Comparing Gorilla Trekking In Bwindi and Mgahinga.

In Uganda, gorilla trekking reportedly occurs in two national parks that are relatively close to one another.

Although Bwindi National Park hosts the majority of gorilla safaris, these national parks also include Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The districts of Kanungu, Kisoro, and Kibale are home to the UNESCO-designated Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

More than 400 mountain gorillas call it home, making up half of the total number of these apes worldwide. Due to the comparatively small number in Mgahinga, Bwindi Forest has long been a popular travel destination.

For a whole hour during regular gorilla trekking and nearly five hours during gorilla habituation, these two national parks are always open to tourists who would like to experience the daily lives of these endangered primates.

The Virunga Conservation Area, which appears to be shared by Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and Congo’s Virunga National Park, a world heritage site, is also home to mountain gorillas.

Before booking your permit, it’s a good idea to evaluate these two Ugandan mountain gorilla destinations. This article explains why Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is the greatest location in Uganda for mountain gorilla trekking.

Why Bwindi?

In contrast to Mgahinga, which has just one family—the Nyakagezi family—Bwindi Forest appears to have roughly ten habituated mountain gorilla families overall.

Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Nkuringo are the four gorilla trekking sectors in Bwindi, as you may be aware, and each has its own family. If a trekker decides to do more than one trek, this allows them to choose from a variety of portions and offers a far more varied experience.

There are plenty of chimpanzees and birds in Bwindi Forest National Park, making it the ideal place for any visitor to get up close and personal with these primates. If you buy a gorilla tracking permit, you may see chimpanzees and a few endangered birds. Before Golden Monkeys were added to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park to increase tourists, the park was mostly home to gorillas. The national park is known as a place where gold and silver meet, in part, because of this.

There are 98% more places to stay in Bwindi than in Mgahinga. These lodging establishments offer a wide range of equally decent options, from low-cost to mid-range to luxury.

Last but not least, there is no assurance that you will see gorillas in Mgahinga because they frequently migrate to nearby nations. This isn’t nearly as good as Bwindi, where you can be sure you’ll encounter mountain gorillas, unless you’re lucky enough to view them during long treks and have to return to the starting place before sunset.

You can reach both national parks by car and by air. Aero Link flights from Entebbe International Airport take no more than two hours. Although Kisoro airport serves both parks, the northern and southern portions of Bwindi can be reached via Kihihi airport and then by roads.

If traveling by car, the same route that passes via Mbarara, Kabale, and Kisoro can be used to reach both national parks.

Compared to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Bwindi is much closer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale Forest National Park, which is the world’s primate capital. By road, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi National Park are about two hours apart. In addition to the Kazinga Channel, which is renowned for having a high concentration of hippopotamuses, this park is home to an enormous number of tree-climbing lions.