Always wondered if you can tour both Bwindi Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Park? Have you ever thought of a safari that combines both gorilla trekking and game viewing in Uganda? Well if you ever never, you should consider taking a safari that combines both gorilla trekking and a game viewing safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park tour offers the best alternative for travelers with a desire to enjoy the thrilling gorilla trekking and wildlife/game viewing experiences. From this trip, you will have a lot of memories to share, great photos to show out, and great things to memorize.
Combining gorilla trekking in Bwindi Forest and wildlife safaris in Queen Elizabeth National Park guarantees you long-lasting memories. Each adventure promises you captivating encounters from the savannahs to the dense rainforest. Experiences like these are rare and only possible when you embark on Uganda safaris.
Bwindi gorilla trekking tours & game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park offer an amazing spice up that any fun adventure seeker would wish to have on a safari in Uganda. With this kind of tour, travelers have the opportunity to enjoy a complete immersion into the tropical rainforest to encounter mountain gorillas and also wind through the savannah grassland plains to spot some of the Big Five game.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Ultimate Guide to Gorilla Trek
A tour in Bwindi Forest offers a rare opportunity for you to enjoy gorilla trekking. Bwindi is the best place to visit for gorilla trekking tours in Uganda. It shelters the estimated population of 50% of the world’s 1063 mountain gorillas, making it an outstanding destination for gorilla safaris.
Bwindi gorilla trekking safaris involve walking through the tropical forest to see mountain gorillas. The journey starts with orientation on the rules and regulations. After the briefing, a typical day begins with a search for mountain gorillas in the lush Bwindi Forest, with each session lasting for about 2-6 hours.
Visitors have one hour to stay with mountain gorillas, which involves observing the social behaviors or taking pictures of these apes. The park ranger guide and trackers present can direct you on safety measures to ensure that you have an enjoyable gorilla trekking adventure.
Bwindi is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, with an area coverage of 331 sq. km. This park was established in 1991 and comprises dense vegetation cover, which shelters a diversity of gorilla families. Within the 4 major sectors of Bwindi, there exist already habituated gorilla families including Habinyanja, Rushegura, Mubare gorilla family, Posho, Binyindo, Katwe, Mukiza gorilla family, Mishaya, Rwigyi, Kutu, Kyaguriro, and Nkuringo.
Gorilla Trekking Permits in Bwindi & How to Book
Acquiring a valid gorilla trekking permit should be the first stage of planning your Uganda gorilla safaris in Bwindi. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) takes responsibility for issuing the permits, which can be booked through the tour operator on the ground. The cost of Bwindi gorilla permits stands at US Dollars 800 per person.
The gorilla permits are limited to only persons above 15 years. The demand for the permits remains higher, and it is safe to consider securing your gorilla trekking tour in advance.
Bwindi also offers more than gorilla tours. Visitors can also engage in a gorilla habituation experience, birding, forest walks or hikes, and a Batwa cultural experience.
What to expect to see on Queen Elizabeth National Park Wildlife Tour
A guided wildlife tour lets nature lovers explore a range of wildlife. The park’s landscape is known to be inhabited by different wildlife, including African bush elephants, hippos, buffaloes, leopards, the tree-climbing lions, warthogs, mongoose, hyenas, and antelopes. Top antelopes that survive within Queen Elizabeth National Park include bushbucks, Uganda Kobs, sitatungas, and more. A variety of these animals can be spotted in the savannah plains, especially in the Kasenyi and Ishasha sectors.
About 10 species of primates also reside in Queen Elizabeth National Park, particularly within the Kyambura Gorge and Maramagambo Forest. The common primates to find here include chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, & colobus monkeys. You may also come across the nocturnal bush babies, grey-cheeked mangabeys, & l’hoest monkeys.
