The Ultimate Mountain Gorilla Experience in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

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Day 8 of the Uganda Highlights tour was a special day on the tour. This was the day for a mountain gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park!

On this particular day, our birding tour group became split into three parts. And although four of us had expressed interest in a trek, mine was the only permit reserved in the Ruhija sector. The Ruhija sector was a two-hour drive from our lodging, so my day started dark and early to get to the orientation by 8am!

Our drive took us out of the Buhoma sector of the park, along bumpy rural roads until we re-entered the park in the Ruhija sector. We arrived just in time. I took my seat as our park ranger began the orientation.

Just Getting Started

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a UNESCO world heritage site on the southwest edge of Uganda. Uganda is home to more than half of all remaining mountain gorillas, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the best spot to see them. At the very least, this park issues the most permits and is home to the most groups of habituated gorillas.

For any trek, you need a permit. And you need to show up for orientation. You’re introduced to how gorilla conservation developed in the area, the group of mountain gorillas you will hope to encounter, and some logistics.

You can choose a porter if you’d like someone to carry your gear, for a nominal fee. And you can choose from a wide variety of walking sticks, if you don’t have your own. And then you’re off into the depths of the Impenetrable Forest.

Seriously, though, doesn’t this place have the best name?

I’m Going on an Adventure!

Our entry into the forest started off the main road, near the Ruhija boundary. And as we moved into the forest, we immediately began to steeply descend. The walking sticks were a necessity, and the porters were immensely helpful in helping us hike downward over dense vegetation.

With porters and guide, we had become a group of about 16 people. We tried to move quietly and maintained a line to lessen disturbance. The ranger was leading the queue. He was in contact with trackers who would be telling him the location of the gorillas, once found.

At some point, we passed a tree with a fallen branch (or vine? or exposed root?) at our feet. Most of the group had stepped over and gone around the tree by the time I approached. Only two more people were behind me as we descended.

My porter turned to me and said something. At this point, he had mostly said something along the lines of “watch your step” as we hiked. I didn’t catch what he said this time, so I paused to ask him to repeat himself. I only knew he had said something different.

He said, “Move quick. There are bees.”

At that moment, there were bees. Angry, stinging bees.

We ran. Down the steep terrain, through the dense vegetation. Hardly seeing what was in front of me, I just followed my porter and tried to cover my head. The buzzing was so loud. There was nothing but a desperation to move, to get away. To make the buzzing stop.

I fell. I fell into my porter, causing him to fall as well. My leg twisted in a direction that did not feel at all natural. I scrambled to my feet, others grasping to help me up. And we kept running.

The rest of the group had stopped running ahead of us. Some porters had picked up large-leaved branches. They were fanning them about our heads, trying to beat away any remaining bees as we approached. I knew from everyone else’s behavior that the bees were gone. We were safe.

But the buzzing wouldn’t stop. We realized that more bees, probably 4-6 of them, were stuck in my hair. Multiple people helped to remove them and helped me remove the stingers from my face and head.

I think the others didn’t get too many stings, and the couple people who had been behind me were able to avoid the madness completely, taking a different route. We just took a few moments to recover before moving on.

But, wow, when people promised this mountain gorilla trek was a memorable experience, I really had something entirely different in mind. UnBEElievable.

A Graceful Entrance?

As it turns out, we weren’t all the far from our group of gorillas. Unfortunately, we were close enough that our dramatic, frantic approach had disturbed them. We maintained distance until they seemed calm again and began to re-group.

As we approached the area where gorillas had been identified, everyone spotted a young individual and got pretty excited. And while they took photos, something stung my foot.

I hate to admit it, but… I JUST ABOUT LOST MY MIND.

I will say that the ranger was very aware of this. He saw my reaction. An ant had crawled into my sock and bitten my ankle. He killed the offending invader. He reassured me, in a very reasonable and calming voice, that it was an ant. Then, he began pointing out gorillas others hadn’t seen. Through the remainder of the experience, he continuously offered help as we moved up hills, as he was aware my knee was injured.

