16 Sep Gorilla Habituation Experience in Bwindi

Gorilla Habituation Experience can only be done in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park south of Rushaga and Nkuringo and no elsewhere in the world. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park through the Uganda Wildlife Authority introduced a new activity called Gorilla Habituation Experience to all interested visitors planning a budget gorilla safari in Uganda.

This new experience is designed to allow a small number of tourists to spend more time with mountain gorillas during their habituation. This is the first time UWA has allowed visitors to join the researchers and habituators. The new habituation visit run by Uganda Wildlife Authority in Rushaga, the southern area of the park, is a four-hour gorilla habituation experience. Groups are limited to just four guests, and permits cost $1,500 each. If you are planning for a gorilla and wildlife safari in Uganda, we can change any gorilla trekking safari into a Gorilla Habituation Experience Safari.

The habituation experience involves routine visits by trained researchers who closely study individual gorillas and with time, these gorillas get used to these researchers and in the long run each individual gorilla is given a name. Once researchers are sure that these mountain gorillas can be trekked, they then setup a mock visit where a few people who may include scientist, journalists start visiting them. If the mock visit is successful, then it is opened for gorilla trekking.

The habituation experience is a small scale one with a maximum of 4 visitors being allowed on a day with a group, compared to the 8 Visitors on a normal Trek. One thing is certain, the Habituation Experience is a one of a kind, exclusive Activity in which only a select few can participate.

Gorilla Habituation experience involves visitors spend more time with mountain gorillas compared to gorilla trekking which is restricted to a maximum of one hour.  With gorilla Habituation Experience, visitors will be moving with researchers and spend four hours seeing how gorillas are habituated in trying to keep with the gorillas which are not well habituated and move a bit more compared to the fully habituated gorillas for the normal gorillas treks that will often stay in one area for you to observe easily. You are trekking through mountainous terrain and therefore there is demand for more fitness from the traveler.

Two families are being habituated in Rushaga and Nkuringo all areas in there southern Bwindi forest and in each of these areas there only one family both of which are undergoing the habituation process for future gorilla treks and both are situated in the southern part of Bwindi forest. In Nkuringo the gorilla family is called Bushaho and in Rushaga the gorilla family is Bikingi. Gorilla trekking takes places in all regions of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Rushaga while Gorilla Habituation Experience is restricted to only gorilla groups found in the southern Bwindi sector.

4 visitors are allowed to visit a gorilla family for the habituation experience, this is unlike for gorilla trekking where you have 8 eight visitors and are only allowed one hour with a gorilla family. Booking requires you to be above 15 years of age to be allowed to do the experience, the gorilla habituation experience permit costs USD 1500 per person which is much more expensive than the gorilla trekking permit of USD 600 per person, but well worth it as you get to spend more time with the gentle apes and more time in Bwindi’s beautiful jungle forest.

The best time to go for gorilla habituation experience all year round with the dry months from June – September and from December to February and then it can also be in the low season of April, May and November where there few tourists and because this activity lasts a full day staring as early as 6:30am with the briefing and 7:00am entry into the forest till 7:00pm.

Don’t think twice about booking Gorilla Habituation, a life time thrilling magical experience in the world; remember there just a few left in the world and gorilla habituation can included to any wildlife safari in Bwindi Forest. We as budget gorilla trekking obtain the gorilla permits and the permits are included in the price of the safari. Visitors have added this experience to their safaris and it has enhanced their time on safari in Uganda, Congo and Rwanda and we would love to help you too and incorporate the experience into your Safari.