Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

Located in the south west of Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park stretches for 321km2 at an altitude of 1,160 – 2,607 m above sea level.

The area is among the East African areas with largest tract of Afromontane forest which existed since the pre historic era and endured through the last ice age forming the ground for great biodiversity concentration with highest number of trees in relation to other areas of its altitude stature.

The park has enormous numbers of butterfly species some of which are endemic to the park and it is also holding great concentrations of mammal numbers.

Containing about 400 out of 880 mountain gorillas that apparently thrive in the wilderness with none existing in captivity, the impenetrable forest of Bwindi holds the mantle as a great gorilla trekking safari destination.

Surrounded by high population density with great agricultural attachment, it’s very interesting that Bwindi still has great biodiversity concentration including; 163 species of trees, 104 species of fern alongside other taxa.

16 species of trees are restricted to the Uganda’s south western region including Lavoa swynnertonii which is globally threatened.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Gazetted in 1991, the park covers an area of 33.7 Sq.km making it Uganda’s smallest national park. It is a second refigium of the endangered mountain gorillas after Bwindi.

It is also known for its golden monkey. The park has a strong cultural attachment to the pygmy community that inhabits the area.

It has three conical features of extinct volcanoes which is part of the spectacular Virunga area. It shares boundaries with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mgahinga is located about 15 kilometers, by road, south of the town of Kisoro and approximately 55 kilometers, by road, west of Kabale, the largest city in the sub-region.

The entire park is located in Bufumbira County, Kisoro District the extreme south western corner of Uganda thus among the secluded destinations that a traveler can visit while on Uganda Safari.

Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park also referred to as Parc National des Volcanos in French is situated in north-west of Rwanda sharing a boarder with Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This protected area is famously known for its mountain gorillas. It also houses five out of eight volcanoes that form the Virunga Highlands.

These include; Bisoke, Karisimbi, Muhabura, Sabyinyo and Gahinga. The first gazettion occurred in 1925 where the land mass surrounded by Visoke, Mikeno and Karisimbi, was allocated with intention to minimise gorilla poaching.

This earlier gazettion made it the first national park in Africa. In 1929, the boundaries of this protected area were expanded more into Rwanda and the colonial Congo, forming Albert National Park covering 8090 km², managed by Belgian colonial government who were administering the two colonies. After the independence of the two countries, the park was divided into two.