Approximately 625 species of birds are hosted within Queen Elizabeth National Park, making it also an amazing destination for Uganda birding safaris. The unique birds to search for on birding tours in Queen Elizabeth National Park include the papyrus gonoleks, elusive shoebill storks, martial eagle, flamingos, African skimmers, white-tailed lark, black bee-eaters, African fin foot, and Chapin’s flycatchers. The enriching birding sites in this park include the Ishasha sector, Kasenyi plains, Kazinga, and Maramagambo Forest.
Besides birding, Queen Elizabeth National Park also offers amazing experiences such as game drives (along the Kasenyi/Ishasha), boat cruises, nature walks, lion trekking, mongoose tracking, and others.
Queen Elizabeth National Park Wildlife Tour
Queen Elizabeth National Park lies within the reach of Bwindi and offers an incredible complement to travelers on gorilla safaris in Uganda. Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s 2nd biggest park, features a unique landscape with vast savannahs & rainforests. It offers the best wildlife tours in Uganda, with visitors having a chance to see a diversity of wildlife.
Combining Bwindi Tours & Queen Elizabeth Park Wildlife Safaris
Did you know that you can book a Uganda safari package that combines gorilla trekking tours in Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth wildlife safaris? There are plentiful of alternative gorilla & wildlife safari combo packages that you can secure on Uganda tours. The options include 5 Days Queen Elizabeth & Bwindi Gorilla Trekking tour, 6 Days Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth wildlife safari, and more.
Best time to go on a tour of Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National Park
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National Park game viewing are perfectly enjoyed during the long and short dry seasons. The longest dry months fall in June, July, August, and September, or during the shorter dry months from December to February. The dry seasons offer the best weather conditions for game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi gorilla trekking tours. It is also possible to arrange a gorilla tour around the off-peak months, which are March to May or from October to November.
Accommodation to stay in Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth NP
The accommodation options present in and around Bwindi range from budget, midrange, to luxury. They include Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Buhoma Community Rest Camp, Bwindi Backpackers Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Mahogany Springs Lodge, & Gorilla Safari Lodge. The lodges available for overnight stay in and around Queen Elizabeth Game Park include Elephant Plains Lodge, Kazinga Channel View Resort, Pumba Safari Cottages, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Enjojo Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, and more.
Useful tips to guide you when planning a Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth safari
- First, you must choose the right sector to visit. The Buhoma sector is the closest region or sector to Bwindi and can be reached via the Ishasha sector.
- Secure a 4×4 safari car to ease your connectivity to and from Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi.
- Have some cash to enable you to purchase some souvenirs and tipping, or if you want to hire porter services.
- Book in advance your gorilla trekking or wildlife tour.
- Know your budget range to help you secure the slot within the options of budget/midrange/luxury.
How to Book the Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National Park safari
Want to enjoy gorilla trekking in Bwindi and also explore the big game in Queen Elizabeth National Park? Then consider booking your rewarding gorilla and wildlife tour package through a trusted tour operator/company on the ground.
Wrap Up
Did you know that Uganda safaris are the most fun adventures that we have ever been to as we were left with memories that we will forever treasure. I didn’t want to leave though I knew that the safari was almost over and I eventually had to go back home. I was comfortable and having the time of my life. The places we stayed in were wonderful and eco friendly, who could have imagined me staying in the middle of the wilderness for days and enjoying it, the food we ate and all of the fun we had was just incredible to take in all at once.
I will never forget the wildlife, chimps though the gorillas were my absolute favorite as a glimpse of these giant creatures took my breath away. It is something to see mamma and babies in their natural setting going about their business like no one is watching them. I will never be able to the silverback gorilla pounding its chest, at first it felt like the ground was shaking and then it sounded like the drums we had heard the previous day when we went for a cultural showcase the previous night and those adorable baby gorilla eyes.
There is just something about the big eyes on baby mammals that brings out that nurturing emotion and it makes you think about babies. We decided to go on the extended safari vacation that also included; a tripe to Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. We also went for chimpanzee trek were we first heard movements in the trees and that’s was when we sow the chimps swinging from branch to branch and tree to tree, this was something I will never forget and the photos we took of them a living proof of what we experienced. So much had happened on that vacation and so much will stay fresh in my mind forever.