Gorilla tracking and safari in April - is the weather really all that bad?

Hi - I'm after some advice from anyone who lives in Uganda or has travelled there in April. I am hoping to go gorilla trekking and on safari in the middle two weeks of April 2013 (roughly 8th to 18th) and I am getting conflicting information about the weather.

British tour operators seem to think it will be monsoon-like and discourage people from travelling to the country in that month - but reading through people's experiences online, it doesn't seem too bad.

Rough plan is to visit Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Forest, Mgahinga Gorilla Park and Lake Mburo Park.

Main priority is to see gorillas but keen to get a wide experience of game on the safaris in various national parks. I'm from Zimbabwe and my experience of the 'rainy' season is heavy downpours that don't last long in between hot sunny periods.

I don't mind a bit of rain and as April is the only month I can really go to Uganda I am keen to hear opinions on whether it is worth it or whether the trip will be a total washout!

Any advice or experiences you have to share about travelling in the country in April would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks!

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Talk of monsoon isn't far off. When people say 'monsoon' they usually think of days of constant hard rain, whereas the actual monsoon is usually very hard rain at consistent times of each day lasting for about an hour, with further longer rainfall at night. Which is exactly what Uganda experiences in the wet season.

April is the rainy season and you will get rained on but in Lake Mburo and QEP, it won't really get you wet as i assume you will be in game parks and in cars. These flat plains tend to be a bit more predictable as you can see the rain coming for miles off, especially in QEP when it hangs in the Rwenzoris. I was in QEP late april this year for three days, it rained one night from 7pm to 7am and then at no other times, it was in fact perfect weather, if a bit hot!

Bwindi it will rain, usually in the morning and later afternoon and in the high regions it can hang around for a few hours but there is less chance of rain here than in nearby Parc National Volcanoes or, Mgahinga Gorilla Park (thats not to say it won't rain, as it will, but it will rain less).

You will get soaked in Mgahinga, no doubt about it if you do any activity in the park. A good sign is usually to look at Mt Muhavura in the morning, if it has a circle of cloud on its summit like a disc that then descends clouding it out, then it will rain a lot as the storm clouds from on its summit and then a combination of air pressure and gravity form rain clouds which get bigger and heavier until all three mountains are white out with cloud. Any trip into the park (golden monkey or volcano climb) needs to start as early as possible as usually these clouds begin at first light and might give you perhaps five hours before the rain starts so at least you could summit Gahinga or Sabyinyo volcanoes before it gets wet, but you won't have good views at the top sadly unless you run up there.

General traveling and road conditions will be ok,, none of these areas have notoriously bad sections of road, you might find the odd flood but it should be ok for most of the trip. By far the wettest parts of the country are the summits of the Rwenzoris and the Mgahinga area, certainly no where else will there be anywhere near the type of rain that would make me think twice about a trip there.

Thanks so much for your incredibly informative reply! Gives me a bit more confidence about visiting in April - although we might take your advice and avoid Maghinga. It seems there is so much to see in other areas of Uganda that trying to fit everything in to 10-14 days is going to be a bit of a struggle.

Your help and advice is hugely appreciated.

although not booked yet, im planning on going to uganda in april also! why would the authorities still sell tickets to see thew gorillas if it was such bad weather! im sure itlll be fine on the main routes etc

please post any further info you find out regarding weather gorillas tours etc, id be interested to hear. i plan to visit independently and hopefully visti bwindi and the gorillas, im in two minds whether to book a tour now, or just arrange it all while im in kampala or kisoro.

thanks

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