Month: September 2023

Are you a photographer looking to spend more time with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat? Then try out the Gorilla Habituation Experience where you are guaranteed to spend more time (up to 4 hours) with these Giant Apes, although you will be tracking a semi-habituated gorilla family.

The Gorilla Habituation Experience is only offered in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and only in the southern sector of Rushaga. While you will have four hours with these Great Apes, the experience of creating paths through the dense forest is as thrilling as making contact with them.

Before gorilla families are opened for trekking, they have to first undergo habituation (training to make them used to human presence) and this period lasts 2 years by a team of researchers, conservationists, rangers, and trackers. For the Gorilla Habituation Experience, these Giant Apes are not fully habituated and you will notice that they are more timid and shy than the fully-habituated gorilla families.

How the day starts for the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda?

Your day begins early with registration and briefing at the Park Headquarters at 7:30am, after entertainment from the local community group. This 30-minute briefing is provided by experienced park rangers, taking you through the guidelines and protocols of tracking and watching these Great Apes in their natural habitat. This will be followed by the 3-6-hour walk through the jungle. With the use of machetes, Rangers create a way through the forest and this process is sluggish but generally exciting. Given their training and experience, information regarding different creatures encountered along the way will be properly explained by the Ranger guide.

The 3-6 hours or more will be utilized in walking through the forest to find these Giant Apes and because you are taking rarely-used trails, expect to fall, get scratched by vegetation and jump streams but all these will come to an end when you start approaching the Mountain gorillas. Gorilla nest are the first evidence that you are getting closer to the semi-habituated gorilla family and from this point, it will take another 30 minutes to one hour to make contact with the Great Apes. Afterward, four hours will be offered to learn about, watch and photograph them without being rushed.

During the four hours with the mountain Gorillas, you will get the chance to witness the leader (dominant silverback) mock charges, nursing females, playful infants, and juveniles grooming each other. Only one gorilla family in Rushaga is open for the Gorilla Habituation Experience and can be visited by only four guests. For this reason, only four gorilla permits are issued each day by Uganda Wildlife Authority.

How much is a Gorilla Habituation Experience permit in Uganda?

Gorilla Habituation Experience permits cost $1,500 per person for foreign non-residents, $1,000 per person for foreign residents and Shs. 750,000 per person for East African Citizens (Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi). Remember that only four gorilla permits are issued each day and therefore, it is advisable to book at least one year in advance. The price only includes entry fees, Ranger fees and the activity itself but excludes tips, porter fees and transportation.

What you need for the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda?

Just like standard gorilla treks, the Gorilla Habituation Experience involves going through the jungles and you will be spending a longer time. You need a rain jacket, a pair of sturdy and comfortable hiking boots with ankle support, gaiters, breathable and light-weight safari pants in khaki and other neutral colors.

You will also need gardening gloves, a basic first aid kit, pair of binoculars for sighting far attractions especially birds, a spacious and waterproof backpack for carrying things you need during the Trek. A nice camera (avoid using the flash during photography), energy-giving snacks, insect repellant, comfortable long sleeved shirts, re-usable water bottle, safari hat and sunglasses for sun protection, toiletries (hand sanitizer, nail clips, toothbrush, hand and body lotion, hair comb, toothpaste, and wet wipes), and others.

What month is the best for the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda?

The best months to take part in the Gorilla Habituation Experience are from June to September and December to February. These months are marked by little or no rains hence drier forest trails and scantier vegetation, which make it less challenging to walk through the forest.The months of March to May and October through November are marked by heavy downpours which make forest trails wetter, muddier and slippery. For this reason, expect more challenging trekking experiences. However, the rainy season is perfect for photography owing to the fact that the air is cleared of dirt and vegetation is greener.

Where to stay during the experience in Uganda.

For places of stay during the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda, choose accommodation facilities in Rushaga or Nkuringo sectors. These facilities include Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Chameleon Hill Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Four Gorillas Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Nshongi Camp, and Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge among others.

Getting to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

For air, you can fly from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro about 1 hour & 10 minutes, then continue 1 hour & 30 minutes by road to Bwindi’s Rushaga sector.

For road transfers, it takes 9-10 hours from Kampala to Rushaga sector, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale and Kisoro.

Lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park is a unique and an unforgettable experience which you can’t find in other Uganda’s national parks. Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular Uganda wildlife park situated in Western Uganda, approximately seven hours drive and one hour and thirty minutes by flight.

