Village and pygmy walks in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Village and pygmy walks in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park-The Batwa, also known as “Twa” or “Pygmies,” are an indigenous people of the equatorial forests of the Great Lakes region, historically hunter-gatherers, who have faced displacement and marginalization due to conservation efforts and land policies.

In 1992, the lives of the Batwa pygmies changed forever. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park and World Heritage Site to protect the 350 endangered mountain gorillas within its boundaries. The Batwa were evicted from the park. Since they had no title to land, they were given no compensation. The Batwa became conservation refugees in an unfamiliar habitat.

Visiting Batwa who people that lived in the forest for many years. Due to pressure from conservation, they were relocated to the nearby villages and you visit their new homesteads and interact with them and share how life was before and how life is of current.

This visits can be organized the day before Mountain Gorilla trekking or after, the walks takes typically 3 hours through the village.

What to see and Experience in the Walk.

This walks are led by local village guides who speaks the local language of the Batwa pygmies, the walks generally start by a short drive from your lodge to the village side where you will visit a tea farm, Coffee farm and the local banana brewing before meeting the Pygmies. While with the pygmies the local village will interpret the story of the Batwa after you will visit their new social life including housing and they will also demonstrate how they used to live in the forest.