Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Bradt guidebooks to African destinations, including the guide to Uganda.
Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Bradt guidebooks to African destinations, including the guide to Uganda.
Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of the Bradt guidebook to Uganda.
Philip is the author of the Bradt guidebook to Uganda.
Bwindi Impenetrable NP is a Unesco World Heritage Site and it is the best place in Uganda to track mountain gorillas. The park protects around 40% of the world’s mountain gorilla population and has several habituated groups. The forest is also a bird-watcher's paradise with 350 species recorded, including many Albertine Rift endemics.
Aside from the endangered mountain gorillas, nine other primate species are found in the forest. These include chimpanzee, olive baboon, black-and-white colobus and L'Hoest's monkey. Elephant are present but seldom seen. Bushbuck and several types of forest duiker can sometimes be spotted. The park has a very impressive bird and butterfly checklist.
Bwindi is a pristine rainforest on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley. The terrain is a string of ridges and valleys covered in very dense, impenetrable forest. Bwindi has one of the most diverse floras in East Africa and it harbors 10 tree species that don’t occur anywhere else in the country.
Weather & Climate
The rain rarely lets up at Bwindi, with the heaviest falls occurring from March to May and October to November. Pack plenty of wet-weather gear to combat the drizzle. The forest’s mild climate is easier to enjoy in the drier months (June to August and December to February).
Tracking gorillas is best when Bwindi’s trails are not so sodden and there is more sunshine (June to August and December to February). Slippery trails and occasional mist make wildlife watching more challenging during the wetter months of the year.
Dale is a multi-award-winning writer and photographer with more than 500 published magazine articles featured in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa, and CNN Travel.
Gorillas in the Midst of Tourists
4/5
The topography of Bwindi is not for the faint of heart. After an hour of relentless uphill climbing, I found myself gasping for breath at a junction where tea plantations and villages give way to a towering wall of jungle. The forest lay...