The Mountain Gorilla Highlands
Uganda’s Gorilla Highlands stretch from Kabale area, Kisoro, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Mgahinga National Park to Kanungu area conveying most of Uganda’s beautiful scenic views.
Uganda is a haven for many natural attractions like the lakes from where one can enjoy the wonderful sights and sounds of various bird species such as Lake Bunyonyi, Lake Kayumbu and Lake Chahafi, Lake Mutanda and Lake Mulehe. It’s also park for mountain gorillas found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It’s also a home to many primate species like the chimpanzees, golden monkeys which can all be tracked with the help of a well-trained tour guide.
Recently-developed trails offer some of East Africa’s most spectacular hikes across rural Africa, safe to explore per pedes apostolorum, by dugout canoe across the lakes or by mountain bike cross country.
Only a few parts of Uganda have been documented with trail descriptions, maps, and video maps, the latest tool available for wannabe visitors to this part of Uganda. Accommodation is now available from basic camping over home stays to luxurious lodges.
According to Miha, the head behind the gorilla highland project “The Gorilla Highlands initiative” was started in 2011 by Edirisa, a social enterprise based at Lake Bunyonyi. It is open to anybody interested in branding and promoting southwestern Uganda for the sake of rural development. It has established the ‘Gorilla Highlands’ brand as a flag to unify the region, connect local companies of all sizes into a network, and expand tourist expectations of what the area can offer. We are focused on innovative solutions to tell the world an engaging story about our part of Africa. The Gorilla Highlands initiative offer travelers, tour operators, the media, and development organizations a centralized and consistent service built on extensive local knowledge.”
He further noted, “We are tapping into a world-class web of professionals passionate about this region whose very first product, the Gorilla Highlands Interactive eBook, won a United Nations award in 2013. While the eBook showcases our deep knowledge of our home area, Gorilla Highlands is much more than that. We are about rural development empowered by culture. Our belief is that economic transformation in southwestern Uganda is only possible when we have respect for our cultural heritage, and when we properly utilize tourism as a tool to uplift the poor.”
In his notes, Miha Logar stated that “Our current biggest project is the Gorilla Highlands Video Map. It challenges tourists’ potentially negative preconceptions by giving video tours of places, lodges, and activities, revealing beautiful, comfortable, and safe environments. On the other hand, we don’t just do multimedia products. We tell our story of southwestern Uganda through tourism experiences as well – Gorilla Highlands Trails is a system of guided trips, taking from 5 hours to a week or more, including camping with rural families and with a special stress on the Batwa.
“Our tour itineraries already utilize Kigali as the airport hub; expansion of the Gorilla Highlands concept into Rwanda is planned for 2015.”
By using Kigali as the entrance airport helps to lessen / cut short the distance covered to reach the south western part of Uganda. It is also suggested to use due to the existence of the common tourist visa that entails visitors easy passage through Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya and it can be obtained at 100 USD.
In addition, this gives tourists a chance to enjoy the beautiful sights of “Land of a Thousand Hills” before crossing over to Kisoro / Katuna and Kabale via Cyanika border for the amazing spotlights of the South Western part of Uganda.
Uganda is now connected to the rest of the world by the top African, European, and Gulf /*8airlines daily and apparently known among Africa’s number one adventurous destinations since it’s a peaceful and Ebola Free State.
Gorilla Highlands offers pocket guides and last year launched the award winning e-book available from the Apple Store.