Gorilla excursions in Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks are mostly done by people who live within or around Kisoro.
The major activity for a one-day gorilla trek excursion to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is gorilla trekking and starts from Kisoro town in southwestern Uganda. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi can be done at the Rushaga and Nkuringo gates of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It is also possible to trek the Nyakagezi gorilla family in the nearby Mgahinga National Park.
A representative from Nature Adventure Africa Safaris will meet you at the hotel or any place identified in Kisoro town and drive southwards to Bwindi National Park.
The drive from Kisoro town to Bwindi National Impenetrable National Park is approximately 2hrs. Upon arrival at the park, you will get a short briefing from the park rangers on what to expect during the gorilla trek. You will then start the tour and enter the impenetrable forest to encounter the mountain gorillas. You will spend one hour with the gorillas and afterward head to the trailhead for certificates. You will immediately drive back from the trailhead to Kisoro town and that will mark the end of the excursion tour.
Apart from gorilla trekking, on your Kisoro excursion you can as well go for golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga National Park. Golden monkey trekking involves hiking on trails within Mgahinga National Park looking for habituated golden monkey families.
This activity begins early in the morning with a briefing from the park ranger guides at the headquarters about the rules and regulations for Golden monkey trekking. Thereafter, you are led by a well-trained guide into the park.
This activity can take up to 3 hours and this depends on the location of the Golden monkeys on that day. This is because these primates move far while looking for food and so their location cannot be specific.
Once you meet the golden monkeys, you will be given a chance to spend 1 hour with them, take some nice photographs, learn about their way of life and enjoy their playfulness while in their natural Habitat and then trek back to the office to receive your certificate. Depending on your program, you can drive back to Kisoro and that will mark the end of your one-day golden monkey trekking tour.
NB: Mgahinga National Park also offers the Golden Monkey habituation experience. Here the tourists are given a chance to experience the process of introducing the golden monkeys to the presence of humans for purposes of research and conservation. When tourists embark on the golden Monkey habituation experience, they are given 4 hours to spend with these primates unlike in the normal trekking where they only spend 1 hour with the monkeys. Golden Monkey habituation experience costs 140 USD per person and the trekking experience costs USD 60 per individual.
