Uganda: A Real Jungle Expedition to the Gorillas

When considering a Gorilla Safari, it’s essential to consider several factors, including your physical fitness, the season, and the expected weather conditions. Are you interested in seeing other primates, animals and birds? We’ve created a little cheat sheet below of what to expect if you go on a Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda.

Bwindi Impenetrable Park

The Terrain

Has this name for a reason! The terrain is very steep, rugged, and heavily forested. It is a dense jungle with thick undergrowth, and often includes pushing through thick vegetation. Trails are narrow, natural paths rather than clearly defined tracks. Think valleys, ridges, mud, streams to make your adventure that much more exciting!

Hiking Style

The trekking can be more physically demanding than that for example, in Rwanda. The climbs are longer and steeper as gorilla families range widely through the mountains.

Sensory Immersion

The forest is never quiet, so you’ll hear tropical birds calling overhead, monkeys rustling above, the hum of insects and distant tree cracking where gorillas or even forest elephants move. The humidity is high, the air is earthy, and the scent of fresh vegetation surrounds you.

Finding the Gorillas

Trekking can be 1 – 6 hours each way, depending on where your gorilla family is. It’s physically intense but incredibly exhilarating. What normally happens is your guide will be radioed by the trackers, once the gorilla family has been found. Remember, you will have only 1 hour with a family, so time is sacred. Here is a little snippet of what it looks like when you find the family:

Why only 1 hour with the gorillas?

Mountain gorillas are wild, endangered animals, and the 1-hour viewing limit is designed to protect them. Gorillas are highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive, therefore, lots of people around them for long periods can raise stress levels and change their natural behaviour. 1 hour ensures that there is reduced pressure of being surrounded by humans, limited interruption to feeding, resting, nursing, and social interaction. The goal is to keep gorillas wild and not habituated to constant human presence.

What happens if I’d like to see them the next day?

You may be able to see the gorillas the next day, or another family, but you will require another trekking permit. The aim is to ensure that the gorillas are not stressed or exhausted by human beings.

There is one special exception in Uganda:

Gorilla Habituation Experience (GHE) – 4 hours

In Bwindi, you can join researchers and trackers working with semi-habituated families and spend up to 4 hours with them. This experience obviously costs more, involves wilder gorillas and often requires tougher trekking. But it is an incredible, deeper wildlife immersion.