Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Home to roughly half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas, Bwindi is Uganda's flagship wildlife destination and the anchor of nearly every itinerary we operate.

Four trailheads (Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo) each give access to different habituated gorilla families. Where you trek determines which lodges make sense, so we match your sector and your accommodation before permits are issued.

Trekking is on foot through steep montane rainforest and lasts anywhere from one to six hours before you reach the family. Once found, visitors spend a strictly regulated one hour with the group.

Highlights

• Mountain gorilla trekking across four sectors
• The four-hour gorilla habituation experience in Rushaga
• Batwa cultural experience with the forest's first people
• Over 350 bird species including 23 Albertine Rift endemics

Best time to visit

June–September and December–February are driest and make for the most manageable trails. March–May and November are green season: muddier trekking, but lodge rates fall 20–30% and permits are far easier to secure.

Getting there

Eight to ten hours by road from Entebbe, or a scheduled light aircraft flight to Kihihi (for Buhoma) or Kisoro (for Rushaga and Nkuringo). From Kigali it is roughly four hours to the southern sectors via the Cyanika or Katuna border.