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Cultural visits in Bwindi Forest National Park
Cultural Visits In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Uganda
a) Buhoma Sector
i) Village Walks
This 3-hour stroll through Buhoma and its margin immerses visitors in the customs and practices of the Bakiga and Batwa people. The tour takes in varied activities such as;
- Farming
- Brewing local beer
- Dispensing traditional medicines, and
- Concludes with dancing displays by members of the Batwa community.
ii) Batwa Forest Experience
The most authentic and best regulated Batwa visit is provided by the Batwa Experience, a half-day encounter that takes place in a patch of private forest continuous with the national park and provides a fascinating insight into the traditional forest life and lore of this hunter-gatherer culture. The outing runs from around 09.00 to 14.00 and cost US$ 40 per person.
iii) Dance Performances
Based at the Watoto School past the Bwindi Community Hospital, the Bwindi Orphan’s Group, affiliated to the NGO Educate Bwindi is dedicated to helping educate orphaned and disadvantaged Bakiga and Bagisu children living in and around Buhoma.
Traditional dances, supplemented by rather contrived but enjoyable ‘gorilla dances’, can be arranged on site or at any of the nearby lodges.
b) Rushaga Sector
Community Walks
The 3-4-hour Reformed Poacher walk, guided by and offering the opportunity to chat to former poachers, takes in two waterfalls close to Rubuguri as well as visits to local smallholdings and a coffee roaster.
The Rubuguri Origins Trail connects a number of sites feted in local oral history, ranging from a place where the ancestors reputedly left their footprints to gold panning sites.
Aimed mainly at birders, the Kayajondo Trail runs through community land bordering the national park and offers a good chance of seeing the likes of Ross’s turaco as well as Albertine Rift Endemics such as yellow-eyed black flycatchers, dusky crimsonwing and purple-breasted sunbird.
c) Nkuringo Sector
Nkuringo Sommunity Walk
This community-run activity provides insights into Bakiga life and culture, with visits to a traditional healer, blacksmith, brewer and homestead in the vicinity of Nkuringo village.
