Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
In the winding dirt roads of Kigezi region is the beginning of the frosty beautiful forests of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Straddling three districts, Bwindi is bordered by Rubanda, Kisoro and Kanungu districts. The beauty of this park is not only enjoyed by the people surrounding the park because people travel from near and far to gaze at the natural beauty that God bestowed in this dazzling park.
This park protects the lives of some of the most endangered mountain gorillas living in the world and this makes it the most visited national park in the Pearl of Africa as tourists move from all over the world to enjoy the views of the beautiful apes.
History of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The evolution of this national park has been through thick and thin before making the famous name it owns today. The initial setting of this national park was in 1942 and evolved into a wildlife sanctuary in 1964 in the quest to protect the lives of the endangered gorillas.
In 1966, two forests were added as part of the park and hence it was managed as a forest reserve and wildlife sanctuary.
In 1991, Bwindi’s impenetrable forest reserve was reclassified into a national park. This adversely affected the Batwa communities as they were evicted away from the premises of the forests.
The year 1993 got the park its first gorilla trekking tourists as the mountain gorillas were open for visiting and it was listed among the UNESCO site of Heritage.
Hard times make us stronger as the hard years of 1991 where a group of DRC attackers intruded the park and abducted about 15 members that included tourists. 6 were rescued however 8 of them including Uganda’s guide were killed. This taught the authority a hard lesson and it was resolved that hence forth tourists are accompanied with armed guards while they are in the forest for gorilla trekking.
The history of the locals is more fascinating than the park’s development history as it entails the name that was given to the park. Initially the park was named Mubwindi bwa nyamuraki as there was a family that tried to cross the swamp located in the southern region of the park and failed. The local people believed that the family had to first seek permission from the forest leaders who they believed to have been forest spirits.
Uniqueness of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The beauty of the park has spanned along period of time making the park one of East Africa’s best national parks. For over 25000 years, this national park had been marked as one of Africa’s ancient habitats.
Bwindi is an incredible home to a number of tree species.the diversity of tree species found in this park is top notch and the highest among East Africa. The park has over 200 tree species with 10 being only endemic to the park and 104 fern species.
The park holds about 84% of the country’s total of butterflies as its forests are very vital to over 202 montane forest butterflies with 8 species being endemic only to the Albertine.
The park’s unique selling point are the mountain gorillas as these individuals are rare in many parts of the world and Bwindi boosts with half of the population of the world’s mountain gorillas.
It is important to acknowledge that the park also hosts a variety of other globally threatened species. With the exception of the mountain gorillas, the park also protects the lives of other endangered species like the I’Hoests monkeys, chimpanzees, African Elephants, birds like the Green African broadbill among others.
Chimpanzees and gorillas are almost similar in looks hence tourist get a gold opportunity of differentiating them while on a safari in this amazing park. This is beautifully possible as the two huge ages cross roads peacefully in the park.
Gorilla Safari Experiences
At Monteero Safaris, our gorilla tour packages are flexible in the sense
that you have a chance to incorporate other wildlife safaris.
Tour Attractions Found in Bwindi National Park
Mountain gorillas
What would this park be without the presence of this wondrous apes? This is because half of the mountain gorillas that roam around the world are hidden dearly in the thick impenetrable forests of Bwindi. This park has about 400 individuals found in itspremises and tourists should be sure catching sight of them while in its environment from any of the four sectors that the park has.
Birds
Birders should be aware that Bwindi is a birds haven with over 350 different bird species that fly through the thick trees of the forest with some being only endemito the park.. Some of the birds that can be spotted in the park include regal sunbird, handsome Francolin, redthroated alethe among others.
The batwa indigenous people
These were the original inhabitant of the forests of Bwindi and they were evicted from the premises when the area was redefined as a national park. These keepers of the forest have a variety of stories to tell to tourist and plenty of cultural practices to showcase.Enjoy the wondering at the locals while they build, dance and engage in plenty of beautiful cultural practices.
Hiking trails
Enjoy the views of the colourful butterflies while tourists move through any of the hiking trails that are available in the park. Enjoy the various mysteries of the park when you walk through the River Ivi trail, water fall trail, bamboo trail and others and enjoy the general green surrounding of the park premises.
Wildlife
Not only mountain gorillas enjoy the premises of the park but also other amazing wildlife animals like elephants , golden cats, forest hogs, monkeys of different species can all be spotted from the park and much more.
How to get to the park?
By road
Tourists who prefer taking the scenic road use road transport to reach to the touring-thirst curing gates of the park. You drive past the scenic cities of Rukungiri and Kihihi, taking about 8 hours while enjoying the adorable landscapes. The park can also be accessed from Kigali city and Queen Elizabeth national park in about three hours’ drive.
By air
Visitors who don’t enjoy long distance drives and prefer comfort should opt to fly to this national park. The park is fed by two flights daily that connect to Kihihi and Kisoro airstrips. The flights from Entebbe to Kihihi are scheduled daily and tourists spend about one hour and twenty minutes to get to Kisoro and Kihihi airstrips, from where they can connect to the park using a comfortable car.
When to visit the park?
The gates of Bwindi are open year in and out to showcase the undying beauty found in this God-gifted national park; however, key to note is that the dry months that spread from June to August and December to February offer a glamorous weather coupled with dry roads that making visiting this national park more rewarding.