What is the difference between Gorilla Habituation Experience and Gorilla trekking?
Gorilla habituation is simply a practice or an activity of training the wild gorillas to be familiar with human presence in their natural habitat before they are declared available for trekking.
It is good to know that these gorilla families, before they are set free to be fully visited by all Bwindi gorilla trekking travelers, they are first frequently visited in their natural habitats by the park officials like park Rangers, wardens, and gorilla doctors for about 2 years which enables these beautiful apes to be adaptive to human presence in their natural habitat – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Where to go for the Gorilla Habituation Experience & What to expect
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is Africa’s premium destination known for accommodating more than half of the remaining mountain gorillas’ population on the globe. With the current gorilla habituation in Bwindi, the activity is being introduced to enhance the Bwindi mountain gorilla trekking travelers’ experience.
And this activity is so rewarding because it enables one to stay with these primates for a maximum of 4 hours interacting, taking photos, and seeing them go through their daily routine of feeding, grooming, socializing, and many others; Such an ultimate once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Just like on gorilla trekking, also during habituation, a 7m distance is kept, and the etiquette of habituation is followed. But this is an ultimate experience since it gives you a chance to spend enough time with these great mountain gorillas, which is different from the usual gorilla trekking, where one is allowed to spend only 1 hour with these gorillas on finding them. Habituation is currently in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Forest National Park, and habituation is available for 4 people each day.
Therefore to highlight some of the differences between gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking in Bwindi Forest Impenetrable National Park – gorilla habituation lasts for full four hours on finding the gorillas as its 1hr with gorilla trekking – habituation is for 4 people for a particular gorilla family as they 8 for gorilla trekking – gorilla habituation permit is at 1500 US dollars as it’s 800 US dollars for gorilla trekking. But to say habituation is more experiential and rewarding to either travelers with enough time or those with a short time on the Uganda gorilla safari.
What is required to go on a gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi?
Gorilla habituation doesn’t need much apart from the gorilla habituation permit, which is the first thing to think about for a successful habituation experience. Uganda gorilla habituation permit goes for 1500usd and it can be acquired directly from the Uganda wildlife authority, but it is more recommendable to get it through your trusted and licensed tour operator since it would be easier for the home-ground-based tour operator to go through all the process. And since these permits are always in high demand, it is also advisable to book your permit 6 months in advance of your experience because they often sell out fast.
Is it safe to do the Gorilla habituation experience?
Gorilla habituation is a very safe experience and more rewarding because it is conducted with the help of the park guides and the game rangers, who can make sure you get the safest habituation experience. Though it is also important and advisable to respect the rules of conduct about gorilla habituation, as they are briefed to you before you set off for the habituation experience.
And it starts early in the morning with a briefing about habituation at the park headquarters, and you spend 4 hours with these mountain gorillas, finding them and following them where they go for their daily activities. Book with us for your memorable gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi.
Experienced webmaster and copywriter with 16 years of experience in the East African tourism industry. Jerome possess excellent knowledge about gorilla trekking, wildlife safaris, chimpanzee tracking, and accommodations across major destinations in East Africa.
