Why Buhoma permits are scarce
Buhoma sector is the oldest sector of Bwindi impenetrable National Park with it’s first habituated gorilla family introduction being in 1993
It is located in the northern park of Bwindi and is easily accessible by an 8-9hours drive from Entebbe to Bwindi or a 2 hours flight from Entebbe international airport or kajjansi airstrip to Kihihi airport from which one can get another drive to buhoma sector.
Gorilla trekking permits are documents that allow trekkers search for gorilla families with the help of experienced tour guides and spend only one hour with gorillas.
Different sectors in Bwindi experience different levels of gorilla permit demands given the various adventure they come along with . Among these, Buhoma gorilla permits seem to be of interest and often register a level of scarcity .
Some reasons are attached to this however several reasons can also add up to the Buhoma scarcity
There are less gorilla permits available for trekking which makes the gorilla permits limited
Buhoma sector is most easily accessible in comparison with the rest of the sectors and the closest to queen Elizabeth National Park sector that is the ishasha sector which gives tourists a chance to watch tree climbing lions along the ishasha sector
Buhoma sector has less terrain that makes it easier to trek to gorilla families making it a favourite for gorilla trekkers not interested in hiking challenges.
Buhoma sector offers guided nature walks giving an insight to tropical rainforest and it’s inhabits such as chimpanzees , red tailed monkeys , butterfly species, birds such as red headed blue bill , African Emerald cuckoo,short tailed warbler
Tourists also enjoy different cultural experiences with the original inhabitants of Bwindi impenetrable forest that is the Bates pygmies who lived in the forest 500,000 years ago and dive into their day to day experiences such as hunting . Basket weaving .
Buhoma sector also offer biking experiences given bicycles from Ride for a woman Bwindi which in turn helps support the local community .
Buhoma in other words has different experiences alongside gorilla trekking which can be summerized as
Biking
Cultural tours
Community tours
Nature walks
Birding
Some of the accomodation at Buhoma include
Buhoma lodge
Silverback lodge
Mahogany springs
Buhoma community rest camp
Bwindi lodge
Best time to visit Buhoma sector
Dry season is the best time .
Cost of gorilla trekking permits
700USD for foreign non residents
600USD for foreign residents
250,000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens
Relatively, the above can justify why Buhoma gorilla permits are scarce
