It was all joy and glamour as an old aged couple tracked gorillas in bwindi impenetrable national park. Mr. Mahendra N. Mehta aged 89 & Wife Sunayana Mehta 87 of the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited have lived Uganda for 62 years but had not tracked gorillas!
The couple travelled with other 5 members where 3 of them are Mehta family generation. The gorilla trekking trip was encouraged by their grandson who encouraged the family to embark on this once in a lifetime experience.
The couple spent 3 days and 2 nights in bwindi as the family experienced the thick tropical rain forest during gorilla trekking activity and celebrated their grandson’s 18th birthday in an extraordinary way.
Mr. Mehta together with wife Sunayana and family not only enjoyed the tranquility, gorgeous unique tea plantations, interactions with the local community, diverse bird species but also enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds of nature.
Mr. Mehta said Gorillas are quite unique animal species as they keep climbing up and down stem branches, moulding, playing around, rolling up and down like a dice, feeding on leaves and breaking down branches. The thick tropical rainforest of Bwindi has the most beautiful scenic views and the feeling on untouched nature is incredible.
In addition, he said that Uganda is a place to be because a whole lot of young people in Uganda especially in the middle and upper class segments of proper financial capabilities prefer spending hundreds of dollars on foreign trips and destinations, honeymoon and holiday vacations in foreign land yet we have all these beautiful creatures, diverse birdlife species, natural fresh water lakes, falls and rivers, amazing wildlife with all the big 5+2; not forgetting the picturesque mountains like Rwenzori; among other
” Uganda is a very secure country thanks to President Museveni and the entire government for the good Investment environment. The Uganda we saw in the 1970’s is way much different from the current one as there’s a lot to lay our pride on and talk about positively all across the World.” He continuously noted.
Despite Mr. Mehta having a great experience, he urged the government to improve more on infrastructural development such as; proper road networks, internet connectivity and also support the private sector to come up with good luxurious tourist accommodation facilities that can cater for a certain class of visitors in order to favorably compete on the continent.
Sunayana Mehta excitedly said that seeing the silverback male gorilla seated in calmness while the female adult gorilla watched over the baby gorillas play, jump over branch to branch, breakdown stems fending for food, roll up and down each other is quite a unique amazing experience and qualifies Uganda as amazing medley of wonders.
In addition to the above, “I fell in love with the tranquility, topography, local community above all experienced another set of indigenous life on the Country side right from Clouds mountain gorilla lodge to mixing and mingling with friendly and charming locals.” .she said.
An 87 year old lady Mrs. Sunayana Mehta praised Clouds Lodge for the customer service and unique construction of the lodge and Uganda wild Authority rangers for their support. “The beauty about this lodge is inexplicable, geographically positioned on the rock edges and we lived high in the inter-cloud; which gave us another taste of what life is in the real cloud atmosphere. We surely plunged into real luxury in the wild.” She said.
About bwindi impenetrable national park.
Bwindi impenetrable national park is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is located in south western part of Uganda. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi can be accessed in four sectors that are Ruhija sector, Buhoma sector, Nkuringo sector and Rushanga sector.
During covid-19, UWA implemented tight rules and regulations.
- Wearing a mask.
- Maintaining a distance of up to 10 meters while tracking from 7 meters
- Limited numbers of up to 8 people per hour.
- And maintaining silence is essential during the gorilla tracking activity
- Note that a Camera flash light may lead to charge of the gorillas so tourists are encouraged to switch them off while tracking.
What to pack
- Rain coat.
- Cameras
- Comfortable
hiking boots with long stocking - Long trousers and long t shirts.
- Water and snacks.
- Hiking sticks
hiking boots with long stocking
How to access the park.
Due to the fact bwindi harbors almost half of the mountain gorillas; it always receives visitors all over the world. So the park can be accessed by either by road or by air depending on the location and sector intended to tour.
Depending on visitor’s interest, there are many routes to the park since most visitors combine the trip with other exploring parks like Queen Elizabeth national park for boat cruise and lion tracking. Kibale national park for chimpanzees and other more.
It takes over 9-10 hours’ drive from Kampala, Mbarara, kabale and kisoro route using four wheeled drive car. Despite the fact that the trip is long, visitors enjoy the clear views of different places like mountains, farms and hills.
However visitors who don’t prefer long hour drive can opt for flying option from Entebbe international airport or kajjasi airfield to Kisoro.
