The habituation experience of gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest : a luxury travel blog /

Unlike the regular gorilla trekking where visitors can spend an hour with a habituated gorilla group, Uganda also offers the gorilla habituation experience, which gives visitors the chance to spend four hours with a gorilla group that is still closely observed. The habituation experience only takes place in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and visitors who have had the chance to experience it rate it as more immersive and captivating than the regular hour with the mountain giants.

Gorilla habituation experiences only occur in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a 321 km2 high elevation Afromontane forest in southwestern Uganda that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park has steep and high hills and a rich biodiversity, including the largest population of mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, a variety of monkeys, birds, divers and elephants, all of which live amidst various species of insects, plants and microorganisms.

What is the habituation of the gorilla?

Gorilla habituation is a process by which humans (primatologists working with their assistants and forest rangers) gradually make peaceful contact with a wild gorilla group in their natural environment until the gorillas view human visits as harmless to their existence. The process can take about 2-5 years, depending on how receptive the wild gorillas are to human presence.

Mountain gorillas that have not gone through the habituation process live far from human settlements. They are shy, run deeper into the undergrowth if approached and can be dangerous if started. While many uninhabited gorilla groups exist in the mountain forests of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC, a few have gone through the habituation process and are available for tourism.

There are 44 habituated mountain gorilla groups available for tourism in Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC. Uganda alone has 20 habituated gorilla groups and more than half of the total population. Common groups vary in size, averaging 10 family members, but some may have as many as 40 individuals.

History of gorillas habituation

Gorilla habituation by scientists began in Rwanda after Captain Von Beringe of the German colonial army and later other Western scientists (Louis Leakey, George Schaller and Dian Fossey) “discovered” the mountain gorilla. Dian Fossey, in particular, camped in the forests of Rwanda and recruited other conservationists and local residents to “befriend the gorillas” and eventually accustom them to human presence.

Dian Fossey’s work pioneered habituation, identification, tracking, range mapping and other primate survey techniques used today by gorilla conservationists. However, she quickly realized that if the gorillas were to survive, they would also need protection from threats such as poachers setting snares in the forest, grazing cattle, and human encroachment on the forest.

Fossey then organized weekly anti-poaching patrols to protect the gorillas, later making important discoveries about the ecology, behavior and more of gorillas. Her methods of protecting and monitoring mountain gorillas later became valuable tools for great ape research and conservation programs and are widely used by conservationists in tropical Africa’s gorilla ranges.

Introducing the habituation experience of gorillas

In 2015, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) introduced the gorilla habituation experience to paying visitors at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the first of its kind for gorilla tourism in Africa. In addition to being an important source of funds for gorilla conservation, the experience also helps researchers monitor how the gorillas respond to different tourists.

By the time the researchers allow tourists to participate in the habituation process, the gorillas would have calmed down enough to allow rangers, doctors and primatologists to get up to 15 meters close to observe and photograph them. The gorillas would welcome tourists for a comfortable period. The gorilla habituation experience lasts 4 hours (3 hours more than the regular and cheaper gorilla trek), which starts very early in the pre-dawn misty morning to find the gorilla group before they move far from their nocturnal nests.

To participate in the half-day experience, one must book a gorilla habituation permit for USD 1,500 per person. UWA only offers 4 permits per gorilla group and currently only two gorilla groups are available for the experience (Posho Gorilla Group in Nkuringo and Bikingi Gorilla Group in Rushaga Sector). However, at the time of writing, Posho was not yet officially available for booking permits, but permits for the Bikingi Gorilla Group were available.

A typical tour package with gorillas habituation experiences

A typical gorilla habituation experience tour starts from Entebbe (the gateway city to Uganda), where visitors will most likely spend the night and take a scheduled domestic flight to Kisoro, a 1.5-hour drive outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

If visitors want to enjoy the countryside, they can also make the 10 to 11 hour drive over the beautiful hills and scattered towns to reach the gorilla park on Uganda’s southwestern border with Rwanda and DRC.

Anyway, they will spend a night in the mountains near the trekking center to join the early morning experience the next day. A large number of budget to luxury safari lodges are located on ridges around the trekking centers in the Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors; one would not fail to stay with a decent meal.

Most travelers take the regular gorilla trekking experience after the habituation experience to experience both adventures, which means they will spend another night or two on the edge of the gorilla park. While gorilla trekking is equally captivating and physically demanding, the habituation experience is more immersive. Due to the four hours with the gorillas, the experience provides a greater opportunity to understand gorillas’ lives and get better photos of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.

After the gorilla experience, some visitors usually take a flight back to Entebbe or join the wildlife safari circuit in Western Uganda, north of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Prominent attractions on the Uganda safari circuit include a drive through the Ishasha sector to see the magnificent tree-climbing lions and a boat safari on the Kazinga channel to see wildlife on the banks of the channel such as elephants, hippos, buffaloes, Nile crocodiles and several bird species. Visitors extending their journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park will need at least a day to transfer by road from Bwindi. However, they can take a one-hour scheduled flight between Kisoro (Bwindi) and Mweya or Kasese airports, which are a few minutes outside the park.

After the Queen Elizabeth safari, most visitors drive about 3 hours to Kibale National Park and explore the chimpanzees at the base of the Rwenzori Mountains. Kibale Forest has a high concentration of primates, with up to 13 primate species protected in the park, including our famous chimpanzee troop. With a few chimpanzees accustomed to tourism and research, Kibale offers top-notch chimpanzee trekking and habituation experiences. Chimpanzee Habituation Experience in Kibale is similar to the gorilla experience, the permit is much cheaper at USD 250 per person, and the experience is on a flat forest floor, making it more manageable. Visitors spend a night or two outside the park and join the early morning excursion. From Kibale it is about a 5 hour drive back to Entebbe.

A few tips before you go

The Gorilla habituation experience only occurs in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the southern sectors, at high altitudes up to 3000 meters. It happens on physically demanding, uneven, slippery, muddy terrain, requiring you to prepare yourself physically and emotionally before you go. It’s a rainforest there, so know that it could rain at any moment.
Pack clothes suitable for the cold and wet weather as you will be trekking in the rainforest mountains. Please wear a poncho or light raincoat, waterproof hiking boots and a backpack to carry your packed lunch and supplies, long-sleeved shirt and light pants.

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It is best to go in the dry seasons from June to September or December to February when the weather is drier and comfortable for rainforest trekking. Keep in mind, however, that the dry seasons are also the peak, meaning there is a high demand for downhill permits and lodging. So book early – at least six months in advance.
For an immersive experience of the gorilla region, book at least three nights outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Remember, the first night before arrival, the second after the experience and maybe the third to explore the region. Bwindi offers other immersive daytime adventures away from mountain gorillas, such as forest nature trails, cultural encounters with the indigenous Batwa forest tribe, some of Africa’s most rewarding birdwatching expeditions, and sustainable community walks.

Book a package tour with a licensed tour operator to avoid logistical nightmares and transfer nightmares. Most licensed operators book the permits, find suitable accommodation to suit the location of the trekking permit, including meals, and arrange transportation in a 4×4 vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide in the travel quote. Verify a tour operator on the Uganda Tour Operator (AUTO) website or the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) website.

Go for the gorillas habituation experience in Bwindi; it’s worth it!

Lydia Eva Mpanga is CEO and Founder of Nkuringo Safaris. Nkuringo Safaris has been around since 2007 and offers tailor-made sustainable, innovative private game safaris in Uganda and Rwanda.

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