Gorilla Habituation Adventure

Booking a Gorilla Habituation Experience Safari is the best option if you want to spend more time with the mountain gorillas. This safari allows you to visit the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and spend more time in the forest with them after you come across them during your trek. Given that only Uganda offers this experience, out of the two nations with the last endangered mountain gorillas—Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—a Gorilla Habituation Experience Safari is one of the most distinctive safaris for any visitor to Uganda for gorilla tracking.

Monumental Expeditions and Safaris is prepared to organize and reserve for you an unforgettable Gorilla Habituation Experience safari. We offer a variety of Gorilla Habituation Experience safari packages, from low-cost to high-end, and these can be tailored to best suit your preferences and schedule. Simply send us an email, and we will assist you and make the necessary arrangements.

The Gorilla Habituation Experience: What Is It?

Trekking, walking, and hiking through the forest to find semi-habituated mountain gorillas that leave together in a particular gorilla family group but are not accustomed to human presence is known as the Gorilla Habituation Experience. Once you locate them, you will engage in activities designed to help these mountain gorillas become accustomed to human presence.

Researchers and park rangers conduct daily exercises to help the wild mountain gorillas become acclimated to human presence, a process that takes two to three years. You can spend four hours with the mountain gorillas during the Gorilla Habituation Experience, which is longer than the one-hour experience during regular gorilla tracking. Because it allows you to understand more about mountain gorillas, this experience is unique. Four tourists follow a particular troop of semi-habituated gorillas.

Where is Habituation Experience for Gorillas conducted?

Only in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is it possible to experience gorilla habitat. It is carried out in Rushaga and Nkuringo, which are in Bwindi’s southern sections. Ruhija, Buhoma, Rushaga, and Nkuringo are the four main gorilla monitoring sectors in Bwindi; only Rushaga and Nkuringo are used for gorilla habituation experiences. Only two of the twelve gorilla families in Bwindi that are accustomed to regular tracking are available for gorilla habitat experiences.

The distinction between gorilla tracking and gorilla habitat experience

Both gorilla tracking and gorilla habitat experience are conducted in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park; the only difference is that gorilla tracking involves a one-hour encounter with the mountain gorillas, whereas gorilla habitat experience involves a four-hour encounter. Groups of four people see the mountain gorillas on Gorilla Habituation, and groups of eight people undertake gorilla tracking. While a gorilla tracking permit costs USD 800 for foreign nonresidents, USD 700 for foreign residents, and 300,000 Uganda shillings per person per trek, a gorilla habituation permit costs USD 1500 for foreign nonresidents, USD 1000 for residents, and 750,000 Uganda Shillings for East African citizens.

How to reserve a Ugandan Gorilla Habituation Experience Safari

To confirm your reservation for the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Bwindi Forest National Park, you must obtain your gorilla habituation permit in advance. Please send us an email here as soon as your travel dates are confirmed. We will use this information to check the Uganda Wildlife Authority online for gorilla habitat permits. If permits are available for your dates, we will notify you so that we can send you an invoice to pay for the permits.

Your reservation for the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Bwindi Forest National Park will be confirmed as soon as the payment is completed and credited to our account. We will then promptly purchase your permits and email you a scanned copy for your records and review. Because there are only four people per group and only two groups available, gorilla habituation permits are limited to eight per day and are sold out on a first-come, first-served basis, it is recommended that you book your gorilla habitat experience in Uganda at least two to three months before your trip.

What is the cost of a Ugandan gorilla habitat experience?

In addition to other services like transportation, lodging, and guiding, the price of the gorilla habitat permit is significantly higher than that of any other gorilla habitat safari in Uganda. You can spend four hours in Bwindi Forest National Park interacting with mountain gorillas by purchasing a gorilla habituation permit, which costs USD 1500 for foreign nonresidents, USD 1000 for foreign residents, and USD 70 (750,000 Uganda Shilling) for East African citizens per trek. For a successful gorilla trekking safari, you will also need to pay for additional services like transportation, lodging, and guiding in addition to the gorilla habituation permit.

When is the ideal time to reserve a safari for the Gorilla Habituation Experience?

The best times to visit Uganda’s gorilla habitat are from June to October and December to March. This is the country’s dry season, with moderate rainfall that facilitates treks through the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Additionally, the vegetation is not yet fully grown, making it easier to see the mountain gorillas and providing excellent photo opportunities. The other months of April, May, and November are typically wet seasons, which causes the vegetation to grow high and makes sightings difficult. However, because food is easily accessible and mountain gorillas don’t travel great distances in search of it, these treks are typically shorter. Due to its excellent organization and 99% possibility of sighting mountain gorillas, the Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda is available all year round.

Accommodations for your Bwindi Gorilla Habituation Experience Safari

It is advised to remain in the southern section of Bwindi Forest National Park, where the Gorilla Habituation Experience is conducted. In the southern region of Bwindi Forest National Park, lodging options vary from A few examples of affordable options are Rusgaha Gorilla Havens Lodge, Karungi Camp, and Nshogi Camp, which cost between USD 90 and $100 per person per night; Rushaga Gorilla Camp and Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, which cost between USD 150 and $200 per person per night; and Four Gorillas Lodge, Clouds Gorilla Lodge, and Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, which cost between USD 250 and USD 700 per person per night.

The Best Way to Visit Bwindi Forest National Park to See Gorilla Habituation

By Road: From Entebbe/Kampala, the major safari route leads to the southern section of Bwindi Forest National Park, which is about an 8–9-hour drive away. Along the Kabale-Kisoro road, you must turn off at Muko. You will see the Uganda Wildlife Authority signpost, which you should follow to your reserved lodging in the Rushaga or Nkuringo sectors.

By Air: To reach the southern sectors of Rushaga and Nkuringo, take a plane from Entebbe International Airport or Kampala’s Kajjansi airfield to Kisoro airstrip. Domestic airline carriers Aero Link and Fly Uganda offer both scheduled and chartered flights. A transfer from the airport to the park will need to be arranged with your tour operator.