Northern Bwindi
Buhoma
The original trailhead, opened in 1993. The gentlest access and the widest choice of lodges.
4 families2–5 hrs
Uganda · UNESCO World Heritage Site
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
around half the world's mountain gorillas
Bwindi has been continuously forested for more than 25,000 years. That is why 331 square kilometres of Ugandan hillside holds more tree species than the whole of North America — and a gorilla population that has been climbing for two decades.
The name is not marketing. The undergrowth really is close to impenetrable, and a ranger will cut a path through it ahead of you with a machete. Bwindi is not a single trailhead but four sectors spread around the edge of the forest, hours apart by road, each with its own briefing point, its own gorilla families and its own lodges. Your permit is issued for one of them, and you must sleep near it.
Choosing the right sector matters more than almost anything else in your planning.
The four sectors
Four trailheads, four different walks
Eastern Bwindi
Ruhija
The highest and coolest sector, and the best birding in Uganda along the Mubwindi Swamp trail.
4 families2–6 hrs
Southern Bwindi
Rushaga
The most families and the most permits, and the only place to buy a four-hour habituation permit.
8+ families2–6 hrs
South-western Bwindi
Nkuringo
A long descent and a hard climb out, rewarded with the finest view of the Virungas in the park.
2 families4–8 hrs
How to choose
Where you fly in usually decides it
- Arriving from Kigali — Rushaga and Nkuringo are four to five hours away; Buhoma is six to seven.
- Flying from Entebbe — Kihihi airstrip serves Buhoma and Ruhija; Kisoro serves Rushaga and Nkuringo.
- Arriving from Queen Elizabeth — Buhoma, three to four hours through Ishasha.
- Concerned about the walk — Buhoma or Ruhija.
- Four hours instead of one — Rushaga, for the habituation experience.
- Booking late — Rushaga has the most permits.
The permit
US$800, and what it buys
The Uganda permit covers park entry for the day, ranger guides, trackers, the armed escort and one hour with a habituated family. Eight are issued per family per day. The four-hour habituation permit is US$1,500 and only four are issued daily, from Rushaga.
| Permit | Non-resident | Foreign resident | East African |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorilla trekking, 1 hour | US$800 | US$700 | UGX 300,000 |
| Gorilla habituation, 4 hours | US$1,500 | US$1,500 | UGX 750,000 |
Beyond the gorillas
350 bird species, 23 of them found only in this rift
The African green broadbill, Grauer's rush warbler and Shelley's crimsonwing all occur here, and the trail down to Mubwindi Swamp from Ruhija is one of the great birding walks in Africa. The Batwa lived in this forest until 1991; community-run walks at Buhoma and Nkuringo are led by Batwa guides and deserve a morning rather than a photo stop.