Bigodi community walk kibale National Park

Bigodi community walk kibale National Park

 The Bigodi community walk parades an experience of deep immersion into breathtaking nature. The pathways through the moist, riverine, and evergreen vegetation offer visitors the opportunity to marvel at some of the most exciting creatures there are in Uganda. Bigodi Community is located in the Bigodi wetland on the outskirts of Kibale National Park.

Experience of the Bigodi community walk.

The Bigodi community walk presents the chance to indulge in the swamp walks that in an exceptional way allow the visitor to appreciate the natural endowments of Uganda. Visitors get to observe the various types of wetland vegetation that are good for photography and videography since they form a visually appealing scenery.

The community walk helps visitors participate in empowering local communities. Various visits are launched to the homesteads and schools in the community to help empower and inspire them. This is done through several humanitarian work that helps boost the lives of the locals.

While on the walk, guests can spot several primates especially the chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, and the blue monkeys that enjoy wandering in the nearby forests.

Travelers also have the golden opportunity to learn about the cultures and traditions of the local people. The Bakonzo who inhabit the villages around have such an exciting culture.

They are such a hospitable society that always welcomes visitors and showcases their unique traditional dances as a form of entertainment to the visitors in their land. Such exciting moments make the trip worthwhile.

How the community walk is conducted and how much it costs.

The Bigodi community walk is conducted under the full-time guidance of a professional tourist guide. The guide is well-versed with information about most creatures in the area and other aspects of the community.

They gladly share information with the visitors ensuring that they leave the community informed and happy with their experiences.

Under the company of the guide, visitors follow the paths in the villages, and conduct visits to the local primary school, and churches on the traditional homesteads.

Through these visits, guests get to learn about the way of life of the locals and enjoy the folklore as told by the elders in society. The elders are entrusted with the activity of storytelling due to the experience they’ve gathered over the years and the fact that they are eyewitnesses of some past historic events they talk about makes it even more rewarding.

Other activities to do in Bigodi.

Bird watching. Visitors can bypass the Bigodi sanctuary which is a concentration for the East African endemic bird species. Guests therefore have the opportunity to stare at beautiful birds especially shoebills, Black and white casqued hornbills, black bee eaters, cinnamons, cuckooshrike, egrets, and African jacanas.

Local food experiences. Visitors to the community get the golden opportunity to test the local cuisine. They have a taste of yams, matooke, millet, and some local brew made from sorghum for those who wish.

Crater lake viewing. The community is close to the breathtaking crater lakes of Ndali and Kassenda. They are endowed with beautiful scenery which makes the place a nice one to be at, admire nature in its purity, and escape the noise of the cities.

How to get to the Bigodi community.

The Bigodi community can be accessed by road. Visitors undertake the travel to the community in comfortable safari vehicles that can make it through several terrain types.

Visitors drive along the Kampala – Mubende – Fortportal highway. The drive to the community takes about 4 hours and 53 minutes covering the distance of approximately 276 kilometers.

Bigodi Community is approximately 30 kilometers from Fort Portal City and about 6 kilometers from Kibale Forest National Park.

Best time to visit.

Guests willing to participate in the Bigodi community walks need to note that the community can be accessed at any time of the year.

However, it is equally important to note that the dry seasons offer amazingly incredible experiences and come off as the best seasons in which one can indulge in community walks.

The dry seasons usually occur from June to September making up the long dry season. Conversely, the short dry season is always on from December, and January up to February.

Batwa cultural experience.

Batwa cultural experience.

The Batwa cultural experience takes place along the foothills of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Mgahinga National Park, the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is known for the mountain gorilla species, the conservation area is said to have survived over time from the ice age era, it is subdivided into four sectors the Nkuringo, Buhoma, Rushaga and Ruhija, each of these has got habituated gorilla families, while the Mgahinga national park is renowned for golden monkeys and one gorilla group the park extends as part of the great Virunga volcanic mountain region. The Batwa are a special group of people also known as keepers of the forest.

They lived in the forest amicably together with other creatures until they were evicted due to conservation purposes, these have continued living in the surrounding communities, they are the last group of remaining short-structured people in Uganda, they hunted and gathered from the forest however of present they practice a bit of subsistence farming, they engage in community programs and joined the quo of civilization. These have however done a good job of passing their cultures onto the new generations.

Batwa cultural experience will give you a deep understanding of how these locals enjoyed the forest, they will show it to you through their eyes, dance to their traditional music, and make fire without using modern-day matches or lighters, they will also teach you the medicinal purposes of plants and what they treat, guests are allowed to participate too if interested. It is an engaging activity to consider on a visit to Bwindi impenetrable national park or Mgahinga National Park, there are chances of walking through the forest as well and meeting a few primate species, for example, the black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and whispers from forest birds. A visit to the Batwa will require you to make payments for support which normally costs about $30 per person, it is done in the afternoon hours from 3:00 pm East African time.

