Cycling in Bwindi National Park : Bwindi impenetrable Forest national park is famously known for being a largest sanctuary to the last endangered mountain gorilla species, situated in the South western part of Uganda, occupying the districts of Kanungu, Kisoro and Kabale.
Bwindi National Park sits on an area of 331km,emcompassing so many diverse eco systems :birds, plants and trees that could be sited only at this forest, animals including the colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, bush pigs, giant forest hogs, baboons, and array of birds; hornbills, turacos, crested bee eaters, white-tailed fly catcher ,and also over 220 species of butterflies, frogs, chameleons.
Mountain gorillas however are the main reason behind most tourist frequent visits to the ancient tourist destination, as its here where they get to spend more time with this terrific species in their natural habitat.
On top mountain gorilla trekking, Bwindi National park offers a wide range of other activities that include but not limited to nature walks, forest treks, mountain biking, community tours, cycling and many more.
In this article we want to talk about cycling in Bwindi National Park. Cycling is an exciting activity and sport done around in and around the park for leisure.
The activity is done all year round in the park as a top up on the main activity which mountain gorilla trekking. The activity is run a community organization in around the park from whom you hike the bikes and other things you need for the adventure. Also through this organization you get cycling guides to guide you on the cycling trail.
On your cycling experience you get to experience the magnifies forest in a different light as you see the surroundings, the trees, and other creatures in motion sense. You also get to get to other points of the forests you didn’t see or cover during your trekking time.
The activity is great in the morning but can also be done in the afternoon; the difference is, in the morning the weather is fresh and cool and more comfortable cycling compared to the afternoon sun and heat. Also in the morning you do the long route cycling, while in the afternoons you do the short route cycling.
On this experience you will start from the park headquarters in Buhoma, where you will lead through a well maintained 13km trail to River Ivi, and this will take you roughly 6-7 hours, you will have a pit stop and then ride back to the park headquarters. On the shorter route cycling experiences you will ride for 1 or 2 hours and then return back to the park headquarters.
By the time you are done with this experience you will be ready to chill and relax after a good sweat and refreshing sight-seeing around the forest. You will be glad you took a leap of faith to do this.
Also you should know that 80% of the cycling activity fees are put back into the community to support the members of the community. So when you go cycling in Bwindi, you are not only having a time of your life but supporting communities around Bwindi National Park.