Best Time To Visit The Mountain Gorillas : Gorilla trekking is among the major activities that entice tourists to come to Uganda on a safari. The endangered mountain gorillas live in the deep tropical rainforests which have high altitude between 8,000-13,000 feet. Uganda has more than half of the world’s mountain gorilla population and are found on the virunga mountain slopes in Mgahinga national park and Bwindi impenetrable National park. The mountain gorillas are found in 3 countries in Africa that is Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The temperatures in Uganda don’t change much all throughout the year as they remain between 24 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius. The most important factor to consider is the rains which are two distinct rainy season from March to May and September to November. Uganda has mainly two seasons the rainy season and dry season. Therefore the best time to visit the mountain gorillas is the dry season but mountain gorillas can be visited all throughout the year.
DRY SEASON
Gorilla trekking in Uganda is greatly done in the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. Therefore the season has less amounts of rainfall within the gorilla destination. Therefore the days are clear and sunny making the trekking memorable, the vegetation is easier to hike through and the steep slopes are a lot less slippery.
The gorilla trekking permits for those months sellout in advance and should be planned atleast 12 months in advance before travelling because it’s in the peak season. The accommodation are limited within the park and they are on a high demand since they are booked in advance. While the months are drier, the down pours are possible at any time of the year due to Uganda’s tropical climate.
WET SEASON [RAINY SEASON]
During the rainy season, the roads are all slippery and most activities are interfered but the rain are accompanied by the sunshine. With that, most safari activities can go on as soon as the rain stops without any disturbance. The gorilla trekking as well as chimpanzee trekking can go on even after the rains
During the low seasons of March to May and October to November, most of the lodges tend to reduce their rates in order to attract more tourists to book with them which makes it an added advantage as well as the gorilla permit rates tend to be reduced to attract more tourists within the country. Thus making the rainy season better since there is no congestion.
However, the rainy season is disturbing and makes the gorilla trekking hard as it makes the trails muddy and impassable.
Therefore the tourist have a choice to make either to travel during the rainy season where the trails are muddy and impassable but the gorilla permits are cheap as well as accommodation and no congestion or the dry season in the high peak where the trails are clear and passable, wildlife can be viewed clear but the permits and accommodation are on a high demand and expensive. But all in all gorillas can be visited all throughout the year.
