Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

It was very beautiful, and we had a hiking for 8 hours.

The highlight of my trip, standing just a few feet away from a silver back is a souvenir that will never forget. The hike to find the gorillas can be difficult and a minimum of fitness is required. Great guides very friendly and knowledgeable.

Impenetrable

Seeing the mountain Gorillas at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was an amazing experience. The area surrounding the national park is also spectacular, however there are distinctive areas to the park and getting between locations can take 3-4 hours! Choosing accommodation near the selected Gorilla location is a must, something we didn't appreciate and something our guides didn't arrange very well for us.

This is quite an amazing adventure

It takes quite a lot of effort to get to Bwindi but the journey is well worth it if you get to see a Mountain Gorilla which generally most people do. This is really why you go there. I have worked for the National Parks Service in Australia so i went with a critical eye as to how the experience was managed but particularly how the Gorilla trekking was managed, especially since there are only 880 Mountain Gorillas left in the world. And i was very impressed. I stood within four metres of a Silverback and his family after a five hour hike with my heart thumping a million miles an hour. The guide was fantastic. You are only allowed one hour with the Gorillas but it was a truly wonderful experience to see these magnificent animals in their environment. A word of caution. The trip to get there from Kampala is long and arduous and if you get car sick then the last two hours could be hell but i dont so i just took it all in and had a wonderful time. I highly recommend going. It's a good idea to take a stop at Lake Mburo and/or Queen Elizabeth national parks on the way.

Dream coming true Gorilla interaction experience

We planned this trip around the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Mountain - Gorillas and was expecting wet weather and muddy dirt roads and slippery hike thru the undergrowth. The Torrential rains was not disappointing the day before the hike - I was drenched within 2-3 meter when running from the reception to the bungalow - but the next morning we experience a road that was partially washed away with mudslides that covered a 60-75% of the road on the uphill side of the road and cave in scenarios on the down hill side of the road - Needless to say that it was not impossible to uncontrolled heading down hill if it was not for our experienced Driver ( Tolbert from Encounter Arica Safari's ) with the permanent 4 x 4 Hi- Ace bus that take us up ( slipping and sliding) to the mountains thru washed away and blocked roads (tree fell a crossed the road)at some places. The scenery up there was breath taking and the hardworking local villagers plowing the lands with picks i must say was an eye opener for me--(I couldn't believe that all those lands was not work with the aid of tractors and farming implements)
The weather was playing along and we had a perfect day trekking the Gorillas . Even the Gorillas played along and we did found the with a hour and a half since we started the long trek downhill ( I must say another bonus for me--at the age of 58 this is not a joke to trek thru thick undergrowth vegetation with hooks and thorns) -- but I'm not complaining - I was enjoying every minute of it even when I dropped down a washed away hole in the pathway the tracker indicated to us. Then we got our first glimpse of the mountain gorillas in the distance --about 300meter away. I must say the silence was overwhelming and the only thing we hear was the cracking of the boots and clothing against the undergrowth. as we move forward towards the gorillas. We spend the allowed 1 hour in their midst. We were surrounded by 16 Gorillas - 2 x silverbacks, youngsters. 2 x babies and females. Soft whispers and the clicking sound of the cameras as the picture were taken from the group could be clearly heard as the gorillas was in front, left and right next to us, behind and above us . And to soon the hour was up and we had to move on. This was also an experience and a half -- we basically move back at an angle varying from 45º to 75º to the road where our transport will collect us. Now nearly dead when we reached the road . I was puffing, heaving and my heart was beating about 2 feet above my head and this is where i realized why they called it a rain forest-- The sweat was raining from my head.
The food was also very nice especially the fruit - Sweet and very fruity.

I didn't have money for the gorilla trekking but decided to go to Bwindi for hiking. Even without trekking gorillas I had a great time in the park. It is gorgeous.

The hardest hike I have ever done-- beating through thorns and dense bush, it took us 4 hours to find the gorillas -- wow, it was worth it. Incredible to see them lounging and foraging and eating and sleeping. A mother and tiny baby, a silverback, a few females, another competing male. So docile, in general.. Really incredible.

Fantastic place, very geared around the gorillas

definitely a place of outstanding beauty, The Gorillas are the main attraction here but again there is such a diverse range of species you can't fail to be impressed.

Gorillazzzzz!

If you want to see mountain gorillas I believe this is the best park to go and see them. I went on Sunday 7th September 2014 to one of the entrance points (sorry I forgot the exact location of entrance) of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP. The group was small, arount 5-7 tourists. Before the track the guide/ranger gave us tourist/trackers a good introduction on what to expect and the do's and don'ts. Thereafter the guides were informed by the rangers where our gorilla family was found. Because they are walking, foraging and eating, they are not fixed in one spot. Then the tracking began. I am not a sporty and I was a bit scared now and then climbing up and down the slopes of the mountain, but they all provided us with a stick and you could choose a porter to carry your daypack and to assist you. I have to admit that I was holding the (female?!) porter's hand for almost the whole trip, but they all really helped out: the guides, the porters and the rangers. It was a very nice experience, they were all very professional and we managed to find the gorillas after around 1-1,5 hours hike. We saw them eating tree bark and sitting together. They (the gorillas) saw us, but for the main part they simply ignored us and allowed us to be in there habitat. We also saw them swing in a tree and sit far above us. After we had spend 1 hour with the gorillas we hiked back through the forest. The silverback said his goodbyes to us with a big fart :-). After around 2 hours hiking we came at a parking lot where our drivers were waiting for us with the cars. It was a well organized and wonderful experience and we were all rewarded with a certificate :-). We were lucky with the weather, because during the whole track there was no rain. Nice experience!