There are several reasons why Uganda should be the first priority once you think of Gorilla trekking. Below are some of the reason why Uganda Gorilla trekking should be a must:
Availability of Mountain Gorillas- this specie is one of the rarest on planet earth! Its on record that Uganda hosts half of of them. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park alone protects 18 habituated Gorilla family not forgetting those which are not yet habituated. On addition to that, Mgahinga National Park also host one habituated Gorilla family called Nyakagesi not forgetting Kirwa gorilla family which migrated from Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park last year.
More Gorilla permits in Uganda compared to the neighbouring Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bwindi alone has four Gorilla trekking centres namely; Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija and Nkuringo. Each centre has more than one Gorilla family which makes it easy to get Gorilla permits of any of the listed Gorilla trekking centres. For tourist on last minute booking, Uganda is an alternative however, do to high demand for Gorilla permits throughout the year, its wise and recommended to book your Gorilla permits six months in advance.
The country stability – Uganda is politically stable making it attractive for the visitors,. Without peace, there is no Tourism and the reverse is true. Since 1986 which brought President Kaguta Museveni to power, Uganda has never involved in any war apart from LRA which used to disturb the peace of Ugandans in northern region. Today Joseph Konny and his Lord’s Resistance rebel group was defeated.
The convenient Air Transport – To trek Uganda’s Gorillas, you can fly to Entebbe international Airport and then drive to South western Uganda to meet Gorillas (9hrs drive Maximum) OR fly to Kigali Airport and cross to Bwindi Impenetrable National park or Mgahinga National park for Gorilla tracking (3-4hrs drive).
Two Gorilla parks – its not common for one country to has two Gorilla parks. Luckily, Uganda has both Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. Both parks are situated in southwestern Uganda and few Kilometres from each other. That means you can trek Gorillas in both parks for comparative study.
Professionalism of the Tour operators – Many of Uganda tour operators are professionalized through their associations like Association of Uganda Tour operators (AUTO), Uganda Tourism Association (UTA) among others. Such associations regulates the actions of the different tour operators/ Companies with the aim of improving services delivery.
Improved infrastructures like roads, accommodation and health facilities among others. Most of the upcountry roads are well constructed, New bridges have been fixed and old one repaired. New Lodges, camps and safari Tents have been put in tourist destinations with the aim of promoting Tourism sector.