Common mistakes to avoid on Gorilla Trek

Booking your favorite accommodation different from gate of permits purchased. Gorilla families are scattered across various locations. It’s therefore very important that you book accommodation that is not too far away from the national park entrance, otherwise you may have to drive for an hour.

You risk being frustrated if you arrive at the national park office without a gorilla permit. In fact, it is important to first ask your tour operator to check and confirm availability of gorilla permits for dates within your travel schedule. You could adjust your schedule by a day or two, to ensure permit availability is guaranteed.

Most forget to packing right clothing for the trek, others under estimate how challenging the hiking in the rain forests of Bwindi and Mgahinga can be. It is important to have hiking boots, garden gloves and carry rain wear in your backpack for your trekking.

Contacting an experienced tour operator is a contributing factor for enjoying your gorilla trekking experience. Failure to do so, there are chances you would find yourself in a hotel which isn’t your standard, you could easily find transferring longer hours from your hotel to the gorilla starting point. Choosing a driver guide who is not well versed with navigating the road and appropriating route timing. Worst of all you could miss out a reminder of what to wear and have it rough on your trekking day.

The costly mistake on the part of many would-be gorilla trekkers in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is arriving at the entrance to a different gate of the park compared to what’s on their permit. Bwindi is a large park of 331 km² (128 mi²), and you can't quickly drive from one park gate to another. Being mountainous region, navigating a distance of 25 Kms can take you 2 hours on rough and dirt roads. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park comprises four sections: Buhoma in the north, Ruhija in East, Rushaga south and Nkuringo south east.