Besides the Batwa cultural community, there are other things to do while in the region for example the gorilla trekking from the park headquarters you will be briefed about how to conduct yourself while with the primate species, and the hike through the forest is a tedious one however so rewarding by the end of the day, tracking gorillas takes 2-8 hours depending on how far the mountain gorillas have moved, it sometimes takes entirely the whole day or even not seeing them, however, in such incidents, guests are given a chance to track the following day. Birding in the Bwindi impenetrable national park, it is a rewarding point for birders into the ecosystem, there are over 300 species of birds that have been recorded here to date, some of these are endemics to the region for example the African green broad bill.

There is available accommodation in and around the conservation areas ranging from the best budget to Luxury Examples of facilities include Buhoma lodge, Chameleon Hill Lodge, Bakiga Lodge, and Ichumbi gorilla lodge, to mention few.

Volcanoes National Park.

Volcanoes National Park is a captivating, biodiverse conservation area in Rwanda. The park occupies the northwest provinces of Rwanda covering an area of up to 160 square kilometers. It is an outstanding destination due to the breathtaking extinct volcanoes it hosts that add to the overall beauty.

The outstanding volcanic landscapes include five of the eight Virunga mountains, that is to say mount Karisimbi, Bisoke, Mikeno, Nyiragongo, and Sabyinyo. The slopes of these mountains are covered with moist evergreen flora that is a habitat and feeding ground for a variety of animals especially primates, Wildcats, and most notably the mountain gorillas.

Volcanoes National Park is a must-visit for adventure-seeking travelers and nature enthusiasts not forgetting those seeking to uncover the awe-inspiring beauty of the heart of Africa.

History of Volcanoes National Park.

The first attempts to conserve the biodiversity of the park resulted in the gazetting of the land as a small reserve in 1925. It was mainly to protect the critically endangered mountain gorillas from poachers who seemed so determined to finish even the little remaining population of them.

They were doing this through acts like hunting them down for their next meal, cutting down their habitat in the name of firewood, and establishing settlements. Volcanoes National Park was the first National Park to be created on the African continent and boasts as the pioneer of conservation efforts.

The park was extended further into Rwanda by the Belgians in 1958 though they faced a lot of resistance from locals. In 1967, a renowned researcher Dian Fossey founded the Karisoke Research Center to further study the gorillas which led to the habituation processes and opened the door for gorilla tourism activities in the region. Unfortunately, in 1992, Volcanoes National Park became a disastrous area since it was turned into a battlefield during the Rwanda civil war. Gorilla tourism was at a standstill until 1999 when peace prevailed in the country.

 Uniqueness of Volcanoes National Park.

Volcanoes National Park boasts among other national parks in the country as the only National Park where visitors can have a glance at the mountain gorillas. The fact that it was the first National Park to be gazetted on the African continent further sets it apart. Travelers to the park therefore have the opportunity to get first-hand information on the species that have been conserved for decades.

Activities carried out in Volcanoes National Park.

 Gorilla trekking and habituation.  Volcanoes National Park is home to 13 gorilla families that can be trekked down by visitors. These are fully habituated and therefore free of human presence in their natural habitat. There are other families undergoing habituation processes that the travelers can gladly join. Mountain gorillas are the highlights of the park since most travelers to the park have the urge to indulge in gorilla tourism activities.

Volcano hiking.  This is yet another exciting touristic activity travelers can indulge in when in Volcanoes National Park. Visitors choose one of the five volcanoes to climb and enjoy the hiking experience.

Research.  Visitors interested in research about the biodiversity of the African continent flock to Volcanoes National Park since it is a hidden gem of concentration of a series of them. Guests can research the primates of the park especially the black and white colobus monkeys, golden monkeys, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and the rest.

How to access Volcanoes National Park.

Volcanoes National Park is a two to three hours’ drive away from Kigali International Airport. Visitors drive through the towns of Rubavu and Musanze to access the park. Also, you

 Favorable times to visit.

 The dry seasons of the year are the most appropriate travel times to visit Volcanoes National Park. They are characterized by dry weather which aids uninterrupted hiking through the mountainous terrain and the thick rainforests.

The dry seasons take place every year from early June to early October and from early December to late February: It is however important to remember that the park is always open all year round for visitors and therefore they can embark on exploration activities even in the wet seasons.

The wet seasons also offer awesome experiences especially for the primate trekking since they do not move long distances due to the abundance of food in the forest.