Mountain Gorilla Parks in Uganda, Both National parks lie in southwestern Uganda across the steep ridges of the Albertine rift valley. The gorilla parks are managed and protected by wildlife antiquities in Uganda under the management of the Uganda wildlife authority. There are more than 1000 mountain gorillas surviving in the whole world and only in Africa and not found anywhere else not even the zoo. In East Africa the gorillas are found in Bwindi forest national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park, volcanoes national park in Rwanda, and Virunga gorilla national park in central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The only two gorilla parks in Uganda are;
Bwindi forest national park
This ancient rain forest is one of the few in Africa to have flourished and a home to half of the world’s endangered population of mountain gorillas with an estimated number to be over 400 individuals. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Reserve was gazetted in 1942, upgraded to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 1992, and recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1994. In the local language, Bwindi actually means “darkness” and this is because of the way the forest is dark with no sunshine passing through the thick forest. The park lies at the edge of the rift valley covered with dense moist vegetation that covers it all day. Bwindi is all but impenetrable; 327km2 of tangled vegetation draped over a deeply fissured landscape of steep, Mountain Gorilla Parks in Uganda, slippery valleys and high, droughty ridges.
However, the terrain is far from easy to negotiate, it is well worth the effort. A trek through this thick forest, one of Africa’s most ancient rain forests, in search of the endangered Mountain Gorillas, ranks among the world’s premier wildlife adventures. Bwindi can be cold especially in the morning and at night, the coldest months are June and July. The bwindi forest receives an annual rainfall of about 1,400 to 1,900 millimeters with annual temperatures ranging from 7-15 degrees Celsius. Warm clothing is required plus wet weather gear since Bwindi receives up to 2390mm of rain/year. This is concentrated during the wet seasons, short rains in March-May and heavy rains in September-November. Instead of short tropical deluges, rain in Bwindi often falls as long hours of soft drizzles.
Mountain gorillas in Bwindi.
Gorilla trekking is the main tourist activity in Bwindi and an excellent wildlife adventure that repays your effort to move through the thick, steep slope vegetation in the forest. The bwindi forest has over 400 endangered mountain gorillas both habituated and wild out of 
the 1067 population of the surviving mountain gorillas in the whole world according to the recent concluded gorilla census. As of now Bwindi forest has a total of more than 17 gorilla families that are accustomed to humans open for gorilla tourism. Some of the gorilla families include Rushegura, Kyaguriro, Mishaya, Bitukura, Mubare, Oruzogo, Nshongi, Habinyaja, Mucugunzi, Mountain Gorilla Parks in Uganda, Nkuringo among many others.
Gorilla tracking is a captivating and unforgettable experience which more than repays the effort needed to reach Bwindi and to trek through the forest. Bwindi forest national park is partitioned into four tracking sectors, Buhoma, Rushaga, Nkuringo, and Ruhija each of the sectors has its own habituated gorilla families allocated to it therefore Gorilla tracking is Uganda’s most sought-after tourism activity.
Gorilla tracking can be challenging and you need to be reasonably fit. Registration and briefing at the park quarters of each respective tracking sector commence at 07:45 hours and gorilla tracking starts at 8:30 am and can last from a few hours to the whole day depending on the movements of the gorillas that day.
Other than mountain gorillas, the Bwindi forest is home to over 350 bird species including 20 endemic species like Rwenzori Turaco, Black saw the wind, sherry crimson wing, Handsome francolin and many others, the bio-diverse forest also inhabits about 120 mammal species among them are forest elephants, duikers, push pigs, primates like baboon and chimpanzees, different species Amphibians, butterflies, plant life with more than 1,000 flowering plant species including 163 species of trees and 104 species of ferns among others, because of this Bwindi forest was declared a UNESCO world heritage due to its ecological importance and diverse nature.
Mgahinga National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla Park is Uganda smallest national park measuring 33 square kilometers however with in the park, Mountain Gorilla Parks in Uganda, there are three volcanoes in the vicinity making it a dramatic tourist destination. Mgahinga gorilla national park lies in the Greater Virunga conservation
Area shared with volcanoes national park and Virunga national park. The area covers Virunga ranges where almost half of the remaining mountain gorillas’ fore range at the slopes of the volcanoes while the other percentage lives nearby in Bwindi forest Impenetrable National Park.
The park has two habituated gorilla families, Nyakagenzi and Hirwa which migrated form the neighboring Rwanda and has been sighted in Mgahinga for a period of 1 year now making Mgahinga its residence for now.
A visit to mgahinga is also captivating for sightseeing and nature tourism, hiking to the summit of Mt. Muhabura(4127) meters, sabyinyo(3674) meters, Gahinga(3474) to gentle strolls across the lower slopes beneath the magnificent peak backdrop. Hiking to one of the three volcanoes is quite experiential and rewarding at the top for example hiking mountain sabyinyo puts ones presence in three countries, Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic republic of Congo, all you need is a visa to cross over.
Mgahinga gorilla park is also known for its endangered rare primate specie, the golden monkeys which usually supplement gorilla tracking. unlike gorilla tracking where you pay 700 usd, golden monkeys are paid for 100 usd, they are more lively and active jumping in the trees.
A safari in Mgahinga is also incomplete if you have not visited the Batwa pygmies who settled around the park edges after they were evicted out out of the forest to conserve mountain gorillas. The Batwa are the first forest people who lived and survived on the forest for hunting, shelter, medicine to mention but a few, currently they exhibit their traditional way of living at Garama caves .During the visit, the batwa guides show cases how they lived and survived, collecting firewood and water using bamboo shoots, smoking pipes and traditional lighting. Garama caves is a 200 meter distance of dark interior which takes about 1 hour of walking, the Batwa usually first consult and pray to their god for protection and spiritual guidance before they enter, while there you can spot bats, molded chairs. on return the batwa usually entertain with their cultural dance and folk tales.
Mgahinga gorilla national park is a birders haven with at least over 180 bird species including 24 of the endemic rift valley species. notable bird are Rwenzori turaco, crowned horn bill, Rwenzori Batis, Rwenzori night jar, regal sun bird, handsome francolin, Red faced woodland warbler among other species.
How to get there?
Mgahinga gorilla national park and Bwindi forest national park lie in the south-western corner of Uganda covering Kisoro, Kabale, Kanungu and Rukungiri districts.
Travelling from Kampala covers to the parks covers a distance of about 580 kilometers, 8-9 hours’ drive excluding rest stops, passing via Kabale and Kisoro. The 80km section between Kabale and Kisoro is a winding, mountainous drive on murram with dramatic views that takes at least 2 hours.
Charter flights can be arranged from Entebbe or Kampala (Kajjasi) to Kisoro or Garunga Kihihi airstrip with Aero link.
Alternatively, the parks can be accessed through Kigali international airport, crossing through kabale- katuna border and Kisoro-Cyanika border. This proves to be a short drive distance of about 3- 4hours drive.
