Planning A Luxury Gorilla Safari Holiday To Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

When planning a luxurious gorilla safari to Bwindi's Impenetrable National Park, you are looking for a mixture of top-notch service blended with an eco-touch. You can attend gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Booking luxury accommodation for your gorilla safari speaks volumes about which tour package you choose.

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Gorilla trekking adventure offers you one hour with a fully habituated mountain gorilla family. The gorillaThe gorilla habituation experience is an adventure where tourists follow a semi-habituated gorilla family with a team of researchers and spend four hours with them.

Securing a gorilla permit for either activity stands out during the luxury gorilla safari holiday planning. A gorilla permit is a ticket-like document from the Uganda Wildlife Authority allowing you to attend either gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience. Gorilla trekking permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are booked according to the four areas under which the park is subdivided: Buhoare, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. 

Select luxury accommodation for your gorilla safari to accompany the package you choose. Luxury means comfort and exclusive safari services to make everlasting memories on your Africa safari. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park may have more options for luxury accommodations, but they are limited compared to the demand for gorilla permits.

Booking upscale transport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, whether by road or air. You need a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle in good condition driven by a professional and knowledgeable driver guide. The terrain of the Kigezi sub-region is generally mountainous, with winding roads that tend to get messy, especially during the severe rainy seasons.

How to Plan Luxury Gorilla Safari Holiday to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 

Book the gorilla permit.

Whether you are destined to do gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you need a permit. To book the gorilla permit, you need a date when you hope to do the gorilla safari and the number of gorilla permits in case you have company.

Note that when planning a luxury gorilla safari to Bwindi's impenetrable National Park, the least number of days you can be on a gorilla safari is a three-day Uganda gorilla tour. 

Gorilla trekking permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are booked according to the Buhoma, Rusarega, Ruhija, and Nkuringo areas. You need to note this before booking accommodation for your gorilla safari.

At Encounter Africa Safaris, we can assist you in finding the availability of gorilla permits and book them when you enquire from us. Upon receiving your gorilla tour inquiry, our tour consultant checks availability from the Uganda Wildlife Authority list. We are one of the few companies accredited to check the gorilla permits list of the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Upon getting a positive gorilla permit status, our safari consultant will reply. The status of gorilla permit availability changes without warning, so we advise clients to book their gorilla permits as soon as possible. For those hoping to use the peak Uganda tourism season for the luxury gorilla safari in June, July, August, September, December, and January, it is best to secure the permit in advance.

As the high season unfolds, chances of getting last-minute gorilla permits narrow, and so are accommodation options.

Upon securing your gorilla permit, provide us some personal details like your full name as presented on the passport, nationality, date of birth, passport expiry date, and others. Ensure you present the proper identification details on your passport, or you may not be allowed to go for the gorilla tour.

These details are added to the gorilla permit card that you present on gorilla safari day.

Book accommodation for your gorilla tour

You have to secure luxury accommodation based on the number of people you hope to travel with for the gorilla safari. Before securing luxury accommodation for the days on a gorilla safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you need to note the area where your gorilla permit is booked.

Gorilla trekking permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are secured according to areas are Rushaga, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Buhoma. It is best to stay overnight within or closer to the place where your gorilla permit is booked. This is because the Bwindi forest is vast, and areas are separated by different landforms that may make it hard to cross from one place to another to attend the briefing.

When you overnight in another area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you may have to drive in the dark to catch up with briefing elsewhere. On the way, you may encounter several obstacles, like logs falling across the road, slippery roads, poor visibility from deep foggy conditions, and so much more.

Bwindi accommodations: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Buhoma Lodge, Mahogany Springs, Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Safari Lodge, Clouds Lodge, Gorilla Forest Camp

Reserve Transport For the Gorilla Safari

You can use road or air transport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a Luxury gorilla safari. 

By road.

Secure a 4x4 wheel drive safari land cruiser in good condition to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, as the roads leading to this park sometimes get messy and are winding, too. This makes it hard to navigate their roads using vehicles in poor condition. 

At Encounter Africa Safaris, we hand-pick our safari guides to help you get the best experience of your gorilla safari, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Customer satisfaction is at the top of our priorities for any safari we plan.

Do not expect a smooth ride during the drive to and from Bwindi forest because of the rough nature of the roads, which are bumpy and dusty at times. Expect to get an African massage.

Have a full fuel tank before proceeding into the forest because getting refueling spots as you go deep in the countryside is challenging.

Several routes lead to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park from Kampala or Entebbe. Some of the roads you may take include

Kampala to Kabale to Kanungu to Buhoma

Kampala to Ntungamo to Rukungiri to Buhoma

Kampala to Kabale to Nkuringo

Queen Elizabeth National Park to Kihihi to Buhoma

By Air

From Entebbe or Kajjansi airstrip, you can board the daily domestic flights to Kihihi or Kisoro Airstrip. You need to hire a transfer vehicle to your lodge. The drive from Kihihi airstrip to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about two hours. The drive from Kisoro airstrip to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 1 hour and a half.

