Face-to-face with the mountain gorillas of Uganda

No matter what I write, nor what photos I include below, nothing you are about to see or read will EVER be able to capture or communicate just how fascinating, intimidating, exciting, terrifying and downright awesome spending time with these stunning creatures in their own habitat is.

A decade ago now, I set about putting together the start of what has become a pretty lengthy and ambitious personal “bucket list”. One of the very first items I listed was to go trekking in search of Africa’s mountain gorillas – those HUGE, hairy, insanely human-like, gentle beasts who were, and to some extent still are, critically endangered.

Fast forward to today and I can finally, proudly, place a tick next to that list item. My fiancé and I recently returned from a month of travelling around East Africa taking in multiple amazing wildlife experiences including a day gorilla trekking in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in the south-western corner of Uganda.

Base camp for our mountain trekking was on the edge of the tranquil, picturesque Lake Bunyonyi – about 5-6 bumpy, dusty hours drive southwest of the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

You can be trekking for anywhere up to 6 hours on and off trail before you find a gorilla group. Luckily for us, our trackers found a group about an hour into our journey. We broke off the main trail, hacking our way through dense, heavily vined forest.

Our first glimpse of the 19-strong Kyaguriro group of gorillas was nothing short of breathtaking.

Being able to be so close and have the group so comfortable with our presence as they foraged for food was without doubt, a once in a lifetime experience.

For a full magical hour we quietly trailed the group, led by a pair of silverbacks. We followed as they travelled through a swamp, and then uphill into the sanctuary of some nearby trees.

All too soon we were forced to tear ourselves away from the gorilla group who had so graciously allowed us to spend part of our morning with them.

As part of our trip, we were fortunate enough to also be given the opportunity to have an encounter with chimpanzees, also in the wild. Travelling back towards Kampala through a number of small bustling towns, we arrived on the edge of the Kalinzu Forest.

The area was a perfect example of the struggle Africa’s beautiful and unique wildlife has in competing with encroaching development such as this sprawling tea plantation on the edge of the forest.

Wherever you go in Uganda, a crowd of gorgeous, inquisitive kids are bound to follow.

We set off early morning in search of a Chimpanzee ‘nest’ where we would hopefully find a group of the apes rising from their night’s sleep. Chimpanzee nightly nests consist of a number of leafy branches bent and laced together to form a solid base, high in the tree tops, which they then line with soft twigs and more leaves. Comfy!

Just like the gorillas a couple of days earlier, the chimpanzee trekking was hard work, but very rewarding. Unlike the gorilla experience, however, the Chimpanzees stuck to the tree tops, so flexible necks were the order of the day!

Coming face-to-face with our primate “cousins” in their natural habitat in the forests of Uganda was a special experience that has become the focal point of many discussions around dinner tables and BBQs with family and friends since our return.

We’re already tossing around ideas for our next adventure abroad. No matter what we decide on, our time in Uganda will be a tough one to top!

Over to you- is this on your bucket list?

• Flights to Africa