Visit Bwindi if only for a nature walk with friends

It is home to the largest population of the endangered mountain gorillas, hoboring 459 primates, well over 50 percent of all the world's mountain gorillas. A gorilla trek even for Ugandan nationals (at shs 300,000) is just too pricey when you consider the amount of money that goes into getting you there.

Tourist in Bwindi Pulse

But the good news is, a visit to Bwindi, even without gorilla trekking is worth more than gold. A nature walk through Bwindi is an experience you just never forget because of how fantastical and picturesque it usually is, yet it costs only shs 30,000, with a Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) guide and armed guard.

You arrive at the UWA offices at the appointed time to resister and pay for the walk. As soon as you have paid, you are handed a pair gum boots and a raincoat because rain is a constant in this mountain forest. Having changed into the new forest gear, you are handed a walking stick and briefed on what to expect in terms of the possible dangers, the time it will take and the energy you will expend.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Walking Pulse

A walk through Bwindi could lead straight a family of bush elephants. But you don't have to worry about a stampede because an armed guard is on hand to scare them away with loud blasts of the gun. You are also warned about muscle fatigue as the journey is a trecherous one through ridges and valleys and crevices and steep climbs.

When you get on the trail, a guide is ahead of you and an armed soldier walks several paces behind you just in case a gorilla or elephant family decides to charge at you.

The first attraction in Bwindi's nature walk is the heavenly trees that have never seen an axe since Adam. Some of those trees are so large and tall they look like they touch heaven.

You slope in valleys that seem to go deeper into the bowels of earth, past cliffs and slippery rocks. When you reach the valleys, they are inundated with beautiful streams and brooks that make you wish you lived in a bush.

The magical forest that is Bwindi Pulse

Here you see giant footsteps left by the elephants that walk these trails daily to their watering holes. The smells from the tree bucks and the flowers and elephant dang and the soil is beyond belief. You think perfume smells so good until you get a whiff of this combination.

You may not see a single animal on a nature walk through Bwindi, but the experience is hard to put in words. It will reset you, give a fresh perspective on the nature of reality and change you for the better. It will also make you realize that animals own much more land than humans could ever dream.

And if you have some money on you, you get to sleep in some of the best lodges that you have never heard of.

Kiho Safari Lodge main lounge Pulse

Simply magical.

Visit Bwindi if only for a nature walk with friends

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