What Else After Gorilla Trekking
What Else After Gorilla Trekking
Have you ever wondered what else you can do after gorilla trekking? The topmost attraction that brings most travelers to Uganda is seeing the mountain gorillas. However, Uganda offers a bucket list of activities one can do after gorilla trekking to give excellent satisfaction from the small East African destination.
Uganda is undoubtedly the best destination to watch primates in their natural habitats. However, it offers more than gorillas and some of the most admirable activities include savannah safari game drives, boat safaris, hiking adventures, and memorable cultural encounters.
Most gorilla safaris in Uganda include at least a day or two in the neighboring savannah wildlife parks, making for a satisfactory African safari experience. It’s common to have your gorilla safari package covering a wider area of southwestern Uganda, checking off experiences that other destinations in the region can’t offer.
We take a look at some of the activities you might be convinced to include on your Uganda safari after gorilla trekking in either Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or Mgahinga National Park.
Cultural Encounters
The protected gorilla parks were once occupied by a primitive tribe called Batwa, a bonus who shared the same space with the mountain gorillas. The tribe was later hoisted out of the sanctuaries to give way to gorilla conservation. Today the Batwa live in small primitive villages surrounding the protected reserves and depend mostly on gorilla tourism and agriculture to make a living.
The Batwa attracts most trekkers with their antics, reenacted histories, and village entertainment that is worth a visit after your gorilla trekking adventure. For about $20 – $50 per person, you can have a guided visit with some entertainment from this ancient tribe.
Hiking & Nature Walks
Mountain gorillas live on the slopes of the Virunga Mountains, which is a bonus for ardent hikers. After the adventurous gorilla trekking encounter, take one of the Virunga summits from Mgahinga National Park: Mount Gahinga (3,474 meters), Mount Sabyinyo (3,674 meters), and the moderately challenging Mount Muhabura (4,127 meters).
From the Rwanda side, hikers can climb Mount Karisimbi (4,507 meters), Mount Bisoke (3,711 meters), and the above three in Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the surrounding highlands offer some of the best nature walking adventures in East Africa for nature walks. The area is wrapped in a blanket of mist, verdant, muddy, and bursting with the secret sounds of hidden life.
Precipitous slopes descend to deep valleys cut into the landscape by tumbling, mountainous streams. The air is filled with the deafening calls of forest birds unseen in the canopy, from ancient hardwood trees interspersed with bamboo thickets to delicate fern fronds, dangling vines, and vicious nettles.
The word “Bwindi” literally translates to “impenetrable” in the local language. Around Bwindi is where any ardent nature hiker would want to spend their time after gorilla trekking in the deep rainforest.
Birding After Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi
Grab your birding guide and binoculars for a fantastic birdwatching foray through the ancient rainforest of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – known for offering “some of the best montane-forest birdwatching in Africa.” The park is home to an impressive 350 species, of which many you will delight in ticking off your list on this 2-3 hour excursion that is hosted by a knowledgeable guide.
Alternatively, nature enthusiasts can embark on a 3-hour journey of discovery, traversing through the unique habitats of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, along a winding trail framed by exotic, emerald vegetation, to witness the sparkling spectacle of the Munyaga Waterfall.
Rising through evergreen and montane marshes that intertwine across the lush forest floor, your trail leads you to enchanting falls, booming out a thunderous roar of pristine river water crushing against enormous rocks, an exquisite sight to behold. Prolific with birds, the cacophony of chatter, and the cascading falls is a magnificent sound.
Walking along the Buhoma Waterfall Trail, be sure to look out for the White-tailed Ant Thrush and dapper francolin, the splendid Black Bee-eater, Yellow-eyed Black and African Sooty Flycatchers along the green bamboo zone.
Venture to the Mubwindi Swamp trail in Ruhija, where sightings of the endemic and localized African green broadbill are frequent. Gaze up at the treetops and keep your binoculars handy to spot the Short-tailed Warbler and Blue-headed Sunbird as well as the African Green Broadbill and Shelley’s Crimsonwing.
Tracking Golden Monkies
Another primate encounter that combines well with gorilla trekking is the golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga National Park.
The Golden Monkey is a local subspecies of the widespread Sykes Monkey, endemic to the high altitude bamboo forests of the Volcanoes National Park area. The monkeys are playful and curious and often spend their time leaping from bamboo branches or frolicking on the forest floor.
There one habituated group of Golden Monkey comprising around 30 members and has its home at the foot of Mt Sabyinyo. As with treks to see the Mountain Gorillas, excursions to see the Golden Monkeys occur in the mornings, and visitors are permitted to stay for 1 hour with the monkeys.
Golden monkey trekking is a great activity to do after gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park. The golden monkey permit costs $60 per person, relatively low compared to the gorilla permit.
Game Drives & Boat Safari
After gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, it’s pretty easy to connect to Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is about a 3-hours drive north of Bwindi.
A game drives through the Ishasha sector, the southern Queen Elizabeth NP section will lead you through the spectacular tree-climbing lions’ zone. A spectacle uncommon to most African lions and easily seen with the lion prides of Ishasha. Instead of scanning your eyes across vast savannah grasslands, look up, and you might find something lurking in the sycamore-fig trees.
It’s not just the tree-climbing lions that would drive you through this park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most famous safari park for both wildlife and tourists. Most gorilla safaris in Uganda will include a game drive in this wilderness reserve.
Famous animals you’ll see in this park include the African elephant, African buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippopotamus, topi, waterbuck, warthog, giant forest hog, Nile crocodile, leopard, and lion. A boat safari on the park’s Kazinga Channel will bring you closer to the spectacular game by the channel’s banks.
Chimpanzee trekking
Adjacent to Queen Elizabeth National Park, up north, is another famous primate sanctuary, Kibale Forest National Park. If you include a safari game drive after gorilla trekking in Bwindi, you most definitely should meet the chicky chimpanzees on that trip.
Kibale National Park offers the most exciting primate viewing adventures worldwide. The chimpanzee community in Kibale available for chimp trekking is the best habituated in Uganda, and sightings are incredible.
The park’s diversity of primates is one of the highest in Africa, with 13 species living there, including Black-and-white colobus, red-tailed monkey, and blue monkey, all regularly spotted on treks. Several nocturnal species are present as well, including potto and the eastern needle-clawed bushbaby.
Aside from primates, Kibale is home to many mammal species which are rarely encountered. Elephant and buffalo roam the forest floors, giant forest hog, warthog, bushpig, bushbuck, blue, red, and Peter’s duiker are other species within this pristine jungle.
Booking Activities To Do After Gorilla Trekking
There are many things to do after a gorilla trekking adventure in Uganda; you just have to talk to your tour manager to help you identify some of the most exciting activities. Use us to plan your safari. Use Encounter Africa’s streak of successful gorilla safari safaris since 2003 to arrange a great safari that includes some of the most exciting activities to add to your gorilla trek.
Send us an email at info@gorilla-tracking-uganda.com, and one of our consultants will be eager to engage you in planning your next exciting gorilla adventure. You can also check out some of our recommended gorilla trekking packages belowUp north, adjacent to get inspired.
