Getting There
Having wrapped up a few days in late June watching big cats in the Masai Mara in Kenya, we headed to Uganda for gorilla viewing on the final leg of our trip. Our flight to Entebbe International Airport left late in the day. An interesting difference was that arriving passengers pass in front of a thermal display screen monitoring temperatures for signs of illness—a standard setup across airports in the region.
After an overnight stay at a nearby guesthouse, we caught an early flight to Kisoro airstrip. From there, we had an hour-long drive along valleys and winding mountain roads to reach our lodging.
Industrious Countryside and Coffee Plantations
The first half of our drive took us past bustling towns filled with local markets and street-side commerce. Out in the rural areas, every square inch of the hillsides appeared to be under cultivation for bananas, avocados, sorghum, corn, and coffee.
Women were out tending fields with hand hoes along the roads, while groups of men dug roadside clay to form, fire, and stack bricks for sale. Property rights seemed flexible, but the local population was certainly industrious.
We stopped along the way for a tour of a family-run coffee plantation. The process felt similar to a vineyard visit and wine tasting.
We followed the beans from collection, drying, and roasting to grinding and brewing. We learned how grind size, water temperature, and steep times directly alter flavor and acidity before sampling several roasts ourselves.
Ridge-Side Cabins at Chamaeleon Hill
Later, we reached Chamaeleon Hill Lodge overlooking Lake Mutanda. We grabbed a quick lunch and walked down to our cabin. The lodge sits perched along a steep ridge with the main house at the top and individual cabins built down the slope. Reaching the main house for meals meant an uphill hike every single time, which forced us to think twice before leaving our room.
That afternoon, we took a boat cruise across the lake to view local waterfowl. The lake sits near the triple border where Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda meet, offering views of three surrounding volcanic peaks. We really enjoyed the time out on the water.
WiFi at the lodge was frustrating. The connection was bad, though the issue stemmed from local network providers rather than the property itself. Unplugging is mandatory out here; do not expect to take work calls.
The Habituation Process
The entire gorilla tourism industry relies on the work of local rangers who habituate wild gorilla families to human presence.
Rangers locate a wild troop and track them continuously for three to five years. Over time, the gorillas learn to view humans as non-threatening and simply ignore visiting groups.
Without this lengthy process, getting close enough to observe a family without provoking an aggressive reaction would be impossible.
Trekking for Gorillas in Bwindi
Our trek started with a 6:00 AM departure from the lodge to reach the park center by 8:00 AM for orientation. Following a short traditional dance performance, park officials briefed us on safety protocols and split us into trekking groups.
Trekkers can request routes based on physical difficulty. Having no idea what lay ahead, we opted for the easiest route available.
Trackers head into the Impenetrable Forest at dawn to locate the habituated families. Once found, they relay coordinates to base camp so guides can assign routes. However, gorillas move constantly; what started as a projected 40-minute walk turned into a 90-minute climb through jungle trails.
For a small fee, we hired local porters who provided walking sticks and steady hands on slippery sections. Both Diana and I slipped twice on the muddy trail. In one instance, the trail edge collapsed beneath my foot, dropping me to my knee. Having porters nearby prevented far worse tumbles.
When we neared the troop, we put on surgical masks to prevent transmitting human illnesses to the gorillas. The guides also confiscated our walking sticks so they wouldn’t be perceived as weapons or picked up by the animals.
An Hour with the Silverback and His Family
We approached the troop slowly. The family consisted of 11 gorillas led by a single, massive alpha male silverback, alongside four females and six younger gorillas.
Watching the juveniles horse around in the branches was easily the best part of the hour. One smaller gorilla periodically beat his chest in a miniature display of dominance over his siblings, mimicking the silverback.
We kept a watchful eye on the big chief. The night before, a guest at our lodge recounted how a silverback brushed past a German tourist the previous day, sending her tumbling into the brush.
When the silverback shifted direction and moved toward my path, I gave him wide berth. Thankfully, no one in our group was bumped.
Our time with the family was strictly capped at one hour. The gorillas casually munched on leaves and moved through the brush while we moved along with them.
We got lucky with the weather and the animals’ behavior. The prior day, another traveler told us their assigned family kept their backs turned the entire hour in pouring rain. Our group enjoyed dry weather and open views of the troop facing us.
At $800 per person per permit, gorilla trekking is not cheap, which is why most guidebooks recommend booking two consecutive days to guarantee a good viewing. If the physical hike presents an insurmountable barrier, you can hire a team of porters to carry you up the mountain in a sedan chair for about $200.
After a five-hour round-trip trek and three hours of total driving, we returned to Chamaeleon Hill to spend a quiet afternoon overlooking the lake.
A Last-Minute Pivot on Golden Monkeys
We had scheduled a golden monkey trek for our second day. However, having fallen on the trail the day before—and mindful of our history of ending African trips with broken limbs—Diana decided against another slippery hike.
We drove to the park center and made a game-time decision to swap the monkey trek for a nature walk. In retrospect, the nature walk required just as much time and more physical effort over similar terrain.
Still, golden monkey permits are far less expensive than gorilla permits, so forfeiting them wasn’t a major loss.
This gorilla trek served as an excellent punctuation mark for our third trip to Africa. Tacking it onto the end of a traditional safari takes extra effort and budget, but standing a few yards from a silverback makes it well worth the detour.
Which primates do you want to see closer up?
