Uganda Gorilla Safaris, Uganda Tour News

The first Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni has argued Businesswomen to take advantage of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for economic development. She said in a keynote address at the 8th Commonwealth Women Business Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo that, the Commonwealth is a potential source of markets, investment, technology transfer and human resource, she said in a keynote address at the 8th Commonwealth Women Business Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo

 
Commonwealth Heads summit commonly know as CHOGM is just a few months to which has beautified Uganda both in terms of investment, as well as vanishing the country’s Image as a tourism destination. Tourism stands high chance of benefiting from the summit.

Besides accommodations tourism areas were also identified where delegates will be touring for a leisurely excursion and stately luncheon. Among the Tourism areas to be visited includes Bulago Island, Uganda’s romantic luxury island, Ngamba Island, the chimpanzee sanctuary, Queen Elizabeth National Park and most likely the source of the Nile. These are one of the important places in the heart of the country that depicts the natural world and home for different species of birds for birding safaris and other wild fauna.

According to the minister’s clarification Tourism industry stands to benefit from this development soon. Visitors will not have any problem with poor roads when touring Uganda, commonly known as the pearl of Africa. 

Rwanda is a unique and rich in natural scenic beauty. It’s a country of thousands hills that are still natural and covered with forest ideal for adventure and boosts the Country’s Primates as well as Rwanda’s tours and safaris.

 The Volcanoes National Park has it all.  Located In the heart of Central Africa, so high up that you shiver more than you sweat,” wrote the eminent primatologist Dian Fossey, “are great, old volcanoes towering up almost 15,000 feet, and nearly covered with rich, green rainforest - the Virungas”. Situated in the far northwest of Rwanda, the Parc des Volcans protects the steep slopes of this magnificent mountain range - home of the rare mountain gorilla - and the rich mosaic of montane ecosystems, which embrace evergreen and bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp and heath. The park known for its Mountain Gorillas also has a lot to offer, golden monkey (Cercopithecus mitis kandti), black-fronted duiker (Cephalophus niger), buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) and bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) also boosts tours apart from Rwandan gorilla tour and safaris.

Nyungwe National Park in the west also offers all you may need for a life time experience, the largest block of montane forest in East or Central Africa, and one of the most ancient, dating back to before the last Ice Age offers a uniquely rich center of floral diversity, the forest has more than 200 different types of trees, and a myriad of flowering plants including the other-worldly giant lobelia and a host of colorful orchids.

To the East of Country, Akagera National Park well known for game safaris also has a lot to offer. Akagera is, above all, big game country! Herds of elephant and buffalo emerge from the woodland to drink at the lakes, while lucky visitors might stumble across a leopard, a spotted hyena or even a stray lion. Giraffe and zebra haunt the savannah, and more than a dozen types of antelope inhabit the park. This country is rich in culture, fresh and still holds hidden treasures undiscovered by many the world over

GOOD news for Uganda’s tourism industry. The Ugandan mountain gorillas that had moved to the Rwandan side of the Virunga Ranges have returned to Mgahinga National Park.

Seven of the eleven animals that left at the end of March are now back. Four females stayed on the other side, having reportedly gotten ‘married’ to male gorillas of Rwanda.
“The gorillas were seen on July 7,” said Gadi Mugiri, the chief warden of Mgahinga and Bwindi parks.

“We are happy to have them around in the peak tourism season. They will surely boost our tourism industry as more people have booked for tracking.”

The latest census put the mountain gorillas which are only found in Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda, at 800.

From July 1 this year, the costs of tourist permits for gorilla tracking went up. Foreigners are now paying $500, up from $375, foreign residents and tourists from East Africa pay $475 (up from $355), while Ugandans now pay sh150,000 instead of sh100,000.

Gorilla tourism started in the early 1990s and contributes up to 70% of the revenues of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, part of which is used to fund parks that do not make as much money.

Fred

Rwanda and Burundi joined the East African community recently that took effect from 1^st July 20007 with the focus to economic development. Rwanda has fastened their belts ready for development now that its entry to East African community is a reality. 

 
Tourism being one of Rwanda’s sources of Revenue holds a lot of expectations that Rwanda has to offer. The country has opened Investment opportunity in Tourism sector for instance I infrastructure development, hotels and accommodation, despite the few restaurants Rwanda does not have any theater or cinema that can keep tourists busy. Other tourism investment areas include historical sites.

 
Gorilla safaris and Tours seems to be the focus in Rwanda just as in Uganda and Congo, there has been a lot of diversification of products in Rwanda, which have played a role in having a large number of tourists staying in the country longer. Nyungwe was declared a national park bringing the number of protected areas to three. The areas of the new park include the Cyamudongo forest in the southern part of Cyangugu province. The rising number of tourist’s in the park has shown steady growth of 40% since 2001.

 
The tourism industry in east Africa has been collaborating even before Rwanda’s admission to EAC, harmonizing of tourism promotion, regional strategy and marketing of quality tourism and code of conduct are the expectations from the region.

GOOD news for Uganda’s tourism industry. The Ugandan mountain gorillas that had moved to the Rwandan side of the Virunga Ranges have returned to Mgahinga National Park.

Seven of the eleven animals that left at the end of March are now back. Four females stayed on the other side, having reportedly gotten ‘married’ to male gorillas of Rwanda.
“The gorillas were seen on July 7,” said Gadi Mugiri, the chief warden of Mgahinga and Bwindi parks.

“We are happy to have them around in the peak tourism season. They will surely boost our tourism industry as more people have booked for tracking.”

The latest census put the mountain gorillas, which are only found in Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda, at 800.

Of those, 340 are in Bwindi, up from 326 two years ago. One was born only one-and-a-half weeks ago. The remaining 460 roam between the three countries.
Conservationists attribute the gorilla population growth in Uganda to awareness programmes for the people surrounding the park. As a result, 39 poachers surrendered to the Bwindi authorities last week and handed over their hunting equipment, including 29 spears, 40 wire snares and two pulling ropes.
Proceeds from the national parks are shared between the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the local communities for development projects.
From July 1 this year, the costs of tourist permits for gorilla tracking went up. Foreigners are now paying $500, up from $375, foreign residents and tourists from East Africa pay $475 (up from $355), while Ugandans now pay sh150,000 instead of sh100,000.

Gorilla tourism started in the early 1990s and contributes up to 70% of the revenues of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, part of which is used to fund parks that do not make as much money.

Fred