Updated
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was created in 1991 from forest reserves first protected in 1932. The change to a national park gave mountain gorillas strong protection and opened the way for gorilla tourism, which began in 1993, and for UNESCO World Heritage listing in 1994. But it also ended local people’s access to the forest, including the Batwa, who had lived there for generations.
From forest reserve to national park
The colonial government set aside parts of the forest as the Kasatora and Kayonza crown forest reserves in 1932, later combining them as the Impenetrable Central Crown Forest. It became a game sanctuary for gorillas in 1961, but logging, mining and hunting continued. Concern about gorilla numbers and forest loss led Uganda to upgrade Bwindi, together with Mgahinga, to national park status in 1991.
The impact on local people
Gazettement banned farming, hunting, timber cutting and pit-sawing, and many families lost income. The Batwa were evicted from the forest with little or no compensation, and their marginalisation is still a major issue. Revenue sharing, multiple-use zones for limited harvesting, and later projects such as the Batwa trail and land purchases tried to address these losses, with mixed success. See our guide to the Batwa trail.
What followed
The first habituated gorilla family, Mubare, opened to visitors in 1993, and UNESCO listed Bwindi as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Gorilla numbers in Bwindi have grown since. See our guides to Bwindi’s World Heritage status and tourism and communities.
The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. Read more in our history of Uganda’s national parks.
Frequently asked questions
In 1991.
Parts became crown forest reserves in 1932.
In 1993, with the Mubare family.
They were evicted from the forest when it became a national park.
