Uganda, being one of the destinations for mountain gorilla trekking, provides luxurious safaris to travelers that may be in need of these services. These services range from accommodation, to airlines, road transportation and more alike. As the word goes, these services are of standard comfort and superb quality compared to ordinary services provided for the same activities. Uganda has established its world reputation as far as gorilla trekking is concerned.
Mountain gorilla destinations.
Mountain gorillas inhabit the forest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Mgahinga National Park. These two National Parks both have 50% of world’s mountain gorilla concentration.
Conservation works have thus been successful and there’s limited to no interruptions in the wildlife and gorilla population specifically.
A standard luxury gorilla trekking itinerary.
Standard operation for luxury gorilla trekking starts the moment a tourist lands at Entebbe International Airport.
Tour operators / travel agencies will thereupon be in charge of taking care of tourists. They are then driven with their luggage in an A-class vehicle to the booked accommodation place or hotel. Often, visitors spend a night at the hotel before they can be transported to the respective national park / destination. Transportation from Entebbe International Airport to a further destination could be arranged on road or air, depending on what the tourist desires.
Depending on the number of days contracted by the tourist, at the end of a safari, they are safely brought back to Entebbe International Airport to depart from the country.
Fly in gorilla trekking.
As a matter of luxury, travelers are transported to Bwindi Impenetrable or Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks by air. These can be arranged from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi airstrip on a scheduled flight.
The most common air operators are Aerolink and Bar Aviation. Flights are scheduled, with the morning flights departing at 7:30am and arrive in Bwindi impenetrable national park at 9:45 A.M. Tourists that land at Entebbe International Airport, shortly after that can board an afternoon flight which departs at 12:30 P.M. It arrives at Kihiihi / Kisoro at 1:45 P.M. Similarly, there are arranged flights from Kihiihi and Kisoro airstrips to Entebbe International Airport as the tourist is departing the country. A tourist in need of these flight services needs to contact their tour operator in order to make bookings.
Luxury Lodges and hotels.
Upon arrival at Kihiihi or Kisoro airstrip, a tour operator caters for the visitor’s transportation by driving them to their respective luxury lodges. There are always drivers / guides awaiting visitors’ arrival.
Some of the available luxurious lodges include Mount. Gahinga Lodge, Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Buhoma Lodge, Silverback Lodge and Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp.
Prices for each differ and it’s therefore upon the visitor to decide, with regard to the desired service availability and budget. Most of these lodges have swimming pools, internet services, nature viewpoints, spacious cottages, to state the least.
Gorilla permits.
For anyone to take part in a gorilla trekking tour, they need to possess a gorilla trekking permit. Non-foreign residents are charged $700 per trekker. Foreign residents are charged $600 each, whereas East African nationals are charged UGX 250,000/=. These permits can be purchased from Uganda Wildlife Authority office, but for luxurious gorilla safaris, however, acquisition of the gorilla permits is done on behalf of a visitor by the tour operator at a surcharge. The permit price includes tour guide fees, armed rangers and park entrance fees.