Bwindi Forest named among CNN’s top 23 places with best Hiking trails

Known for offering an ultimate Bwindi gorilla trekking experience, Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has once again been recognized by CNN as one of the 23 places with wonderful hiking trails. With its extensive hiking trails passing through the forest and offering numerous attractions (wildlife, birds, tree species and butterflies), the World’s most popular gorilla trekking destination undeniably has some of the World’s best hiking trails.

Throw in that sense of being in a destination with biologically diverse rainforests dating more than 25,000 years as well as well-maintained trails, that is what you expect when you visit Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. With fascinating hiking trails rewarding tourists with an opportunity of getting up-close and personal with some of the World’s remaining mountain gorillas, other mammals (such as elephants, olive baboons, and chimpanzees) as well as bird species, it’s no wonder the Park made it to the list. Another African destination that appeared on the ranking is Mount Toubkal of Southwestern Morocco, North Africa’s highest peak standing at 4167 meters/13,671 feet above sea level.

Sprawled within south-western Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the flagship of Uganda’s tourism, popular for offering ultimate safari experience and undoubtedly appears on every tourist’s bucket list when visiting the Pearl of Africa.

Although the article (by CNN) doesn’t indicate whether the ranking is in numerical order, Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park made it to the 15^th position after Indus Valley (Himalaya, India) and is followed by West Coast Trail (Vancouver Island). According to CNN, wildlife walk doesn’t come more captivating than a hike into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where you get up-close and personal with the areas surviving mountain gorilla population.

As part of gorilla safari packages, Maranatha Tours and travel Company organizes trips whereby tourists are taken on life-changing hikes into the thick impenetrable forest to encounter one of the 16 habituated gorilla families within the four sectors (Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija, and Nkuringo) of the Park. Groups of 8 people (tourists) are allowed to spend only one hour per day with the gorilla family but this will always be the most unforgettable one hour of a lifetime offering World’s most photogenic moments. In addition to hiking trails leading to gorilla families, there are other numerous trails that allow tourists to explore the waterfalls, several primates (chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, L’Hoests monkeys, blue monkeys, and olive baboons), reptiles, outstanding tree species and many other attractions of interest. Some of the must-try hiking trails in the Park include Muyanga waterfall Trail, Buhoma-Nkuringo Trail, Rusizi River trail, Rushura Hill Trail, Muzubijiro loop Trail, Bamboo Trail, Kashasha River Trail, River Ivy Trail, Mubwindi Swamp Trail, Habinyanja Trails and several waterfall trails among others.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest was gazetted into a National park in 1991 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site 3 years later (1994). With an area of only 321 square kilometers, this Park is a haven to over 500 mountain gorillas thus accounting for at least half of the World’s mountain gorilla population and the remaining ones being in the Virunga Conservation Area (made up of Virunga National Park is Democratic Republic of Congo, Mgahinga National Park of Uganda and Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda). As earlier mentioned, at least 16 habituated families are found in the four sectors of Bwindi and they include Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura and Katwe in the northern Buhoma sector, Kyaguliro, Oruzogo and Bitukura groups in the eastern Ruhija sector, Bishaho, Nkuringo and Christmas families in Nkuringo sector (south) and finally Mishaya, Busingye, Bukingi, Bweza, Kahungye and Nshongi in the southern Rushaga sector.

This biologically diverse forest/National Park is generally home to over 120 mammal species, 350 species of birds, about 220 butterfly species and several reptile species. Besides that, over 1000 species of flora including 163 and 104 tree and fern species respectively are found in the area.

Conclusively, due to Bwindi National Park’s magnificent hiking trails leading to habituated gorilla families, bird species, tree, butterflies and reptiles, the Park was named as one of CNN’s top 23 places with best hiking trails.