Gorilla Habituation Experience is exceptional to do as you get a chance to stay in the presence of the Gorillas longer and get to know about their daily routines as they take you through the various activities they do. Unlike the Gorilla Trekking Adventure in which you stay with the apes for an hour, the habituation experience gives you a chance to be in their presence for 4 hours. You get to explore and encounter the wild gorillas in a more natural, less scripted environment as researchers, trackers and conservationists work to introduce them to humans.
Gorilla habituation is a long, careful scientific process that involves gradually familiarizing a wild gorilla group with human presence. The process can take 2 to 3 years. The wildlife experts visit the same group daily so that they get used to human approach. On your habituation experience, you shall join the conservation Teams for one day as you observe and participate an adventure so educational, enduring and interesting.
Gorilla Habituation Experience takes place in Uganda at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s Rushaga Sector as well as the Nkuringo Sector found in the South western Part of Uganda. When interested in the Gorilla Habituation experience, Uganda is the only destination where you can enjoy this adventure.
As you engage in the Gorilla Habituation Experience, you shall take the following steps to enjoy the adventure to the fullest as you move from one point to another watching the Gorillas take you through their daily way of living.
You shall start your day by waking up early have breakfast at sunrise then proceed to have precise briefing at the park headquarters about the conduct around the Gorillas. These are habituated to get used to being approached by humans for a period of 2 to 3 years. Later, you shall encounter them and move around them slowly, quietly without threatening them as you follow the safety rules and forest etiquette. You are allocated into groups of 4 with lead researchers, ranger guides who take you through the green forest watching the Gorillas for a period of 4 hours as you get to learn about them, their way of life.
While on your Gorilla Habituation experience, you shall follow through the Bwindi forest for a period of 1 to 6 hours from one trail to another depending on the current location of the Gorillas. You shall follow through dense and steep trails inclusive of verdant vegetation, misty valleys and diverse wildlife. On your trek, the trackers follow fresh signals along the way like broken vegetation, gorilla dung, feeding traces, vocalizations. Along the way, you shall watch other forest species i.e monkeys, forest elephants, rare birds and unique plant life.
On Your Gorilla Habituation Experience, you shall stay up close with the Gorillas for a period of four full hours when in the presence of these primates. You shall witness family interactions like grooming, playing or feeding, silverback behavior as the display of dominance, infants learning to climb and socialize, vocal communication, from grunts to chest beats.
Gorilla Habituation experience is such an exceptional safari adventure as you get to trek and watch the majestic Gorillas in their natural forest vegetation habitat. Reasons you shall have a Gorilla Habituation Experience in Uganda’s Bwindi Forest National Park at Rushaga Include;
✔ You shall spend more time with Gorillas
✔ Four hours instead of one allows deeper observation and photography opportunities
✔ You watch more Wild Behavior
✔ Support for Conservation
✔ Exclusive Access
✔ Only 4 permits per gorilla group per day are issued, ensuring privacy and a low impact on the gorillas.
✔ Uganda Gorilla Habituation Permit: Typically USD 1,500 per person
✔ This cost includes park entry, ranger guidance, conservation fees, and the 4-hour gorilla encounter.
✔ The habituation trek is more strenuous than the standard trek because it often involves deeper tracking into the forest and following a more mobile gorilla group. Good physical fitness is recommended, and porters are available to assist with luggage.
The experience is available year-round, but the best periods are:
June–September
December–February
These are the dry seasons, making forest trails less slippery and trekking more comfortable.
