi, and beautiful and relaxing views of the environment.
Rushaga Gorilla Lodge
This lodge overlooks the beautiful Bwindi forest, and each room is nicely crafted to favor an excellent night for you in the jungle.
Rushaga Gorilla Safari Lodge
This is a luxury facility with so far eight ensuite units overlooking Bwindi forest. The rooms are self-contained with an individual veranda and balcony. From the lodge, you can track the Nshongi gorilla family. Rushaga Gorilla Safari Camp is close to the two gorilla families open for habituation adventure.
The lodge runs a well a stocked bar, restaurant, and lounge with a cozy ambiance to relax, wind, and unwind from the tedious gorilla trekking safari.
Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge
This mid-range lodge offers wonderful views of the Bwindi forest canopy. The lodge runs a restaurant, mini bar, wifi; each room is well-aerated with a balcony where you can watch all the forest fun. The lodge is about a 10-minute drive from Rushaga Gate.
Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge
This is a budget lodge situated in Ryarutagara in Kisoro. The lodge has different types of rooms, some self-contained while others have shared facilities.
Nshongi Camp
This budget facility is situated on the outskirts of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The camp runs four traditional Bandas with double beds and private bathrooms.
Bwindi Back Packers Lodge
This budget facility lies outside Bwindi’s impenetrable national park. The facility comprises cottages, self-contained rooms, and none self-contained rooms with shared toilets and bathrooms.
How To Book Gorilla Habituation Permits
Select a date when you will do gorilla habituation and the number of gorilla permits. Bwindi currently has two gorilla families open for habituation; a maximum of 4 permits per day are released to the public.
When you enquire from us, our safari consultant checks the gorilla habituation permit availability list of the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
If there is still availability of the habituation permits, we request all our clients to do advance permit secured without payment because of their limited number, yet demand is high. For conservation reasons, the gorilla habituation permits are limited to 4 tourists.
Forward some personal details for your gorilla habituation card to be printed. Some of the necessary information includes names as indicated in the passport, nationality, date of birth and passport expiry date.
How Much Is A Gorilla Habituation Permit?
The gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 per person for foreign nonresidents, $1000 for foreign residents, and 750000shs for East African residents.
The costs of gorilla habituation permit include and exclude
The prices of a gorilla habituation permit include park entrance fees, ranger guide fees, security, 4 hours of gorilla viewing, local community support, gorilla conservation support
Exclusions of the gorilla trekking permit involve transport, tipping, drinks, porters, and any other items of personal nature.
Can I Buy A Gorilla Habituation Permit In Instalment?
Yes, you can purchase the gorilla habituation permit in installments of 30% and 70%, but you must buy it 90 days before the date of habituation. Paying fully for your gorilla habituation permit is the best way to show commitment to your desire to be with the mountain gorilla, but sometimes it is inevitable.
Remember to top up the 90 days to the habituation date or stand to lose the other portion according to the installment policy of Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Is Gorilla Habituation Permit Reschedule Allowed?
When you cannot travel for the gorilla habituation safari per your booked date, you can reschedule for a future date.
You need to Uganda Wildlife Authority requesting to move your gorilla habituation permit to a future date. Attach evidence if you have a backup for your gorilla habituation permit reschedule request.
When you approve, the gorilla permit is rescheduled in case of availability. You have two opportunities for rescheduling the same gorilla habituation permit. The third time calls for the intervention of the Uganda Wildlife Authority executive director and a surcharge of 25% of the total cost.
Is Gorilla Habituation Worth The Cost?
The gorilla habituation permit is pricy, but this cost is worth every penny. You get closer to the only leftover mountain gorillas in the world that are taken as one of the world’s most sought-after activities.
You support the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas that were are the rim of extinction by the 1980s when about 250 mountain gorillas were counted during the census.
Most people who attend gorilla habituation emerge from the fours feeling an unfathomable connection, which is moving.
Indirectly, you support the local community by hiring porters to carry your belongings at an affordable cost. They use the money paid to support their lives and pay school fees for their children.
Annually, 20% of the total income from the sale of the gorilla safari activities is given back to the local community to support their projects like setting up schools, building water sources, road maintenance, etc.
Gorilla Families In Rushaga Area
At the moment Rushaga area has about eight gorilla families open for tourism, and these include the Bweza family, Kahungye family, Busingye family, Nshongi family, Mishaya family, Mucunguzi family, Bitukura family, Rwigi family,
Gorilla Families In Nkuringo Area
Nkuringo Family, Christmas Family,
How Long Is Gorilla Habituation In Rushaga Or Nkuringo?
