An hour in the forest with a mountain gorilla family changes your sense of what is possible.
An hour that rearranges you
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is exactly as named — a tangle of ancient rainforest on the Uganda-DRC border, home to nearly half the world's mountain gorillas. Trekking to a habituated family can take one sweaty hour or six, depending on where they have wandered; the guides read broken stems and knuckle-prints like a newspaper.
When you find them, you are given one hour. A silverback the size of a small car regards you with something close to boredom while juveniles tumble through the undergrowth an arm's length away.
Planning the trek
- Permits are limited and sell out months ahead — book early through a licensed operator.
- You will need decent boots, gaiters and gloves; the forest earns its name.
- Hire a porter at the trailhead; it eases the climb and puts money into the community.
It is not a cheap hour, and it is worth every cent. Few wildlife encounters leave you as quietly changed as sharing a hillside with a gorilla family going about its afternoon.
