Uganda
Comprising of 236,040 sq. km, Uganda, also known as the land of seven hills is a country with so much to offer. Despite being landlocked, Uganda has a number of rivers and lakes including river Nile which begins in Uganda and Lake Victoria which is the second largest fresh water lake in the world.
Explore Uganda’s beautiful destinations and spot the gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a designated UNESCO Natural World Heritage site with more than 160 species of trees and is home to the now endangered mountain gorilla.
There are an estimated 800 gorillas only in the entire African wilderness. Your visit helps protect the remaining gorilla population with about 10 percent of the cost going to the local communities around the park.
Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking is the highlight of any visit to Uganda. This trek through the tropical forest to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat will bring you to man’s closest cousins after the chimpanzees and the bonobos. Unlike the chimpanzees, gorillas have a 98.3 percent genetic code match with humans.
The gentle giants who display almost human like emotions and behaviour are stocky animals with broad shoulders, chests and have hairless faces, small eyes and human like hands. Just like humans, gorillas like to live in families. Usually, a family comprises of about five to ten gorillas and can sometimes be a large family of upto 50 gorillas led by a dominant adult male known as a silverback.
As you walk through the forest during your gorilla trekking safari, keep your eyes open for the tell-tale signs of gorilla inhabitation which include faint footprints in the soil, overturned logs and discarded stems.
Sadly, only less that 20 percent of gorillas live in protected areas. With a low reproduction rate, gorilla species have a difficult time recovering from population decline. 75 percent of the money raised from your visit helps conserve the remaining gorilla population.
