Activities To Do In Rushaga After Gorilla Habituation Experience ; Rushaga sector is one of the four gorilla trekking sectors located in the southern part of Bwindi impenetrable national park. Rushaga sector is known for harbouring the highest number of gorilla families and the only sector that offers gorilla habituation experience where the wild mountain gorillas are trained to get used to human presence for trekking.
Gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi impenetrable national park starts early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing, you will follow a team of researchers, park guides, rangers and start trekking in the forest which takes a whole day and during trekking, you will be able to view other primates, different bird species among others. Once the mountain gorillas are located, you will be allowed to spend four hours with them in their natural habitat where you will be able to monitor their behaviours, habits, watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breastfeeding, playing, grooming young ones, take photos and record videos.
Activities to do in rushaga sector after gorilla habituation experience
Gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking is one of the popular activities in Bwindi impenetrable national park that you can engage in after gorilla habituation experience. Just like gorilla habituation experience, gorilla trekking starts early in the morning with a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations at the park headquarters. After the briefing, you will be subdivided into groups of 8 people where each group will be allocated a habituated gorilla family to trek and an experienced park guide. Trekking of mountain gorillas takes about 2 to 6 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment.
Bird watching
Bwindi impenetrable national park is a home of over 350 recorded bird species including 23 Albertine rift endemics, forest birds and migratory birds which makes it one of the best birding destinations. During bird watching in rushaga sector, you will be accompanied by an experienced bird guide who will help you to spot variety of bird species including Banded Woodpecker, Bar-tailed Trogon, African Green Broadbill, Green Tinkerbird, Red-throated Alethe, Dusky Crimsonwing, Collared Apalis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Shelly’s Greenbul, Dwarf Honeyguide, Giant Kingfisher, African Wood Owl, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Mountain Masked Apalis, Archers Robin-chat, Handsome Francolin, Grey-cuckoo Shrike, Rwenzori Nightjar, African Harrier Hawk among others.
Batwa cultural experience
Batwa cultural experience is an exciting activity in rushaga sector where you will be able to interact with the batwa people, learn about their way of living, gathering and hunting skills, visit their homesteads, learn how to make local beer from bananas, taste their local dishes, listen to ancient stories, enjoy their traditional entertainment among others.
Nature walks/Hiking
Nature walk/ hiking is an adventurous activity in Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will get an opportunity to explore the park on foot accompanied by an experienced park guide and park rangers. Guided nature walk in rushaga sector can either be done early in the morning or in the afternoon following different trails in the forest where you will be able to spot different bird species, animals, colourful butterflies, three horned chameleons, listen to sweet sounds of bird species, enjoy the cool breeze, relax your mind in a quiet environment, take beautiful pictures among others.
Best time to go for gorilla habituation
Gorilla habituation is an exciting activity in Bwindi impenetrable national park that can be done all year round though the best period is during the dry season which is also known as the peak season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February because during this time there is little rainfall in the park therefore vegetation will be short which helps you to view the mountain gorillas clearly and also the gorilla trekking trails will be dry and passable hence making trekking easy.
Where to stay during your safari
There are various accommodation facilities in rushaga sector ranging from budget, midrange and luxury where you can stay during your safari including Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Bwindi Jungle Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Safari Lodge, Nshongi Camp, Bweza Lodge, Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Wagtail Eco Safari Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Chameleon Hill Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge among others.
How to get to Rushaga sector
Rushaga sector is located in the southern part of Bwindi impenetrable national park and can be accessed by air transport means where you will book scheduled or charter domestic flights with Aero link Uganda from Entebbe international airport to Kisoro airstrip and then connect to rushaga sector by road which takes about 2 hours’ drive.
Rushaga sector can also be accessed by road transport means where you will drive from Kampala/Entebbe via masaka, Mbarara, Kabale and then to the park headquarters which takes about 8 to 9 hours’ drive.
You can as well access rushaga sector from Kigali Rwanda where you will fly to Kigali international airport and then connect to Rushaga sector via cyanika border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale.
For more information about the activities to do in rushaga sector after gorilla habituation experience, you can reach out to us at Achieve Global Safaris.
