Cultural tours in Bwindi: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is found in a community that depends on Agriculture. Bafumbira, Bakinga and Batwa are the natives of the region. You will explore their cultural heritage when on a gorilla trekking tour in Uganda.

The Batwa are commonly known as pygmies who are referred to as short people who lived as hunter gatherers. They stayed in Afromontane tropical rain forests of Bwindi before it was gazette by government as a national park. Nagasian is the god that Batwa believe to have allowed them to take care of forests. 4000 years ago, the Batwa were the inhabitants for forests that are found in the great lakes region before the migration of Bantu people to the same region. The Batwa depended on fruits and shrub, edible wild roots, medicinal plant extraction, wild honey and hunting using arrows and bows.

In 1992, government decided to evict the Batwa from their land since they wanted to gazette the land as a national park to help in conservation of gorillas and other mammals so as to promote tourism in the region. The Batwa had to settle outside their homeland and had to look for new skills of survival since hunting was no more in the newly gazette national park. Life was not easy for the Batwa especially for serving in a new area but later alone missionaries came and they bought land for the Batwa. They decide to construct hospitals and schools plus other facilities so as to improve the living standards of the Batwa. Projects like The Batwa Development Program (BDB) were also put in place to conserve and protect the heritage of the Batwa.

When you visit the Batwa and you really want to explore their culture, you will not miss out things like, cultural dances and traditional songs performances, ways of cooking and serving meals, medication using traditional herbs, beautiful African crafting like fabrics, bee wax candles and wood carvings, education, juice making, beer brewing and gin made out of bananas and all these will make your cultural encounter entertaining.

Buhoma Community Tours

It will take a visitor 3-4 hours to have moved around the Buhoma community. You will start cultural tours in the north of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Uganda by spotting a shop that is selling handcrafts like fabrics, wood carvings and beeswax candles. After that you will move around the village homesteads trying to learn the ways of living for the local people. The activities for batwa that they adopted after being evicted from the forest include; using medicinal herbs to cure illnesses, local brewing and juice making, hospitals and schools, maize milling and also microfinance services.

Nkuringo Community Conservation and Development Foundation (NCCDF) cultural encounter.

Nkuringo Community Conservation and Development Association is found in south western parts of Bwindi. You will enjoy the community walk since the area has wonderful views of Virunga ranges. As you explore the community, you will come across blacksmith making of machetes and knives and also the homesteads of local people which are mainly huts, making of cooking pots, grinding stones and also traditional equipment for brewing local waragi. There are some traditional healers who will explain to you on how to use shrubs for cure ailments.

Try to visit the community members and take lunch with them and after that you can proceed with nature walks in the village where the Bakiga and Batwa local people stay. You will see a number of activities being practiced ranging from performing cultural songs and dances to hunting to fishing to observing handcrafts like mats, baskets, sandals, bags and medicinal herbals that cure various diseases. You will also know the Batwa are good storytellers on their past life since they were the first to live in the forest.  Nkuringo has the most budget safari lodging, Nkuringo gorilla camp and mountain gorilla lodge which serves a sweet and delicious meals.

Nkuringo Cultural Centre (NCC) cultural tours

This is a wonderful cultural encounter that is found within Nkuringo community. This encounter accepts visitors to learn and acquire new skills as they participate in activities like from weaving, traditional cooking, dancing, and drumming as they are also on a gorilla safari. You will also interact and discuss with local people who can also give you an amazing nature walk through their villages as you are also trying to explore and have a picture of their living life styles. You will learn the kiga dances by visiting local schools.

Nyundo Community Eco-Trails Cultural tours

Nyundo residents once experienced a transition of climate whereby rainfall amounts reduced and soil erosion also took place on the hilly sides as mist reduced thus low crop production. When this took place the Nyundo residents decided that they should restore Nyundo forest so as to overcome these calamities and also to promote eco-tourism. Their plan was successful, the forest flourished and climate effects where reversed to normal. There forest walks are well organized and the forest trails take you direct to King Bakyara’s waterfall, local brewing distillery, blacksmith, beekeeper, banana plantation. Cattle farm, yogurt making, millet bread preparation and craft making.

Rubuguri Village Walk (NCC) Cultural tours

The walk through Rubuguri Village which is in the south of Bwindi gives a visitor a chance to explore the lifestyle of Rubuguri community members.  Kiga and Kifumbira are the cultures that attract the tourist in this region. You will take a walk through their homesteads to the local swamp and also through the whole village. You will tour local schools like St. Peters Primary School where kiga dances are a common practice and thus giving a chance to a visitor to explore cultural tours in Bwindi.