The park’s landscapes are green and filled with colorful wild flowers and it’s one of Uganda most enchanting savannah parks, very popular of its biodiversity which is encompassed of marvelous wildlife encounters. Among these include the tree climbing lion of Ishasha sector south of the park, chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura gorge, games drives, boat cruise along Kazinga channel, birding watching, nature walk, crater lake visit and Lion tracking experience.

Lion tracking experience only is done in Queen Elizabeth National Park in the northern section of the park “Kasenyi section” where under the guidance of researchers, trackers follow lions with lion calls tracing the signals of trackers which are tied on the neck of the lions. When on a lion predator tracking experience, trackers here can drive off truck to in order to find the predators whenever the signals would be directing.

Lion tracking experiential activity in Queen Elizabeth National Park involves following an individual or group of lions in order to learn more about their behaviour, feeding habits and social/group dynamics. To take part in the Lion tracking experience, one needs to book in advance. The experience cost $100 per person for international tourists. The park authorities give $10 of each booking to the Uganda carnivores program. The price doesn’t include park entrance. There is a limit to the number of people who may participate in the activity.

Tracking lions has three sessions in a day. There are early morning, afternoon and night sessions. Each session takes between two to three hours. If you are booked for any of the sessions, you need to arrive on time. The chief tracker or researcher will brief you about the activity and what to expect before you get into vehicles to look for the lions.

The experience has been made possible because of recent advancement in tracking technology. A radio collar is fitted on the dominant lioness of a pride. Lions are not chosen because they usually wander away from the group to mark their territories. Lionesses stay with the main group enabling researchers to monitor all the other lions including the cubs and alphas males.

Researchers prefer putting a collar on a lioness that is not pregnant, is old enough and in good health. Once she is identified, a tranquilizer is used to make the lioness unconscious before putting the collar around the lion’s neck. The lioness takes about 2 days to get used to the collar. While installing the collar, the researchers make sure that they are comfortable and loose to ensure that the cat doesn’t get stuck while passing through thick vegetation.

The battery powered collars send radio frequencies which are read by a GPS system to pinpoint the exact location of the lions every time the frequency is dialed. The tracking device makes a beeping noise which intensifies when the lion is close. Lions move a lot especially if the game is scarce. If there is enough prey, their range can be 40 square kilometers. In areas of food scarcity, their territory can reach up to 400 square kilometers. The radio collars enable researchers to track the lion prides movement and know if they are sick or under threat from communities living close to the park.

While tracking the lions, Researchers will share information about their biology, habitats and threats. You will learn that the lifespan of a lion is about 12 years and that females do most of the. The male’s role is to protect the family and ensure that no intruders come into their territory. A lioness gives birth to 3 cubs on average.

Lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park is different in many ways from the usual game drives. During normal game drive, vehicles stay on designated tracks/roads. During lion tracking, the driver can drive off the main road and deep into the savanna depending on the location of the lions. Once the team is close to the lions, the driver switches off the engine to avoid chasing away the cats. If you are lucky, you might witness the researcher collecting DNA, blood, urine, saliva, ticks and other samples from the lions after the tranquilizer is applied.

This special wildlife adventure is categorized under experiential tourism which is currently running as a non profit adventure activity. Other experiential tourism activities in Uganda are now applied to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Such activities currently include lion (predators) tracking, Mongoose tracking, bird counts and Hippo census.

This unique adventure was set to wild enthusiasts who prefer getting so close to nature taking part in research, monitoring or even learning about the special fauna. Lion tracking sparkles for both lions and leopards digs deep in researching adventure with a lead of experienced researchers who guide on searching the lions with a guide of a combination of locators and radio collars drawing close to the cats.

Queen Elizabeth National Park hosts the highest number of lions in Uganda, however, on a usual game drive adventure scores to sight a lion are limited. Also, the leopard village is another predator tracking section, the village is one of communities in Queen Elizabeth Park where “UCP” operates experiential tourism, here, trackers can go for an in-depth understanding on how local co-exist with wildlife.

On an experiential lion tracking encounter a limited number of trackers as the adventure can continue to off truck drives join researchers from “UCP” using Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) safari vehicles. This adventure takes some good times and can last for about 3 hours, the experience is more of a study tour where one can be able to collect as much of the information, studying more on the troop’s behaviors and lifestyle.

Nyungwe National Park sits on 101,900 hectares, and stands as the largest block of a natural forest in the region. Boasting remarkable biodiversity, it is home to over a dozen species of primates, 322 bird species, 200 identified orchids, and nearly 300 butterfly species, including several endemic to the park.

