Bwindi National Park named among places with best hiking experiences in the world

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has been named by US television company CNN among the top 23 places in the world with the best hiking places.

The list released early this week placed Uganda’s Bwindi national park in number 15.

“Wildlife walks don't come more fascinating than a trip into Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where you can get up close and personal with the area's mountain gorilla population,” CNN says.

"As part of a wider itinerary, Yellow Zebra Safaris offer walks in which visitors are taken on hikes across the forest to meet habituated gorillas used to the presence of humans. Groups are typically limited to eight people.”

Found in Uganda’s southwest, the 331 square kilometer Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a bio diverse, mountainous area and home to a number of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.

Bwindi is home to 400 mountain gorillas and this is more than half of the total population of the rare species in the entire world.

The national park designated as a UNESCO  world heritage site is habitat for 120 species of mammals, 348 species of birds, 220 species of butterflies, 27 species of frogs, chameleons, geckos, and many other  endangered species.

It is a sanctuary for colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, hornbills and turacos.

The park is also among the most diverse forests in East Africa, with more than 1,000 flowering plant species, including 163 species of trees and 104 species of ferns.

There are 14 habituated mountain gorilla groups that are open to tourism in four different sectors including Buhoma, Ruhijja, Rushaga and the Nkuringo.