Gorilla trekking can be hectic and challenging spending hours hunting for gorillas in thick forests and hills, it can take about 2-6 hours in forests scouting for mountain gorillas that makes people wear out and if not, well precautious you may come back with marks and swelling body considering the rugged steep slopes of the forest. Therefore, there are some activities to do after trekking that can revitalize your life. These include the following;
Since the hike to view mountain gorillas might last several hours and leave you fatigued, combining gorilla trekking with other things makes it more enjoyable and interesting. Many tourists prefer to inquire whether there are any more activities to engage in after gorilla trekking. Instead, you should possibly head straight to your hotel.
However, some gorilla groups live close to the starting area and you end up trekking for small hours and returning to your lodge with plenty of time to spare. Depending on the park you visit, there are a variety of different things you may do after viewing the gorillas.
Game drives
This type of activity will take you through the park’s wilderness while exposing different fascinating natural attractions right from wild animals, natural tree species, and amazing views of lakes and rivers surrounding the parks, some animals to encounter include; elephants, buffalos, antelopes, lions, warthogs, giraffe, bushbucks, lions, leopards waterbucks, sitatungas, duikers, hyenas, Uganda kobs.
All these animals can be traced on a game drive in national parks such as Murchison falls national park, Lake Mburo national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, and kidepo valley national park.
Boat cruise
This activity combines both cruising and game viewing in terms of wild animals at the same time. It involves using water vessels to view different wildlife species that prefer living in or around water bodies. A standard boat cruise takes around 2-3 hours to enjoy the beauty of the wildness.
Here different aquatic/semi-aquatic animals can be seen like hippopotamus, crocodiles, otters, and frogs while enjoying the beauty of vegetation around the water and also birds like African fish eagle, kingfishers, pelicans, spoonbills, and others can be spotted on a boat cruise.
It’s normally encountered with professional guides to provide you with the information needed on specific features. Boat cruises can take place at Queen Elizabeth national park, Murchison falls national park, Lake Mburo national park, and Lake Bunyonyi is suitable for canoeing
Nature and cultural walks
This involves walking through nature within the park premises, they are normally guided by both a ranger and a guide to safeguard people and preserve natural resources from harm. This is done almost in all game parks.
Nature walks besides game drives allow exposure to most of the hidden attraction features in the park like wildlife animals you didn’t happen to see on a game drive, different bird species, and vegetation species like trees through different trails.
The Garama caverns in Mgahinga National Park, the Sempaya Hot Springs, and several crater lakes are just a few of the sights you may explore on a nature walk to help you relax after a tiring day of gorilla trekking.
The same applies to cultural walks though this lead mostly in communities around the parks, it’s a beautiful leisure activity that can be done or added after a hectic gorilla tracking experience. It involves walking through different communities and exploring new and amazing cultures associated with different tribes.
Like in Bwindi national park cultural trails are taken around the Batwa (pygmies) communities, these people have an amazing culture, and their lifestyle of living and feeding is overwhelming. Having interactions with them you discover a lot of things right from farming methods, treatment by natural herbs, mind-blowing cultural dances, and how they managed to survive through the forests.
Visiting Karamojong communities in Kidepo national park is a thrilling experience to memorize, their way of living body piercing, dressing codes exploring cattle herds, weaving, and dynamic cultural dances can leave you tickling.
Visitors enjoy interacting with these communities and can support their daily activities by buying their handcraft materials to sustain their livelihood. Nature / cultural encounters can be done in Semuliki national park, Kidepo national park, Murchison falls national park, Kibale national parks, Bwindi impenetrable national park, and other parks
Birding
Uganda is blessed with biodiversity ranging from birds to about 1,065 species inhabited in different areas of wetlands, plantains, lakes and river shores, and forests. Birds have extraordinary voices from their sounds, astonishing colors wonderful mantle ornaments, and pranks that tempt people to grasp and pay attention to birds’ nature. It ought to be the main activity but it can remit and boost your moods after gorilla trekking exploration.
In Uganda different bird species are observed throughout all the national parks, such birds include, the black bee-eater, gull-billed tern, African jacana, black-billed weaver, shoe bills, swamp flycatcher, white-winged warbler, pigmy goose, falcons, great-blue Turaco, double-toothed barbet, red-throated bee-eater, African skimmer, black-backed gulls, brown babbler, white-crested Turaco, Silver bird mentioned but a few.
You can visit Murchison national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Kidepo national park, Lake Mburo national park, Semuliki national park Lake Bunyonyi on boat canoeing to its islands, Kibale national park, Entebbe botanical gardens, Mabamba bay wetlands, and others for a wonderful encounter with a variety of bird species.
White Water Rafting
After a strenuous gorilla walk in Bwindi Forest or Mgahinga National Parks, the most adrenaline-filled sport to perform is white water rafting. Whitewater rafting teaches participants how to maintain their composure in the face of intense wave pressure. The chance to go whitewater rafting on the world’s longest river is incredible and it is one of the nicest things to do in Uganda. When you go whitewater rafting in Jinja, you pass through wild, violent rapids in the middle of the Nile.
People have the option of choosing between the straightforward and challenging rafting routes. Grade 3 rafting is an option for those who aren’t ready for Levels 4 and 5 such as families can choose to take the gentler float excursion that is intended to let them appreciate the river without having to deal with the main rapids.
The best white water rafting is done on the Nile River in Jinja city, and it takes one or two days to obtain the exhilarating experience. It’s a nice feeling you shouldn’t miss when you visit Uganda.
Zip-lining
The Mabira woodland forest is the ideal location for zip-lining. The Mabira Forest has a mega zip-line system that will take you high above the forest, between the tallest trees. When you’re high in the forest canopy, the experience makes you act like a monkey.
However, the adrenaline also provides stunning views of the various forest layers, the sounds of the falls, some small primates like the grey-cheeked mangabeys, red-tailed monkeys, bird species, and other mammals that are found in Mabira forest. Before arriving in Jinja for additional activities, tourists can take a day trip through the Mabira forest for a fantastic zip line adventure.
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