Nyungwe National Park was officially designated as a natural World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee. It is the first site in Rwanda to be featured on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The inscription of Nyungwe National Park serves as a vital step in ensuring its long-term conservation, preserving its natural heritage for future generations, and promoting sustainable development for neighboring communities. Established as a natural reserve in 1933, the forest became a National Park in 2005 in a bid by the government to bolster its protection and safeguard the thousands of endangered and endemic species it harbors.

The Government of the Republic of Rwanda welcomes the decision to inscribe Nyungwe National Park on the World Heritage List. This inscription is not only a contribution to the preservation of Rwanda’s natural heritage but also of particular significance to the Rwandan people, for whom it is the first site inscribed on this universal list. This remarkable national park also serves as the primary natural habitat for several species found nowhere else on Earth, including the globally threatened Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), Golden Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti), and the critically endangered Hills Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hillorum). Additionally, Nyungwe National Park is a critical site for bird conservation in Africa, with 317 bird species recorded, including 12 mammals and seven bird species facing global threats. The UN agency underscored the park’s vital role in safeguarding 12 threatened mammal and seven bird species on a global scale, reaffirming its status as a paramount bird conservation site in Africa.

This momentous achievement follows Rwanda’s December 2021 request to UNESCO for Nyungwe’s inclusion on the World Heritage List, a move hailed by conservationists as a significant step forward.

Notably, Nyungwe National Park is the source of up to 70 percent of Rwanda’s freshwater and holds an estimated monetary value of $4.8 billion.

Prior to Nyungwe’s inscription, Rwanda was among 12 African countries without a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Rwandan government has also submitted requests for the inclusion of four memorial sites related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Nyungwe National Park, situated in Rwanda’s southern and western provinces, and is managed by the African Parks Network, a non-governmental organization specializing in conservation, in partnership with the Rwandan Government.

The community work, known as ‘Umuganda’, with the purpose to contribute to the overall national development was reintroduced to Rwandan life in 1998 as part of efforts to rebuild the country after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Today, it takes place on the last Saturday of each month from 8:00 am, and lasts for at least three hours.

Initially, Umuganda was not well received by the people of Rwanda, because it was considered as forced labor at first. However, due to its significant achievements in erosion control and infrastructure improvement – especially building primary schools, administrative offices of sectors and villages and health centers, people came to like and participate in it voluntarily. It was distorted by the 1994 Rwanda genocide but was re-introduced in 1998 as part of efforts to reconstruct Rwanda and to nurture a shared national identity

On this day, both Rwandans and outsiders are encouraged to participate in the activity! Rwandans between 18 and 65 are obliged to participate in Umuganda, whereas participation by those above 65 years is optional. On this day even the expatriates living in Rwanda and visitors taking tours in Rwanda are also encouraged to take part in the community work. Unlike the locals, there is no penalty for visitors and expatriates not participating in the activity, since it is voluntary work.

More still, on this day, business activity halts, public transportation is limited, and people are seen everywhere working. On this day, you can wonder why streets are empty from 7.00am to 11.00pm and you will hardly find any vehicles, motorists or pedestrians moving. The work done differs from one area to another!

In towns you will find people participate in cleaning streets, cutting grass and trimming bushes along roads, or repairing public facilities! In villages you will see those repairing roads, building houses for vulnerable persons or cleaning wells. People with particular skills offer their services for free on this day. For example, doctors may offer free medical examinations.

The activity is done under the control of the selected committees which are responsible for organizing, supervising, evaluating and reporting the work done and more so motivating people to keep the spirit up. At present, 80% of Rwandans take part in monthly community work and auccessful projects including building of schools, medical centers and hydroelectric plants as well as rehabilitating wetlands and creating highly productive agricultural plots have been established, Umuganda’s contribution to the country’s development since 2007 has been estimated at more than US $60 million.

In addition, besides undertaking community work, Umuganda also serves as a forum for leaders at each level of government (from the village up to the national level), to inform citizens about important news and announcements. Community members are also able to discuss any problems they or the community are facing and to propose solutions together.

However, despite its drastic achievements, Umuganda is faced with the challenge of poor planning, this is in some areas of the country and has led to unrealistic targets and projects that are difficult to achieve without additional financing.

More still, low participation by the local people in some communities of the country is a big challenge; some people still look at this community work as wastage of time and take it to be forced labor hence limiting the work that would have been done if they had all participated with one heart.

In conclusion, Umuganda was implemented nationwide since 2007 and has done great in promoting development and harmony in Rwanda including different stakeholders such as the umuganda supervising committee for planning, organizing and overlooking the activity, the local leaders for promoting participation and the community to take ownership of the project.