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Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park - gorilla trekking, chimpanzees &
bird watching. |
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| Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park, located in southwestern Uganda on the
edge of the western Rift Valley lies on the Zaire border adjacent
to the Parc National des Virungas. It is one of the largest (331
sq. km) natural forests in East Africa and contains both montane
and lowland forest. It supports a large number of plants and animals
endemic to the region, but most notably half of the world's population
of Mountain Gorillas. The more than 300 Mountain Gorillas, divided
into a dozen groups, make up the world's largest surviving population.
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The rugged
terrain makes hiking in search of the gorillas streneous work. Tracking
begins with a fairly strenous walk through the forest up steep and slippery
slopes, to where the gorillas were found on the previous day. Then the
trackers look for any signs - pressed-down grass, broken twigs, dung
- that might tell them the direction the group has taken. Visitors follow
through the dense undergrowth until they reach where the gorillas spent
the night. Then the search continues, at times crawling through the
thickets, until the gorillas are found. Mountain Gorillas can cover
long distances each day and tours can last anywhere between three to
eight hours. |
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Even
if you don't go see the gorillas, there is plenty to do in the
Impenetrable Forest. You can join guided walks and choose between
a two-hour stroll to some beautiful waterfalls and various hikes,
lasting up to seven-hour and leading to a number of peaks. The
area around Buhoma is an excellent place for watching primates
and birds and you may catch a glimpse of the noisy but evasive
Chimpanzees or the beautiful Hornbills and Turacos. The forest
is home to over 90 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, 200
species of butterflies, 160 species of trees and over 100 species
of ferns, making it one of the richest ecosystems in Africa. |
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