Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

What to do in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Mountain gorilla trekking

This is the most visited National Park in the country since its known as the only home of mountain gorillas. Here you take on a hike in rough terrain and in any weather to see the gorillas in the wild and spend one hour with the gorillas learning their habits and taking photographs. 

Here is a list of some of the habituated mountain gorilla groups found in Bwindi National Park that can be visited by the public for tourism:

• Nkuringo Gorilla Group
• Mubare Gorilla Group also referred to the M Group
• Nshongi Gorilla Group
• Bweza Gorilla Group
• Habinyanja Gorilla Group that is also known as H Group
• Busingye Gorilla Group
• Rushegura Gorilla Group that is also known as R Group
• Kahungye Gorilla Group
• Oruzogo Gorilla Group
• Mishaya Gorilla Group
• Bitukura Gorilla Group

Batwa Cultural Tours

Bwindi National Park offers very exciting cultural tours during which you will visit and spend some time with the Batwa pygmies a very interesting unique people. While on this cultural tour, you will have a cultural walk led by the local guides to see their community setting, learn about their cultural norms and practices as well as visit a number of their projects they are running locally, have a tour of the traditional beer brewery, participate in the traditional dancing, singing and drama as well as visit the traditional healer.

Nature Walks

For those of you expecting to spend a couple of days in the park, you can opt to go on nature walks as you explore the various trails within the forest. During these you will encounter a number of butterflies, small mammals and a number of different primates. Below are a number of commonly explored forest trails.

The Munyanga River Trail

This short trail will take you to the beautiful waterfall. During the walk you will encounter birds and some monkeys.

The Rushurra Trail

During the Rushurra trail you will enjoy breathtaking views of the western rift valley floor, as well as views into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Parc Nationale des Virungas and then on a clear day, be sure of seeing the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountain also known as Mountains of the Moon.

The Muzabajirro Trail

This trail will take you through the forest to a beautiful picnic site where you will enjoy your lunch. During this trail you be able to see the Virunga Mountains, the western rift valley floor as well as a number of Prehistoric ferns. Additional trails you can explore while in Bwindi National Park include: the Ruizi River Trail and the Bamboo Trail.

Bird Watching Tours

Bwindi National Park is home to over 345 species of bird among which are 90% of the Albertine Rift endemics. An enthusiastic birder may be in position to see as many as one hundred species in a single day. Among the commonly seen species in this park are: the Gruer’s Rush Warbler, White tailed Blue Monarch, Yellow-eyed black Fly-catcher, Wilcock’s Honey-guide, Bar-tailed Trogon, Short-tailed Warbler, Kivu Ground Thrush, Dusky Crimson Wing as well as Rusty-faced woodland Warbler

Bwindi Wildlife

Because the terrain of Bwindi forest is covered with a rainforest, this offers a safe refuge to a variety of wildlife including 50 different types of reptiles, 300 different types of Butterflies, 10 different types of primate (among which are red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s, black & white colobus monkeys, baboons, as well as the mountain Gorillas), in addition to 80 different types of moths, 120 different types of mammals and 200 different types of tree species. Today the park has a list of birds that have been officially recorded present here that includes more than 351 different bird species among which are a number of them on the IUCN red list plus some species endemic to the Albertine Rift.