The place
Mountain gorillas live in exactly two places on earth: the Virunga Massif, where Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC meet, and Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The most recent full census put the world population at just over a thousand — small, but rising, which makes them the only great ape whose numbers are currently going up.
A trek starts early from the forest edge, with trackers already out ahead of you. It can take forty minutes or the better part of a day, uphill through nettles and wet vegetation at altitude. When you reach the family you get one hour — the strict limit that makes habituation sustainable — usually from around seven metres, while a silverback ignores you completely and the juveniles very much do not. Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park is the quicker, more polished option, an easy drive from Kigali; Uganda's Bwindi is wilder, cheaper to permit, and holds roughly half the world's mountain gorillas.
Why go
The single most affecting hour we can put into an itinerary.
When to visit
Trekking runs year-round, but the drier stretches — June to September, and December to February — make the forest floor far more manageable underfoot. The wetter months mean harder walking and softer rates, and the gorillas themselves are entirely indifferent either way.
■ Prime ■ Good ▪ Shoulder
Ready when you are
Permits are limited and released well ahead, so gorilla treks are the one element we book first and build the rest of the journey around.
