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| Bwindi Community Hospita |
When the first gorilla tracking was done in Uganda in 1993 after
the first gorilla group was habituated, Buhoma, a little known place
then, and very remote, located deep in Bwindi forest, emerged as one of
the most known areas in the world and centre for gorilla tourism. Buhoma and Nkwenda villages are found in Mukono
parish in Kayonza Sub County Kanungu District in south western Uganda in
the forest (later to be called Bwindi impenetrable national park after
it was gazetted in 1991.)
Buhoma has since been elevated to town board
status by the Kanungu district local government following several
developments that came with gorilla tourism.
On April 1, 1993, the first gorilla tracking was
allowed in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park following gazetting of the
park on August 13, 1991 by the National Resistance Council.
Several activities followed the gazettement of the
park including the habituation of the first primates of the Bubare
family led by the deceased Ruhondeza Silver.
Other two groups Habinyanja and Kateregwe were
later habituated making the three groups the only habituated then, till
2003. This caused a great development to the area making it an
absolutely tourist site.
Several locals were attracted to doing business as
craft makers, traditional dancers, transporters, and agriculturalists
for food supply to the expanding businesses.
With the aid of a Peace Corp Volunteer, John
Dubois, who led a team to habituate the first gorillas, the communities
in Mukono parish’s 12 villages were brought together and started up a
camping site with modern lodges later known as Buhoma Community Rest
Camp, the first tourist camp at Buhoma.
Since 1993, 12 other camps and local lodges and
hotels have been set up with the growing hospitality industry. They
include Gorilla Forest Camp, Buhoma Lodge, Buhoma Community Rest Camp,
Bwindi View Lodge, Lake Kitandara and Silver Back Lodge.
Others are Volcanoes Lodge, Engagi Lodge, Mahogany
Springs Lodge, Bwindi Guest Home, Gorilla Friends Lodge and Jungle View
lodge.
At Buhoma, everything changes if you are used to
the Ugandan way of life. The dollar is the currency used, bandas (semi
permanent tents) is where you sleep, English is the main language and
you subscribe to the norm of silence and no interruption.
The whole camping area and local community around,
described as the business centre by Uganda Wildlife Authority (Uwa), is
silent and you would not know that more than 2,000 people stay in the
area.
At the entry, UWA police check every person
entering. They escort you to access your destination if you have come
with one of the camps’ vehicles.
Outside the gate, business is booming. Mr Peter
Twebaze, a manager at Buhoma Community Rest Camp who for the last 17
years has been working in Buhoma tour camps says life at Bwindi changes
every day because of tourism.
“Ever since I got here, every day has been
different; this is because we have tourists coming in daily. It was so
remote at the beginning that one would not think of staying here for
three nights,” Mr Twebaze says.
