Book Gorilla Habituation Safari

How to book Gorilla Habituation Safari? Yes gorilla habituation experience is the best safari in  Uganda to get close interaction with mountain gorillas of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The experiences answers questions to several travelers who wish to spend more than one hour with the gorillas.

Most visitors also look for what could be the best  time to book gorilla habituation safari to Uganda, and in this article, we are going to let you know about everything regarding this.

The most appropriate time to book a gorilla habituation safari to Uganda is 3-4 months before the actual trekking date, especially if you are planning to visit the country in the dry season. Mountain gorilla habituation is done by the Bikingi and Bushaho mountain gorilla families that are found in the Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors in the southern and south-western parts of the park. The Uganda Wildlife Authority introduced the mountain gorilla habituation experience in 2014 to allow tourists to spend more time with mountain gorillas and acclimate them to human presence.

Mountain gorilla habituation, in a nutshell, refers to the process by which trekkers go into the jungle in search of a semi-abituated mountain gorilla family and begin training them to become accustomed to human presence. The mountain gorilla family that is going through habituation normally takes 2-3 years, and it’s habituated every day until it passes a mocking stage. Trekkers are briefed before they join rangers, researchers, and guides and head out to look for a specific mountain gorilla family that is undergoing habituation. When they meet the family, they keep them around for 4 hours while making them get used to human presence, learning about their habits, watching them do daily activities, and much more.

What is the most appropriate time to book a gorilla habituation safari to Uganda?

A mountain gorilla habituation experience in Uganda can be done on any day of the year. The habituation exercise is done by only four trekkers, and in Bwindi we have only eight gorilla habituation permits that are available every day for trekking due to the fact that only two gorilla families are going under habituation. The best time to book the mountain gorilla habituation permit for a Uganda safari is 3-4 months in advance before the actual trekking day. We encourage you to do this because the permits normally sell out quickly since the Uganda Wildlife Authority sells the permits on a first come first serve basis.

The best time to visit the country for mountain gorilla habituation is the dry season, which occurs from June to September and December to March. During these months, the rain fall is little or not there at all, the vegetation is very thin, giving clear views of the mountain gorillas and other park animals, the roads leading to the park are passable, and the trekking trails are dry, making them less muddy and not slippery. The gorilla habituation can be done in the rainy season to enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities, but the rainfall is always too much.

It’s very important to note that Bwindi has only 2 mountain gorilla families that are undergoing habituation, which means that only 8 gorilla habituation permits are available for sale at the Uganda Wildlife Authority every day. You will have to book the gorilla habituation permits in advance of 3-4 months to be sure of trekking mountain gorillas when you arrive in the country. Africa Adventure Vacations does help travelers by booking mountain gorilla habituation permits on behalf of travelers, and all you need to do is send us an email containing the dates that you want to trek the gorillas and we shall help you out.

What is the price of a mountain gorilla habituation permit?

A mountain gorilla habituation permit is a bit expensive compared to normal mountain gorilla trekking permits, which cost just $700. This permit costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $600 foreign residents and shs750,000 East African citizens. The permits allow you to be around mountain gorillas for up to 4 hours and include park entrance fees and ranger fees but exclude accommodation and transport. The permit is sold to all people who are 15 years and above.

Gorilla trekking vs. gorilla habituation experience

The mountain gorilla trekking experience permits trekkers to be around mountain gorillas for only one hour while the gorilla habituation experience allows trekkers to be with mountain gorillas for 4 hours. The other difference is that a maximum of 8 people are allowed to trek a single mountain gorilla family, while in the case of mountain gorilla habituation, it is only people that are allowed to be with a semi-abituated mountain gorilla family for 4 hours. The gorilla trekking permits go for $700, while the habituation permits are $1,500.

Accommodation on a gorilla habituation safari

During gorilla habituation in Bwindi, the only accommodation facilities to use are those in the Rushaga sector and those in the Nkurongo sector, because that’s where mountain gorilla habituation is done from. These accommodation facilities range from luxury to mid-range to budget options such as Nkuringo Gorilla Safari Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Safari Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla havens lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Four Gorilla Lodge, Chameleon Hill Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Gorilla Safari Lodge, and Rushaga Gorilla Camp.

How to get to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for gorilla habituation?

The easiest way to get to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for mountain gorilla habituation is by the use of air transport. It takes about 2 hours to reach the park. The scheduled flights to the Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors of Bwindi start from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe international airport and end at Kisoro airstrip. If you book with us a gorilla habituation safari, you will find our driver guides ready to pick you up and transfer you to the park or to your booked accommodation.

The other option is to get to the southern part of Bwindi using road transport, and this can start from Kampala/Entebbe via Masaka-Mbarara-Kabale-Kisoro to the Nkuringo sector or Rushaga sector of Bwindi park. The journey is long, but it is filled with beautiful views of the countryside, different stopovers, and views of various physical features.Travelers from Rwanda can get to Nkuringo and the Rushaga sectors by using the Katuna and Cyanika borders in Kabale and Kisoro, respectively, taking 4-5 hours.

What to do with Africa Adventure Vacations?

Africa Adventure Vacations is a tour company based in Uganda, licensed by the Uganda Tourism Board and a member of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators. Booking with Africa adventure vacations provides you safety and confidence during your safari courtesy of well-trained safari driver guides who are well conversant with all routes and tourism destinations in Africa. You can book with us any of the activities you want to do in Africa, such as mountain gorilla trekking, mountain gorilla habituation, Chimpanzee trekking and habituation, birding, golden monkey trekking, game drives, hiking, nature walks, and community tours, among others. To book Gorilla Habituation Safari can be done at any time of the year.