Charter flight services are available at Kajjansi or Entebbe airport to Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip. You need to pre-book these flights so that all necessary clearances can be made in advance.

Pre-Gorilla safari exercises

While planning the luxury gorilla safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, do some physical exercises to prepare your body for this adventure. The nature of the topography of Bwindi's impenetrable national park is mountainous, with ridges and plateaus resulting from volcanic actions in this area.

There is no need to stay in the gym all day but start with simple exercises to keep your muscles fit for this adventure.

Pack the right gorilla safari gear, too.

Gorilla safari requires special packing so you are not out-spotted while searching for the mountain gorillas. The jungle is rough, with some irritating plants that may cause your skin to eczema if your skin comes into contact with some plants. It would help if you packed safari boots, a camera, binoculars, safari clothes, insect repellants, rainproof gear, safari hats, warmers, and clothes in wilderness-friendly colors.

There is no need to pack over, but have the relevant items to support your trek to find the mountain gorillas and return safely.

Carry some hard cash for your gorilla tour.

Credit cards are not a standard means of transacting in Africa because of the lengthy process of obtaining money from them. It is best to carry some hard cash to exchange into local currency if you need to make on-ground purchases.

Select additional activities to combine with the gorilla safari

Other than gorilla safaris, Uganda is rich with several optional activities you can combine with this adventure, like chimpanzee safaris, game drives, white water rafting, visiting the source of the River Nile, golden monkey safaris, birding in Uganda, cultural experience, scenic viewing and much more.

With our safari consultant's help, you can draw a suitable itinerary to suit your days on safari in Africa. You can plan a suitable gorilla safari itinerary that can suit your time and interests. A combo of gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda gives you great moments with some of the highly regarded primates of Uganda. Uganda's gorilla safari and game tour are also worth the African safari experience.

When is the best time to book a luxury gorilla safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park?

All year is open for gorilla safaris, but the dry season is most sought after. The trails of Bwindi forest are drier, and the chances of spotting the mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers are more open. If you wish to capture the fantastic sceneries of Bwindi forest, the dry season may offer you better opportunities, like clear sparkling waterfalls.

This season's demand for gorilla permits is high, creating high completion as this is the peak Uganda tourism season. The increased tourism season in Uganda is normally June, July, August, September, December, and January.

We advise clients to ensure gorilla permits for the peak season in advance to avoid panicking at the last minute.

The low season, which usually serves as the wet season of March, April, May, and November, typically gives you chances to get more attention while on a gorilla safari. There usually are fewer gorilla tour bookings, and chances of going on an unpaid gorilla tour are more open. The lodge staff focuses a tension on you as you get top-notch services. 

If you long for quality time while on a gorilla safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, then low tourism season may offer you this opportunity to relax and get no obstruction from fellow tourists.

Are mountain Gorillas Aggressive?

Mountain gorillas are serene primates and not harmful despite their massive body size and fierce outlook covered in fur and knuckle-walking style. This, however, doesn't guarantee that you provoke the mountain gorillas because they, too, can charge. Follow the rules of the gorilla safari to enjoy the time you have with the only leftover mountain gorillas in the world.

What are the Guidelines for Gorilla safari?

• When you locate the mountain gorillas, do not surround them. This makes them feel ambushed.
• Ask the ranger guide to dig about 30 cm deep if you wish to do a long call. You need to ever everything beyond recognition.
• Anyone below 15 years is not allowed to do gorilla trekking because the time of locating the mountain gorillas has yet to be discovered unknown, and some patience is needed to complete this trek. In the past, the age limit for gorilla safaris in Uganda was 15 years and over, but it has been opened to 15 years to allow more children to enjoy these primates and their habitats.
• Volunteer to stay behind if you catch any communicable infection like coronavirus, flu, cough, or cholera. This is because the mountain gorillas can catch human infections easily. They have a DNA that is about 96% similar to that of humans.
• When you locate the mountain gorillas, keep a distance of about 8 meters from them. To reduce the chances of passing an infectious infection to them.
• Never spit on the vegetation because it's food for the mountain gorillas. It is unhealthy and disgusting, too.
• Wear a mask and hand sanitize as an after-coronavirus period precaution. You must change into a clean mask as you approach the mountain gorillas.
• Do not make noise or sudden movements with the mountain gorillas because it may scare them. The gorillas are often scared of unfamiliar noises in their presence.

Our safari consultants are ready to tailor your luxury safari to Bwindi on your own terms. Contact us for more information.