The time of locating the mountain gorillas is still being determined because they are free animals that meander the forest without boundaries. From the starting point, you follow the trail where the mountain gorillas were last seen the previous night. They usually only move very far from here if there is a push factor.
Sometimes you may take 2 hours to more time to locate the mountain gorillas, but patience is vital.
Sometimes when the gorilla family under habituation has a fight within or from another family, they may relocate.
When food in the area where the gorilla family is under habituation is exhausted, they have to seek new feeding grounds, so finding them gets challenging.
During the severe rainy season, the forest is chilly and slippery, which delays your time to locate the mountain gorillas during habituation.
When the pace of other habituation is slow, locating the mountain gorillas is prolonged. This is why you need to have some level of fitness, as the topography of this area is generally mountainous.
How Safe Is Gorilla Habituation?
Despite the fact that gorilla habituation is done with semi-habituated mountain gorillas, they are not violent. In nature, the mountain gorillas are serene and shy. Escorting rangers carry a machete and a gun to protect you from attacking wild animals.
You need to pay attention to personal security by keeping close to the people you are habituating with so you are not lost in the wilderness. Only enter the forest with an escorting ranger guide to avoid interfacing with other unhabituated forest dwellers like forest elephants, giant forest hogs, vipers, and others.
Is Gorilla Habituation Difficult?
Gorilla habituation topography is generally filled with highlands because of volcanic action. However, sometimes mountain gorillas spend their day on the slopes or deep in the valleys, so you must hike to get to them.
You must wear the right gorilla habituation gears that withstand forest conditions.
Do exercises before the gorilla habituation safari to stretch your muscles and prevent muscle pull.
How Much Is Gorilla Habituation Safari?
The cost of a gorilla habituation permit cuts across all safari plans that is luxury, mid-range, or budget. To calculate the total safari package cost, some of the below are considered:
With the number of people joining the gorilla habituation safari, more people join, and the cost per person is reduced.
When you book gorilla habituation in the peak season, the safari package cost is high because all amenities are highly-priced. However, the low seasons may attract discounted costs on services like accommodation, vehicle higher, ranger guide fees, and others.
The number of other activities to combine with gorilla habituation, like game drives, chimpanzee trekking, launch trips, and others. The more activities to connect with gorilla trekking, the higher the safari cost.
Packing List for Gorilla Habituation
- Safari foldable hat to wear and cover your hair from buzzing insects that fly in the wilderness.
- Garden gloves protect your palms from stinging nettles that you may land your palms on.
- Sunglasses to protect your eyes from flying insects in the jungle.
- Rainproof gears in case it falls at any time without warning.
- Safari boots can withstand the forest conditions like soggy ground and slippery slopes.
- Insect repellant that can protect your body from stinging insects.
- A pair of binoculars in case you wish to get a clearer view of far-ranging features
- Extra cash to change into local currency if you need to make on-ground purchases.
- Long-sleeved shirt and trousers in colors that are wilderness friendly, like tan and khaki.
- A rainproof bag pack to carry with your belongings while in the wilderness.
- First aid kit with emergency items that you can use in case of need
- A camera to keep memories of your gorilla habituation safari, but you must not use flash photography. This scares the mountain gorillas that fear new occurrences in their presence.
- Duffel bag to carry with your belongings as you need to pack light but with relevant items that you can lift in case of no assistance.
- Toiletries in case your lodge doesn’t provide them or your skin is susceptible.
- Extra clothes to change into after gorilla habituation
- A shoe bag to pack your safari boots in case you get limited time to clean them after gorilla habituation.
- A torch to give you lighting when lights run low at night, as most lodges use solar energy
- A pair of stockings to tack in your clothes so that stinging insects don’t creep into them and hurt you.
Rules Of Gorilla Habituation
- No feeding the mountain gorillas, so when eating, do it at least 200 meters away from them
- Spitting on vegetation is forbidden as you may pass germs to the mountain gorillas.
- Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas to avoid passing germs to them
- Littering in the forest is forbidden as it alters the nature of the forest where mountain gorillas thrive
- only 4 hours are allowed with the mountain gorillas when you locate them during a gorilla habituation adventure.
- The age limit for gorilla habituation is 15 years and above
- Stand at a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas when you locate them. In case they come closer, stealthily retreat.
- Talk in a low tone or keep quiet during gorilla trekking so that you do not cause a stampede in the forest.
- Use a flash-less camera to take photos, and it should be soundproof.
- Wear a clean mask during gorilla trekking and when locating mountain gorillas.
- Do not surround the mountain gorillas when you locate them, as you may cause them to get agitated.
- In case you catch a contagious infection, volunteer to stay behind.
Contact us for more information.
