Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda
Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda is an extraordinary tourism activity that allows tourists to learn more about mountain gorillas in general. It was introduced as a tourism product by Uganda Wildlife Authority in January 2014 and allows visitors to study the behavioral and feeding habits of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Gorilla habituation takes a period of two to three years until the gorillas are used to human presence and it involves a group of trackers, researchers, park rangers, conservationists among others.
Where gorilla habituation experience in Uganda is done.
Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda is currently done in Bwindi impenetrable national park only. The park is most visited gorilla destination in the world due to the fact that it harbors half of the world’s mountain gorillas. The national park is located in southwestern Uganda in Kanungu district and harbors 19 habituated gorilla families which are found in four sectors namely Buhoma sector in the north, Nkuringo in the south, Rushaga in the south and Ruhija in the east. Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda is currently carried out in Rushaga sector which is located in the southern part of the park and there is one gorilla family that is under habituation.
When does gorilla habituation experience in Uganda start?
Gorilla habituation commences early in the morning at around 7:30am therefore visitors are advised to wake up earlier at around 6:30am for breakfast and briefing about the expectations, rules and regulations during the process. During your gorilla habituation experience in Uganda, you start trekking with a team of researchers, ranger, and guides among others.
Cost of a gorilla habituation permit in Uganda.
A single gorilla habituation permit in Uganda costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents and UGX 750,000 for East African citizens.
How to book a gorilla habituation permit in Uganda.
A gorilla habituation permit in Uganda can either be booked directly through Uganda Wildlife Authority by contacting their offices via email or telephone calls. Alternatively, you can always book for your gorilla habituation permit through a trusted tour operator like Explore Rwanda Tours. When booking via a tour operator you will contact us with the date, month and year when you want to engage in gorilla habituation experience, we will check for availability of the permit and ask you to make a deposit on the permit. Once the deposit has been made you will be asked to send your scanned passport copy which will be used to register for your permit and we will acquire the permit for you and send a scanned copy of the receipt as confirmation.
A gorilla habituation should however be booked 3 to 4 months in advance before the habituation date because there are few permits and usually get sold out due to competition therefore to avoid disappointments you should book in advance.
How many people are allowed to participate in gorilla habituation experience in Uganda?
Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda allows 4 people per day to visit each gorilla group under habituation and spend about 4 hour with the gorillas compared to gorilla trekking which allows a maximum number of 8 people to trek each habituated gorilla family and spend one hour with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
How long does gorilla habituation experience in Uganda take?
Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda takes a full day and allows visitors to spend four hours with the gorillas under habituation in their natural habitat compared to gorilla trekking where visitors spend one hour with the gorillas. During the four hours visitors will be observing, monitoring their behaviors, habits, watching them feed, and also participate in giving them names.
What is the minimum age for gorilla habituation experience in Uganda?
Just like gorilla trekking, gorilla habituation experience in Uganda only allows visitors who are above the age of fifteen years to participate in the habituation process and each gorilla family under habituation allows a maximum number of 4 people per day.
How different is gorilla habituation experience in Uganda from gorilla trekking?
The difference between gorilla habituation experience in Uganda and gorilla trekking varies in the price, number of participants, time and location as explained below;
- Price of a permit: a gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 for the foreign non-resident while a gorilla trekking permit costs $700 for the foreign non-residents.
- Number of Participants: Gorilla habituation experience allows a maximum of 4 people to visit a gorilla family under habituation while gorilla trekking allows a maximum number of 8 individuals to trek each habituated gorilla family
- Time: Gorilla habituation allows visitors to spend four hours with the mountain gorillas under habituation process while gorilla trekking allows visitors to spend one hour with the habituated gorillas in their natural habitat.
- Location: Gorilla habituation experience is currently carried out in Rushaga sector while gorilla trekking is carried out in four sectors of the park that is Ruhija, Buhoma, Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors.
- Gorilla habituation is a process where wild gorillas are trained to get used to human presence for trekking while gorilla trekking is an activity where visitors move into the forest in search of the habituated gorilla families.
Rules and regulations for gorilla habituation experience
Gorilla habituation experience rules and regulations are similar to those of gorilla trekking and they include
- Visitors should keep in groups during habituation so as not to get lost in the jungle
- Keep at least 7 meter distance away from the mountain gorillas
- No eating, smoking while in the presence of the mountain gorillas
- Do not touch the mountain gorillas because they are wild animals
- Visitors who have a cold such as flue, cough among others are advised not to participate in habituation process because mountain gorillas are vulnerable to human diseases
- Visitors should not make noise while in the presence of the gorillas
- Visitors should not use flash cameras when taking photos because you will distract them from their daily activities.
What to pack during gorilla habituation experience in Uganda.
When planning to do the gorilla habituation, you should not forget to carry these essential items with you; a gorilla habituation permit, a good pair of hiking boots, long sleeved shirts and trousers, a hat/cap, sunscreen cream, insect repellent, a camera and binoculars, a light raincoat, water and some lunch/ snacks.
Best time for gorilla habituation experience in Uganda.
Gorilla habituation can is done throughout the year. The best time for the activity is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. During the dry season there is less rainfall in the forest therefore there will be short grass, shrubs in the jungle which enables clear viewing of the mountain gorillas, access roads to the national park will be passable and the gorilla habituation trails in the jungle will be dry and passable compared to the wet/rainy season when they are muddy and slippery. Due to the fact that Bwindi impenetrable forest is a tropical rainforest, it can rain anytime of the day regardless of the season therefore visitors should pack various essentials like rain jacket, hiking shoes, warm sweater among others.
