Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Today was the day that I have been waiting decades for - my first gorilla trek! My stomach was a ball of nerves all morning as I ate breakfast and packed my backpack for the trek. Our luck with encountering chimpanzees and lions was terrible, and I was nervous that would carry over into today. Boy, was I ever wrong.

We checked in at the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park headquarters, had our temperatures taken and then enjoyed the local cultural show while we waited for all the hikers to arrive. 

Then the process of assigning travelers to groups began. This is when our luck turned. We had been assigned the Rushegura family of gorillas. This is the largest family in the area - with 17 members, including 2 silverbacks, 4 toddlers and a one-month old baby! (Many of the families are only comprised of 6-8 gorillas, and only a few have young children, so this was really special!)   

We met our rangers and porters and we began our hike in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

The scenery was incredible - it was such a dense, lush jungle, with vines and moss hanging throughout. At this point, we had no idea what kind of hike lay before us. It could be just an hour or two to a nearby spot on the mountain, or it could be a hike of several hours to the very top of the mountain - it was all up to our gorilla family and where they decided to go today - and our guides would not set any expectations with estimates.

We climbed up and down (but mostly up), crossed rivers by hopping on rocks, and made our way through the magical forest.

Suddenly, only an hour into the hike, I heard the call of the tracker in the distance, and the response call of our guide.  That could only mean one thing - we were there! I could not believe that we arrived so quickly with such a (relatively) easy hike!

We grouped up, put on our masks, talked through rules, and then joined our gorilla family in the forest. My eyes flooded with tears as I first spotted them, relaxing in the brush. No words can describe the feeling!

For the next hour, we were amongst the gorillas. While I tried to take as many photos and videos as I could, I decided part way through that I didn’t want that distraction - so I put my phone away and allowed myself to fully experience the moment. 

I spent most of my time playing with one of the two year old gorillas. He would test his boundaries by coming closer and closer to me, until the silverback would grunt, warning him to back up. He would obey, but then would be right back to his curious game a few seconds later, hitting us with plant branches and seeing just how close he could get (his brother even ran through and shoved me at one point - making all my dreams come true!!).  

After an indescribable hour with these incredible creatures, it was time to leave. We took one last look, then gathered our bags and made our way back down the mountain. The entire experience took less than 3 hours, but gave us memories that will last a lifetime!