The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park -A Cultural Encounter
Seeing the Forest through the eyes of its First People – The Batwa People
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park introduces most tourists to the first people of the Forest, “the Batwa People,” who lived here for thousands of years before any other ethnic group migrated to the area. Cultural encounters such as the Batwa Trail are not offered in Rwanda or DR Congo, where they live.
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park is an immersion, authentic Cultural Encounter where you are shown how the Batwa lived in the Rainforest. It is a not to miss activity.
English Speaking Elders from the Batwa Community guide you. They know the Rainforest found here and their culture and traditions. They were evicted from their ancient habitats when parks such as Mgahinga Gorilla Parks in 1991, but they have not forgotten their beloved forests. For them, the cultural Batwa Trail is a return to their Home.
Why should I take the Batwa Trail? – Who are the Batwa People?
The Batwa were keepers of the Rain Forests of Africa stretching from Cameroon into Southwest Uganda, an indigenous people. They lived here for thousands of years before Bantu Tribes such as the Bakiga and others came here and established villages and farms.
/when the Bantu Ethnic Groups migrated here from other parts of Africa, they cut down and slash burned the Forest areas where the Batwa lived to create farmlands and grazing areas for their cattle. This caused conflicts between the first people of forests and the newcomers. The small in stature Batwa’s lost out against the Bantu Ethnic groups.
The Batwa had lived in harmony with the Forest, leaving a shallow ecological footprint behind them. They established no villages, built no permanent structures, and lived as hunters and gatherers moving according to cultural customs and the year’s seasons. As other ethnic groups moved into the area and turned forests into farming and grazing lands, their living space in the Forest began to shrink.
As National Parks were established in Uganda, the original People of the Forest, the first People in Southwest Uganda, the Batwa, were evicted without compensation from the forests and became Conservation refugees. Later, Bantus, unlike the Batwa, were compensated since they had land titles.
Gorilla Conservationists saw the Batwa as a threat and as poachers. Dian Fossey’s 1983 “Gorillas in the Mist” book and the subsequent blockbuster Hollywood Film with Sigourney Weaver only reinforced the erroneous views of Conservationists about the Batwa being evil poachers. Conservationists pressured the governments of Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo, then Zaire, to evict the Batwa from Mountain Gorilla Territories.
In 1991 as Parks were established in Uganda, the Batwa were evicted from parks and national forests in Southwest Uganda. Since then, the Batwa have been Conservation Refugees living as squatters and serfs on other people’s land. Like the Romani People of Europe, they were portrayed as thieves, lazy, drunkards, Ganja (Marijuana) potheads, and poachers. They were and are now a people without a voice, losing their culture and, more importantly, their identity as a people.
They have become the least and the last of Uganda, a people without a voice. With assistance from groups such as the Kellerman Foundation, they have managed to speak up and out in recent times. Their voices are heard, and the Batwa Trail is one small step in the Right Direction.
The Dream of the Batwa is to return to the Forest. Their hearts long for it, and their sacred places are found there. They were keepers of the Forest, not destroyers. The Mountain Gorillas were seen as part of their family.
Good News: In 2021, the constitutional court of Uganda unanimously voted that the rights of the Batwa had been violated. How to rectify the wrongs has been put into the hands of Uganda’s High Court. There is the possibility that a return of some kind could be worked out. Find out more information about the Batwa People here.
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park:
Make the Batwa Trail a part of your time in Uganda on Safari!
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park begins with a welcoming orientation by Batwa Elders, who lead you on the Trail. Every culture, every people group, including the Batwa, has a Genesis, an “in the beginning story,” and today, you will hear some of it.
Please note: the animal skins are goat skins, not wild animals.
The Batwa Trail takes place in the shadows of the Virunga Volcanoes, locally called the Mufumbiro Mountains, the Mountains that cook. In Mgahinga Gorilla Park, there are three Volcanoes, and you are taken into the Forest and see different Vegetation zones in the African-Montane Rainforest.
Shortly after the Batwa Trail commences, the Batwa Elders kneel in a spot traditionally used to pray for guidance and blessing as they enter the Forest. The Batwa practiced, and some still do, a form of traditional animist religion. Where entities
such as animals (Mountain Gorillas), plants, and trees possess a spiritual essence, they also were in tune with objects above them, such as the Moon, whom they credited and turned to for fertility.
You will learn about nutritious leaves, plants, and berries found in the Forest that you might not even notice. The plants, roots, herbs, and bark from the Batwa trees have been used for centuries.
The black crust of ants’ nests applies treatment for fungal infections to the skin. You see plants, and the Batwa people see a pharmacy. Many of the treatments work as well as the modern medical ones.
The Batwa, like all of us, have a sweet tooth. Wild Honey is a much sought-after treat; you will learn how to extract it and eat it in the Forest.
Today, you will learn how to transport water in bamboo and make a fire in an old way. How to hunt, build shelters and live in the Forest.
The Batwa Elders that lead you on the Trail will show you their hunting and trapping techniques, starting a fire with a stick, gathering food, berries, and Honey, and what they used as shelter living in the Forest. You will see that they lived a lifestyle with minimal ecological impact on their environment and surroundings.
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park ends inside Ngarama Cave, a low-ceilinged lava tube beneath the mountain where the King used to hold his councils and where women and children hid during battle.
The Cave was a self-contained hiding place for the community during times of war. Water was available, and fires were lit to keep warm and illuminate the area. There was a shaft for the smoke to escape, and they could cook.
A group of Batwa women in the darkness begins to sing and act out a song of sadness about the loss of their beloved Forest and their desire to return to what is now Mgahinga Gorilla Park.
For those that might wonder whether the Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park is an authentic cultural experience – read about it here.
The Batwa Cultural Trail – Our Take as a Ugandan Tour Operator
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park is a partial answer to the desire of the Batwa People wanting to return to 
the Forest. It is a restoration of Batwa Dignity and keeping the Cultural Ways and Traditions of the Batwa alive. Like indigenous people around the world, they have lost their traditional land. Showing visitors what their life in the Forest was like is positive.
We suggest you refrain from taking the pictures one often sees on social media of a tall Western Tourist with the shorter Batwa. The Batwa people deserve more, and showing respect and dignity is one.
The Batwa Trail is not poverty tourism. Pity is not needed; empowerment is. Your presence makes a slight difference.
While taking the Batwa Trail, we recommend staying at Mount Gahinga Lodge. Their foundation has built the Gahinga Batwa Village and designed for the Batwa, a place where the culture of the Batwa is kept alive. There is a school and a vocational training center, but cultural encounters with the Batwa take place for guests from the lodge.
Other activities that can be done here are Gorilla Treks, day hikes consisting of Volcano climbs, birding, nature walks, and Golden Monkey Tracking.
Enjoy the Batwa Trail and learn the ways of the first people of the Forest, a one-of-a-kind experience in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa.
The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park is not missed by visitors to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla Park. Read more about Things to do and see in Mgahinga Gorilla Park.
Watch about the Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorlla Park
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4EtWrJiyto[/embedyt]
Please let us know if you are interested in adding The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla Park to your Safari Itinerary with us.
