TRAVEL UGANDA || Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Описание: One of the bucket list experiences that we circled as soon as we started planning our travelling route was coming to Uganda to go and mountain gorillas in the wild. There are only a few countries where you can do this, and after researching the various options we decided to go to Uganda, and reached out to a local tour operator, Akiika Expeditions. At the time of our trip, this was a 1-man band operation run by a guy called Joan, and he helped scope out and deliver an itinerary for our trip. He was amazing, and we can't thank him enough for making this dream come true for us!

Our time in Uganda started with a flight into Entebbe, where we had 1 evening to wander around a little bit and grab some food (the food in Uganda was surprisingly good by the way!!), before settling down for an early night. It was then up early to start the 9hr drive down to Bwindi Impenetrable forest, where we be setting out from for the gorilla trekking. On the way Joan pulled over to point out a herd of zebras just on the other side of a fence, along with several crowned cranes (national bird of Uganda) and countless cattle being herded around.

On the day of the trek, we set off in the early hours to get to the ranger station. Here we were put into groups according to our perceived fitness levels and assigned our gorilla family group which we would be trekking to find. Ours was the Xmas family, as the dominant silverback of the group (Christmas) was born on 25th December. Park rangers stay with the gorillas pretty much around the clock to make sure they're protected from poachers, and they radio the rangers accompanying the trekkers to let them know where the family is currently located, so fortunately there isn't much chance of NOT seeing the gorillas; it's just a case of how long it will take you to reach them!

The trek down into the valley was made a little difficult by the fact that it had rained through the night, so the steep paths down were really muddy and it was often easiest to just slide down sections on your backside. It got a little easier when the land levelled off and it was just the jungle and various streams to navigate. After about 90 minutes of walking, we came to the gorillas. You need to wear face masks to minimise the risk of transmitting diseases to the gorillas, particularly since Covid, so we paused to put these on and then it was time to see them in action!

We saw Christmas straight away; a massive silverback sat slighting uphill, munching away and keeping an eye on the other members of his group. The family also comprised 4 females, an adolescent 'blackback' male and 2 babies. Each gorilla family is only subjected to 1 tourist group per day, with no more than 8 tourists per group and each visit lasting no more than 45 minutes. This ensures the gorillas get their space. Our time flew by so quickly, watching the babies hound the blackback male and him playfighting back. It was impossible to watch without seeing the similarities to human families. Christmas was far too serious for playing and made a display as he was walking down the hill, by suddenly charging through a branch the thickness of my arm. It snapped like a matchstick. Point made. Before long our time with the family was over and it was time to make the long trek back to the top of the valley (this took a bit longer than going down- it was bloody tough!!!), where Joan was waiting with fresh pineapple to get some energy back as we processed the incredible experience we'd just had.

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