The pros and cons of mountain gorilla trekking in Uganda : Mountain gorilla trekking is one of the most sought after safari activities in Uganda, with over 1000 people visiting the country all year round to get a chance and an opportunity to trek the mountain gorillas in their habitat and spend an hour of their time seeing an admiring the beauty and uniqueness of the mountain gorillas. Well you should know that Uganda is only one of three countries that are have mountain gorillas, the others being Rwanda and the democratic republic of Congo.  Though all these three countries have mountain gorillas, Uganda receives most of the mountain gorilla enthusiasts and that’s why in this article we want to look at some of the pros and cons of trekking in Uganda. These are things we have gathered from different trekkers so they present a general view of the pros and cons of what the mountain gorilla trekking sphere is in Uganda.

8 Days Kenya Wildlife and Uganda Gorilla Safari

We shall start with the pros, of course because they show the bright side of why the people choose to have their mountain gorilla trekking experience in Uganda.

  1. Uganda has the highest population of mountain gorillas in the region and in the world. This means that on your mountain gorilla trekking experience, you are assured of seeing the gorillas at any of the habitats you choose to visit.
  2. Breathtaking views and scenery; well if the gorillas in Uganda don’t excite you, worry not, on the trekking experience you have an encounter with beautiful out of the world sceneries of the virunga massifs and the surround landscape of the mountain gorilla habitats. Form the savannah hills, the unique forest masses, the virunga massif etc; you will be in landscape haven.
  3. Trees: Both the mountain gorilla habitats have a number of tree species that will leave you amazed as you move through the forest to the gorillas. Each tree species you come across you give you a unique atmosphere of the forest.
  4. Adventurous trails; the mountain gorilla habitats in Uganda, have some of the most adventurous trails, that if you are one who enjoys adventure and hiking, you will have a time of your life.
  5. Mountain gorilla habituation: In Uganda because the mountain gorilla population is quite high, a number of gorillas are usually habituated for trekking and if you visit in the habituation season, you will get a chance to be part of the experience, which gives you more than an hour with the mountain gorillas.
  6. Affordable trekking permits: Compared to the prices in Rwanda, Uganda has the most affordable mountain gorilla trekking prices at 700 US dollars. For the experience one is getting in the wild, this is really one great deal.

Moving to the Cons of mountain gorilla trekking in Uganda

  1. Physically demanding trails; the trails in Uganda are quite demanding and strenuous for people who are not physically fit, which disappoints most people from taking on the trek.
  2. With the big numbers of the mountain gorillas comes the spread distribution of the gorilla families, this means that when trekking in Uganda, you will have to cover a considerable level of ground to before you reach the mountain gorillas, which is quite hectic and strenuous.
  3. The gorillas in Uganda stay really in deep high altitudes that have low supply of oxygen, so sometimes as you are in the presence of the gorillas you are struggling for breathe even though the most important thing you would want is just to enjoy the mountain gorillas, you are caught in between trying to have ways of keeping your breath.
  4. The high Cost: compared to the price in the democratic republic of Congo, the Uganda mountain gorilla trekking permit price is quite high. However this in our eyes is very considerate and affordable for the quality of experience you get.
  5. High demand of permits: the high demand of permits is the reasons the trekking permits in Uganda are booked at least 2 to 3 months in advance. This high demand of the permits though puts off most people especially though who say they decide at the last min.
  6. Unpredictable weather: well the only upside with the gorillas habitats they have their own weather, but they unpredictable in Uganda can be a turn off for most trekkers, because for example you may expect dry trails because the dry you arrive in the park its shining, a few moments later the rain will come from nowhere and then you brace yourself for soggy trails. But whatever the case we trust that your equipment for the experience is able to give you a smooth trek.

    The pros and cons of mountain gorilla trekking in Uganda
    Gorilla
  7. Remote locations: the mountain gorilla parks in Uganda are far from the capital Kampala and sometimes you find yourself travelling over 9 hours to get to the parks. This journey is very long and can make you tired before you even trek. The solutions for this is travel and then spend the next day resting and then trek on the next day after the rest day. The other thing you can access the parks through Rwanda or go to the parks by plane.

In Uganda mountain gorilla trekking is done all year round in Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National park at a fee of USD 700 per trekker per a trek.

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