Reasons for trekking Gorillas in Uganda from Kigali

There are several reasons to consider when landing in Rwanda Kigali and transfer to Bwindi or Mgahinga gorilla national park and track the Gorillas in Uganda. The reasons include;

Short driving distance

The driving distance from Kigali Rwanda compared to driving from Kampala/Entebbe to Bwindi or Mgahinga. The two park Bwindi and Mgahinga are located in southwestern Uganda and the driving on road takes about 9-10 hours from Kampala or Entebbe international airport. while driving from Kigali takes about 3-4 hours to reach the two gorilla destinations. Therefore, for the visitors who prefer shorter distance drive to track the gorillas in Uganda, you can book the gorilla trekking safari in Uganda from Kigali Rwanda.

Save money

Tracking gorillas in Uganda from Kigali also helps you to cut costs, reason being that Rwanda gorilla permits are slightly expensive compared to Uganda gorilla tracking permits. Rwanda gorilla permits cost $1500 per person tracking for all the nationalities compared to Uganda gorilla permits which cost $700 per person for foreign non residence and $600 per person for foreign residence. Therefore, trekking gorillas in Uganda from Kigali helps to save money on gorilla trekking permits as well as accommodation since the minimum number of days for gorilla trekking In Uganda is 3 days gorilla trekking whereas in From Kigali, you can spend 2 days and some times even one day in case you have early flights to Kigali or if you arrive a day before the tracking date, you can live Kigali by 4:00am and drive to Uganda arriving in time for the briefing by 7:00am at the parks headquarters and also drive back to Kigali.

Short Gorilla trekking safaris

from Kigali to Uganda, the distance is shorter, visitors can book 2 days gorilla trekking safari from Kigali whereby you can travel on the first day and land in Kigali then connect to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park or Mgahinga gorilla national park and on the second day, you can carry out the gorilla trekking and afternoon, drive back to Kigali for your flight. However, this is not possible for the visitors landing in Entebbe which requires 3 days safari. visitors tracking in Uganda, are required to arrive in Uganda a day before the start of the safari then on the first day, you will travel to Bwindi and on the second day, do gorilla trekking and on the third day return to Kampala or Entebbe for your flight back home. but it’s also worth it since there are a lot more activities to do in Bwindi or Mgahinga besides the famous gorilla trekking, other activities to do in the include; in Bwindi, there is cultural tours to the Batwa group of people living in the surrounding areas of the park, Bird watching, Bwindi is rich in various bird species some of which are Albertine Rift Endemics among other activities.

While in Mgahinga, the famous id gorilla trekking but other activities include; Golden monkey tracking, Batwa trail experience, Bird watching, Volcano Hiking (mount Sabyinyo, Mount Muhavura, Mount Gahinga).
Gorilla trekking Uganda from Kigali, also gives you an opportunity to visit the two countries at the same time. while in Uganda, you can visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park and in Rwanda, a road trip to Uganda with spectacular views of the rolling hills and also Kigali a city tour after fascinating gorilla trekking experience from Uganda.

Uganda Gorilla trekking also gives you an opportunity to spend more time with the gorillas, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is the only park where you can do gorilla habituation experience. this is where you get to spend 4 hours with the gorillas compared to the normal gorilla trekking where by you are allowed strictly 1 hour with the gorillas. The exercise involves a process by which gorillas are made used to the sight of humas before they are pronounced ready for trekking.

from Kigali to Uganda, you can fly in Kigali and connect to Uganda through Cyanika border in Kisoro to access Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and also Rushaga sector and Nkuringo sector located in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Alternatively, you can connect through Katuna border to access Ruhija sector or Buhoma sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park.

There are other options of tracking Gorillas in Uganda, you can use fly in safaris, there are several domestic chattered flights arranged by Aero link Uganda which offer scheduled flights daily from Kajjansi airfield or Entebbe international airport to Kisoro or Kihihi airstrip.
you can also take a scenic road trip from Kampala, the road drive offers stunning scenery of various attraction seen along the country side including; spectacular views of the landscapes, Kigezi hills, homesteads, roadside markets, the people, and also a great opportunity to visit the equator in Uganda where you will carry out some experiments such as standing in two hemispheres at the same time, Water experiment among others. The Equator can be visited enroute to Bwindi impenetrable forest or from Bwindi on the last day of the safari.