Tailor made gorilla and chimp tracking safari, Uganda

Environment

This Gorilla Safari involves trekking mountainous terrain up to 2000 or 2500 m above sea level and therefore we must pack a lot of water (minimum 1 Litre per person) and Packed Lunch just in case you spend more time and need a snack break before you return from the forest. In this case, we use paper bags or containers to pack food and plastic bottles to carry clean and safe drinking water. These are all collected and disposed off at the assembly point upon return and all plastics returned to recycling plants.

In the mountainous regions of Bwindi, our visitors are advised to use the available water sparingly since it can only be got from streams in the valleys which is tedious and costly to collect. this water is used in Bathrooms, for cooking, and washing in all communities.

During the course of the trip, we use renewable energy since most of the places we choose to stay in use solar power for charging, lighting and boiling water. On top of that, they use Eco-toilets which are environmentally friendly.

“Bwindi” meaning a muddy swampy place full of darkness by the local community is a home of over 10 species of primate of which we find the endangered Mountain Gorillas which have since attracted conservation efforts driven by the tourism activities in the region. Whenever one visits the forest they contribute 60% of their park fees to the community projects, 20% to improve park management and 20% to ecological monitoring and research aimed at conserving the remaining wildlife in this forest. Therefore you directly contribute to the conservation of the primate species during this adventure.

Community

In the regions of Bwindi like Nkuringo or Buhoma, there are local libraries and craft shops owned by local people and our visitors get an opportunity to walk through these places and support the people. This is very good because you get crafts at the manufacturers more cheaply than in the city and also see how they are produced. There are cultural centers like Igongo in Mbarara district which houses most of the traditional artifacts of the western region in Uganda and this gives the visitor a bigger picture of the tradition even without visiting all the places.

During the Gorilla tracking and village walks, we encourage the visitors to use local porters or helpers to carry their luggage and this provides direct employment to the local community since they are paid a wage directly for their service. Others who benefit like this are the village guides during the village walks since they are natives and know the routes more than us, we employ them to guide us so that the visitors get to see most of the places there is. This is all done on top of the guide provided who must ensure Harmony and smooth interaction of the locals with the visitors so that there is mutual respect for one another.

Further more, we identify specific needs in every community you will visit and use a portion of your payment to buy tangible items like Books for schools, warm clothing since it is cold or chilly most of the time in areas around the forest and this you will deliver yourselves when you reach these places. With help from your guide, they will organize to collect in one place to interact with you as you wish.