Gorilla Habituation is one of the latest addition to the different adventure activities carried out in Uganda. This thrilling adventure is only done in Uganda. You can engage in one of its kind famously known as gorilla habituation experience that will reward you with a great gorilla watching adventure. This gorilla habituation is only done in Rushaga sector of the park in two gorilla families of Bikyingi and Bushaho and these are undergoing habituation. This process of training and also familiarization of wild mountain gorillas to the presence of human beings. The whole group of participants in the habituation process also engages the travellers, rangers, researchers and the conservationists. The process also takes 2-3 years after which the gorilla family is also introduced to the travellers for trekking.
Despite that fact that gorilla trekking takes one hour, the habituation adventure is an all-day interaction in which the travellers spend 4 hours with the gorilla family as they observe and also learn more about these gentle giants. The maximum of 4 tourists are allowed to trek the mountain gorillas along with the conservationists, park management and the researchers for only 4 hours and after they hike back to the starting point. It’s also advisable to have a permit in order to carry out the habituation.
Due to the wild characters of the unhabituated gorillas, the trainers in the first days of the habituation keep a big distance away. But as time goes, they keep climbing closer as they to the gorillas until they confirm that the wild species are now used to the people and then opened to the trekkers. As regards to the costs, the gorilla habituation permit is more expensive and it costs $1500 from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a government body that is responsible for Uganda’s tourism and wildlife conservation in Uganda. The tourists also need to take part in the habituation process and are required to book and pay for these permits in advance for the purposes of timely allocation of the permits.
For the good health and safety of the endangered species, the participants in gorilla habituation adventure are also reminded in keeping a distance of 7m away from the gorillas. More so, the tourists are informed to turn back their backs in case of coughing and sneezing to avoid in spreading of the human diseases like the cough and flue that is spread through air. The mountain gorillas are the closest relatives to human beings sharing 99.8% of human beings hence vulnerable to the human beings.
Gorilla habituation adventure also provides the travellers and the researchers with in-depth understanding of the endangered species. This also makes it easy in devising the conservation hence ensuring gorilla tourism. This means that the mountain gorilla habituation is a once life time adventure every tourist should take part in only done in Uganda. This process in carried out from Uganda in Bwindi impenetrable National park.
Plan your Safari
Are you planning to explore Uganda? Therefore on your next Uganda safari you should not miss going for gorilla habituation within Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Western Uganda. Just get started with planning your next holiday by checking out one of the tour operators in Uganda.