Mountain gorilla trekking Uganda from Kigali is one of the most preferred routes, especially if one if using Road to get to either Bwindi National Park or Mgahinga National Park. What makes this the most preferred road route is because compared to Entebbe or Kampala to Bwindi National Park/ Mgahinga National Park which is 9 to 10 hours, Kigali to either park is 5 to 6 hours making it a short route to get to either parks.
The other reason it’s preferred is because when you use the Kigali to Bwindi National Park or Mgahinga National Park you can actually have a gorilla trekking safari for two days compared to the three days of you have when using the Kampala/Entebbe to Bwindi National Park.
So what does mountain gorilla trekking Uganda from Kigali entail?
A mountain gorilla trekking safari Uganda from Kigali means you will be starting from Kigali to connect to Uganda’s Bwindi National Park or Mgahinga National Park for your mountain gorilla trekking experience.
This experience depending on your preference can start either in the morning or the early afternoon. You will set off from Kigali to head to Uganda via either Cyanika border Or Katuna border. As stated above you will arrive in Uganda at the park of your choice in 5 to 6 hours.
On the day you arrive at the park you will go straight to your accommodation to refresh and rest for the night.
The next day will be your mountain gorilla trekking experience, and it will start early at 7am with a brief at the park headquarters where they will communicate the nitty gritties of the trek and the different rules and guidelines that include but are not limited to:-
- Keeping a 7meter distance between you and the mountain gorillas
- Not touching or feeding the mountain gorillas
- Not using flash photography when taking photos of the gorillas
- Not coughing or sneezing directly into the mountain gorillas
- Keeping in your mountain gorilla trekking group among others.
After the briefing you will then move to the forest when you will trek the trails searching for the mountain gorillas until you find them.
When you find the gorillas you will enjoy their presence for an hour and after that hour you will then start on your trek out of the forest. Altogether you will spend between 7 to 8 hours on a trek. You can spend more time or less depending on the gorilla family you’re trekking if its far deep or near; but also some trekking areas in Bwindi National Park seem quite shorter than others.
Bwindi National Park has four trekking sectors which are Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija and Nkuringo. Buhoma being the easiest to trek and of course the most trekked of all four. Mgahinga National Park doesn’t have sectors and has only one mountain gorilla family.
When you have descended and are now back to the park offices, depending on the your plans you can choose to drive back to Kigali immediately or you can decide to stay the night in the park and start on your journey to Kigali the next day.
You wills still go through either Cyanika border Or Katuna border and you will arrive in Kigali in about 5 to 6 hours.
You should note though that after your trek you can enjoy other activities in the park that include but are not limited to:- nature walks, mountain biking, community tours among others.
