Bird Watching Safaris in
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Interested in Customised Itinerary?
Unfathomable connection during a magical hour in the company of mountain gorillas!
One of the most biologically diverse forests in Africa! Mainly owing to its antiquity. Bwindi is an actual rainforest, spread over a series of steep ridges and valleys that form the eastern edge of the Albertine rift valley. It lies at a relatively higher altitude, and the temperature here is cooler, ranging from 9 to 18°C.
Bwindi is renowned for its diverse population of mountain gorillas, which lives in 15 troops across the park, including Buhoma in the northwest, Ruhija in the east, Rushaga in the south, and Nkuringo in the southwest. Besides gorillas, Bwindi harbors about 120 species of mammals, more than any national park in Uganda apart from Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP), including Chimpanzees, L’Hoest’s Monkey, Red-Tailed Monkey, Blue Monkey, Black and White Colobus, Olive Baboons, and Vervet Monkeys. And of the so-called ‘big five’, only Elephants are present. Minimal of the antelopes occur.
Activities and Experiences in Bwindi
Bird watching in Bwindi.
Bwindi is home to about 350 species of birds, including 23 Albertine rift endemics! And at least 14 species recorded nowhere else in Uganda! It ranks as one of the best forest birding destinations in Africa, with local bird guides, most of them capable of identifying most species by call, and even calling up the more responsive species by their lip whistles! The likes in this forest include; (Albertine rift endemics) Red-throated Alethe, Archer’s Robin-chat, Yellow eyed Flycatcher, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Rockeffeller’s Sunbird, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Crimson-wing, Red-collard Mountain Babbler, Chapin’s Mountain Babbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Neumann’s’ Warbler, Prigogine’s Greenbul, Black-faced Apalis, Collard Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Grauer’s Cukooshrike, Red-Billed Helmet shrike, Ruwenzori Batis, African Green Broadbill, Dwarf Honeyguide, Prigogin’s Nght-jar, Albertaine Owlet, Congo Bay-owl, Ruwenzori Turaco, Handsome Francolin and other birds.
Gorilla tracking in Bwindi.
Uganda protects about 410 mountain gorillas and is home to more than half of the entire gorilla world population! Mountain Gorilla tracking in Bwindi ranks as one of the absolute highlights of African travel. The exhilaration of first setting eyes on a wild mountain gorilla is challenging to describe. They’re enormous animals, yet despite their fearsome appearance, gorillas are remarkably peaceable creatures. More impressive even than the gorilla’s size bearing is their unfathomable attitude to people, which differs significantly from that of any other wild animal that you’ve ever encountered! Anthropomorphic as it might sound, almost everybody who visits the gorilla experiences a nearly mystical sense of recognition.
Often, one of the gentle giants will break off from the business, chomping on bamboo, to study the human visitor, soft brown eyes staring intensely into theirs as if seeking a connection—a spine-tingling wildlife experience without peer. However, reasonable fitness is required to trek for gorillas as the hike can be challenging due to the ups and downs on the hillsides and valleys before encountering a group of gorillas. Another variable is the altitude effect in Bwindi, which favors unexpected overhead rains and slippery surfaces while trekking; therefore, arguably, you’re required to carry along with you trekking gear like jungle boots and rain jackets, wear thick trousers, and long sleeves as protection against vicious nettles. Carry some quick calories and water.
