Gorilla trekking

Mountain gorillas live in only a handful of forests, and the two easiest to reach are Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. A trek starts early with a briefing from the rangers, then a walk into the forest that can take anything from under an hour to most of the day, depending on where the family has moved.

When you reach them, you spend one hour with the group: silverbacks resting, mothers feeding, young gorillas playing in the undergrowth. Visitor numbers are limited each day and permits sell out, so we book them as early as possible.

Most trips pair the gorillas with chimpanzee tracking in Uganda's Kibale Forest or golden monkeys in Rwanda, and the two countries combine easily with a Kenya or Tanzania safari.