Days 2 and 3 – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
From Entebbe you get a short flight south to the rainforest of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home to the endangered mountain gorilla. Depending on the time of arrival you have the chance to do an afternoon village tour of Buhoma village or you can do one of the self-guided forest walks.
The following morning after an early breakfast you will head to the park headquarters for your gorilla tracking briefing. Groups are restricted to a maximum of 8 tourists all accompanied by park rangers and trackers. Each group is assigned a gorilla family and at the briefing you will learn more about your family as well as the rules and regulations. After the briefing you will head out into the Bwindi Forest in search of your gorilla family.
Bwindi is a mountainous park, clad in thick rainforest, so tracking can be tough going with steep muddy paths and thick undergrowth to work through. The rangers are in constant contact with the trackers who head out early morning to find the gorillas, so you and your group can head in the general direction of the family. Once you have located the family, you get to spend 1 hour with them as they go about their daily lives. This time limit is strictly enforced to ensure minimal disturbance on the family.
Spending this hour with them is an incredible privilege and is something you will treasure for a very long time.
Tracking can take anything from 30 minutes right up to a full day, depending on where your gorilla family is situated.