This trip looks nothing like a savannah safari. You are in Uganda, in the forest, and the moment you came for lasts exactly one hour: the one spent a few metres from a mountain gorilla family in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The whole itinerary is built around that hour.

Where it happens

Bwindi rises from 1,160 to 2,607 metres and is divided into four trekking sectors: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. The park holds twenty-five gorilla families habituated to human presence, nine of which are open to visitors. Your sector comes with the permit, and it determines where you sleep the night before.

The permit, and why you book early

• Eight visitors per gorilla family per day, not one more
• One hour with the animals, timed by the ranger
• Minimum age fifteen, no exceptions
• A named permit, tied to one sector and one date

The number of permits issued each day is therefore very limited, and the best dates go months ahead. It is the one part of the trip you cannot improvise: the permit comes first, the itinerary second.

The hike, honestly

Depending on the family being followed that day, the walk lasts from thirty minutes to four hours or more, uphill, in wet forest where the ground slides. Trackers set out early to locate the group and guide visitors to it. Porters are available on site and are well worth their cost, for your back and for the local economy. Waterproof boots, gardening gloves against the nettles, a windbreaker: the list is short but it matters.

What surrounds the gorilla hour

The circuit starts in Entebbe and crosses Uganda from north to southwest before reaching Bwindi. Every stop earns its place.

• Jinja and Murchison Falls, where the Nile squeezes through a gap a few metres wide
• Ziwa, on foot, the only place in the country to see rhinos
• Lake Albert, under canvas, and the Budongo forest for chimpanzees
• The Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth Park, where elephants and hippos meet at the water
• Bwindi and its gorilla hour, the heart of the trip
• Golden monkeys, then Lake Bunyonyi to wind down
• Optional rafting on the Nile, for those the forest did not tire enough

When to go

Gorillas can be visited year round. The dry seasons, December to February and June to September, make the trails less slippery and the permits more contested. In the rains the forest is harder going, but the vegetation is spectacular and the groups sometimes come lower, which shortens the walk.

Before booking

Check Uganda’s entry requirements and your insurance coverage, especially if an official advisory exists when you buy the policy. For the other East Africa Camps options, see the camps, the Nyota Classic Safari and The Great Migration. Talk to an advisor. Quebec permit 702703.