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Whereas gorilla habituation involves familiarizing wild gorillas to the presence of humans such that they can continue with their usual routines even in the presence of people, gorilla trekking on the other hand involves searching for a habituated gorilla group which would take minutes or several hours until you land on one which you will observe for one hour. With both activities carried out in Bwindi impenetrable national park, this topic introduces us to their comparison enabling us get a detailed recap of what is actually involved in the two awesome experiences. This will in the end help you plan your safari to this destination with prior information about both activities.
Time at which both activities were introduced
Mountain gorilla safaris started way back in 1993 when the first group of tourists went to the northern part of the Bwindi to track the first habituated gorilla family known as Mubare. Gorilla habituation is rather a new concept that was introduced by Uganda Wildlife Authority in Rushaga area of the park in 2015.
Comparison in terms of price
Much as permits of both activities are acquired either directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) or through contacting your trusted tour operator, the prices of these awesome experiences differ. A gorilla trekking permit costs 600 USD while a gorilla habituation permit costs 1500 USD. It is advisable to always book your permit early enough in order to avoid missing it out on the actual day that you intend to track or habituate a gorilla family.
Time spent in the course of taking on both activities
Whereas one is limited to watching a habituated family for one hour after searching for it for 30 minutes or three quarters a day during trekking, habituation on the other hand allows one to spend a period of 4 hours with these dark colored creatures and this is 3 hours more compared to trekking. Travelers doing habituation must be accompanied by trained researchers because these endangered species will still be undergoing series of learning and they may end up behaving in a way that may scare humans while in case of trekking, a knowledgeable guide is enough to take you through the entire process. This extra time spent while habituation enables visitors have a detailed insight and understanding about the gorillas because the researchers will take time explaining more about these rare species even if it were to take a day.
Regions in which both activities take place
A point to note is that Uganda is the only country in which gorilla habituation takes place among the three countries in the world which are endowed with gorillas i.e Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For trekking, expect to visit all regions in Bwindi impenetrable national park i.e Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Buhoma because these regions have got habituated families. Habituation on the other hand is only limited to Rushaga region of the park.
Gorilla families undergoing trekking and habituation
In Uganda, 13 families are present for trekking including 12 in Bwindi national park and 1 in Mgahinga national park where as 2 families are available for habituation in Rushaga sector namely Bikyingi and Bushaho families.
Number of persons allowed in each activity
With gorilla trekking, 8 people are permitted to be in presence of these gentle forest giants whereas habituation is limited to a maximum of 4 people.
Best time for both activities
Although the dry/sunny period avails the best period to carry on both activities, one can go in for trekking and habituation all year round. Naturally, Uganda receives two wet seasons i.e between March to May and October to November but the dry season is longer favoring the activities to go on.
How to get to Bwindi
The park is located in the south western part of Uganda. It is accessible by either air or road. Using Kampala-Masaka highway, a road trip will take you about 6-8 hours to reach the park. For more adventurous travelers, you can make a stopover in Masaka at the equator and have photographs plus having a look at the local drums. A charter flight can also be arranged for you from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to the park. Alternatively, for those traveling through Rwanda, border arrangements via Kisoro can be made, cross the border and continue to Rushaga sector for trekking or habituation.
Guidelines of habituation and trekking
The guidelines for both activities are similar. Below are the rules and regulations that should be followed
- The minimum age allowed for both experiences is 15years
- Visitors should be disease free and most especially free from communicable diseases such as flu, diahorea, cough
- Smoking, drinking, and eating in their presence is prohibited
- A distance of 6-7 meters has to be maintained from the gorillas
- Maintaining in your groups should be observed because this will allow these gentle giants have ample space for themselves.
- One is not allowed to look straight into the eyes of these gentle giants because they may feel threatened and end up acting aggressive
- Do not act aggressive when a gorilla tries to approach you, rather be submissive
- Avoid blowing your nose or coughing while facing them because it will help them from catching germs
- Much as you can ask questions, keep your voices as low as possible to avoid distracting them.
- Please take non flash photographs and ensure to minimize your movements even when taking them
- Make sure that you keep the area clean by avoiding littering it in order to create a conducive environment for the next group of visitors.
What to park, wear and carry during both experiences
Please park and wear a pair of trousers, long sleeved shirt, strong hiking boots, comfortable garden gloves, a back pack with a bottle of drinking water, packed lunch and this should probably be snacks, a rain coat, sweater incase of very cold weather or during the rain, a sun hat, sun glasses during hot periods, insect repellent, a camera without a flash to take photos, a walking stick and a porter who can carry your language because this will help you enjoy the activities with limited difficulties.
All we can say is that both activities are fun. Therefore, you ought to travel to Uganda and experience these two thrilling activities because they will reward you with memories worth keeping for life time.
