Bwindi

About Bwindi

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park covers a tangle of steep, forested ridges in Uganda's far south-west, where the Albertine Rift climbs towards the Congo border. The name fits: vines, ferns and fallen trunks crowd the slopes, mist sits in the valleys until mid-morning, and the old forest shelters a huge range of trees, butterflies and birds. It is also home to close to half of the world's mountain gorillas.

Treks start from one of four trailheads, Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga or Nkuringo, where rangers brief your small group before you follow trackers who have gone ahead to find the family. The walk can take under an hour or most of a day through mud and undergrowth, and porters from nearby villages will carry your bag and steady you on steep banks. Then you get one hour with the gorillas, close enough to hear a silverback's stomach rumble. Walks with the Batwa, the forest's original people, and birding for Albertine Rift species round out your stay.

Gorilla permits are included in our trips, and trekkers must be at least 15. Trekking runs all year, but June to September and December to February are drier. Fly from Nairobi to Entebbe, then on to Kihihi or Kisoro, or drive down from Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha's tree-climbing lions. The southern sectors are close to Lake Bunyonyi and the Rwandan border.