Gorillas in Uganda

Situated on the very southern tip of Uganda, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorillas national parks are cumulatively home to more than half of the world’s wild mountain gorillas. These two parks are what remain of dwindling mist forests that once draped the mountain slopes across southern Uganda. Fortunately, these precious wilderness areas are fiercely protected today, as conservation authorities seek to preserve the havens of our endangered ape relatives in the country known as ‘The Pearl of Africa’.

Gorilla trekking is the ultimate bucket-list activity, and it just so happens that the best time to embark on a trek is in the short dry (well, dry for a rainforest) season that occurs in January and February.

An impenetrable forest

Covering around 300 km2, the mystically-named Bwindi Impenetrable Forest echoes with the roars of gorillas and the calls of numerous other primate species. The easiest way to enter the national park is via a charter flight to one of the airfields, although offroad vehicle access is also possible from the capital of Kampala or the town of Kabale during the dry season. Thanks to concerted conservation efforts, the number of mountain gorillas here has steadily increased to more than 300. You’ll need a reasonable level of fitness to see them, as treks normally take several hours of walking through tangled forest, often in slippery conditions. The hard work normally pays off, however, as finding the gorillas is virtually guaranteed. The guides are expert trackers, and can spot seemingly invisible signs of the troops moving through the undergrowth. Once you find them, the troops are completely comfortable around humans, allowing you to spend an hour with them almost at touching distance. As you watch magnificent silverbacks chomping on vegetation and playful youngsters scrambling around like naughty children, your guide will share fascinating facts about the lives and behaviour of one of our closest relatives. It feels all too soon that you have to leave the gorillas, but your time in the forest should also yield encounters with a colourful cast of birds, monkeys, ferns, orchids and butterflies.

Where gold meets silver

Uganda’s smallest national park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is big on scenery, playing host to volcanic peaks, woodlands, forests and caves. The quickest way to reach the park is via a one hour flight from the town of Entebbe to the Kisoro Airstrip, but a four wheel drive vehicle can also be used to take the journey from the capital of Kampala and through Kabale. Because Mgahinga is contiguous with national parks in Rwanda and the DRC, gorilla viewing is less reliable than in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, as the one habituated group sometimes sneaks over the border. Tourists still have a very good chance of encountering them, with gorilla trekking safaris departing from the Ntebeko Entrance gate in the morning. The park is also home to the rare and beautiful golden monkey, giving rise to the brochure name “Where gold meets silver”.

*This article was written by a TWNA journalist, Dale Hes for The Traveller magazine.