Rwanda and Uganda are stunning regions. Self-drive Safaris can be shared in these two countries because there is so much more to choose from…
Our goals are to brand this region as the Gorillas Highlands and make it a destination on everybody’s mind. Give visitors reasons to spend more time here and ensure that their stay benefits local people.
Who are we? We are an informal association of people who work in tourism, economic development, media and other fields. We hope you join our network or become our champion
Batwa” Pygmies” are one of the oldest peoples in Africa. They roamed the forests looking for fruits and honey and hunted with bows and trained dogs. As the woods were cut down by the Bantu, Batwa numbers dwindled. In the 1980s and 1990S, they were evicted from national parks without compensation. Recently the authorities have shown more understanding and some progress has been made.
Please be cautious when offered to “see the pygmies” and avoid exploitation of the Batwa. Three recommended activities resemble each other and show their history in the forest, involving costumes and drama:
Batwa Experience at Buhoma, Buniga Forest Walk at Nkuringo and the Batwa Trial in Mgahinga. A different approach is offered through Batwa Today in Echuya Forest (p.48).
The Bantus- the people of Rwanda, the Bakiga of Kabale and the Bafumbira of Kisoro are primarily mixed crop and livestock farmers. They have similar origins but are divided by language (Kinyarwanda/Rufumbira and Rukiga) their traditional settlement was a compound with separate houses for wives and their children; each wife had her livestock and field. Nowadays, high population density and land fragmentation have led to heavy migrations.
Mountain gorillas evolved with the rise of the volcanoes a million years ago, adapting to the terrain by becoming larger than lowland gorillas and with thicker fur. They are herbivores who sometimes eat ants and termites. Only 880 mountain gorillas exist in the world but the number is increasing. They can be visited in three parks: volcanoes, Bwindi, and Mgahinga.
Golden monkeys who share the same environment are also endangered but much less researched. They spend much of their time in the bamboo zone, eating bamboo shoots. Mgahinga NP and Volcanoes NP are the places to see them.
Also present in the area are elephants, buffalos, chimps, baboons, blue and Redtail monkeys, gorillas (skunk-like creatures) and many other animals. These safaris can be done on a self-drive tour combining Rwanda and Uganda.