Oh, he was probably completely convinced I was about to have a nervous breakdown. And for the first few minutes, that assessment was not incorrect.

Drama, without the Trauma

So maybe there were some deep breaths and a “find your happy place” moments. Maybe it was more along the lines of, “Seriously, do not lose your sh*t in front of mountain gorillas, how embarrassing would that even be???”, but it was effective at the time. I was quickly able to re-join the trek experience! After all, I was only going to have this one opportunity to observe mountain gorillas. I was going to enjoy this, dang it!

Besides, I wanted to at least try to get a few decent photos.

Luckily, this group of gorillas happened to be more than accommodating. The area they’d chosen to occupy during our brief stay was a fairly large opening in the canopy with plenty of light to take photos.

And to simply observe them, when I could convince myself to put down the camera.

One gorilla did walk toward me and pass only inches from my leg. I experienced a mixed reaction of near-panic while almost audibly squeeing.

I write these things honestly, knowing that I legitimately have zero credibility as a wildlife biologist after I typed that. Whatever. You’d squee, too!

Despite our dramatic initial approach, this group of mountain gorillas never overtly showed an adverse reaction to our presence. We were lucky to see quite a few of the group members during our one-hour experience. As we stayed with them, more individuals ambled through the area. Several joined each other, at least briefly, but we never saw more than two actually remain together.

Mostly, we watched as one would find a preferred location, stop a while, and… eat.

Lots of eating.

Is it “eats shoot and leaves” or “eats, shoots, and leaves”? Nevermind, those were pandas.

Talk about Great Apes

When the dominant silverback moved, there was a clear recognition from the others in the group. It was subtle but evident that his actions, or lack thereof, spoke volumes. His presence had an obvious impact on the movements of the other members of this mountain gorilla family.

And we could just watch. Watch them all as they interacted calmly and quietly. No theatrics. No frantic movements. It was a stark contrast to my chimpanzee trek experience just days earlier.

Now, I am not saying this is a typical mountain gorilla trek. I’m not saying most gorillas spend most of their time being totally sedate, grazing on the vegetation, and generally just taking care of family business. But that’s what we saw during our hour with these apes.

It was awesome.

Basically, they were living their best mountain gorilla lives. And for all of an hour, we were blessed enough to be able to observe them in this natural space. It was serenity. It was calm after the storm.

These gorillas were magic.

All Good Things…

Although the experience could be shortened as the ranger sees fit, we were allowed the full one-hour duration. But an hour just isn’t very long at all, is it? Before we knew it, the sun was setting on our experience with the mountain gorillas.

Metaphorically. I meant the sun was setting metaphorically. It was only about 10am at this point! It had hardly taken any time at all to find the gorillas. I guess that can happen when you’re desperately trying to evade stinging insects while blindly running toward a large group of massive great apes. Note: this is not the recommended way to approach a mountain gorilla.

Our guide gave us a couple warnings that time was coming to an end.

And so, after many photos, we walked away from our family of gorillas.

It was difficult to leave. For one, we walked away up a very steep hill. But we walked away happy, after a truly remarkable and rewarding wildlife experience.

The Twist at the End

And, as it turns out, I personally walked away with a knee that rolled in an odd way that was more than a little alarming. Adrenalin is a funny thing indeed, and it apparently abated as the thrill of our gorilla adventure was wearing off.

My driver was waiting at the roadside to take me back to our lodge, hours away. I didn’t think to say much about the injury, just mentioning it initially before the long return drive. And then we got back to the lodge, and I realized it was hard to walk. Uh oh.

Eventually some of my tour-mates returned to find me unable to leave our lodge’s lobby. There were too many steps to our rooms for me to manage the distance. Luckily, the ministrations of some wonderful tour-mates helped me manage the pain of my twisted knee and my many stings. And our local guide, who is pretty much the best guide ever, sought out ice in the Buhoma area to try to reduce swelling of my knee. And yet another fellow birder loaned a collapsible hiking pole so I might be able to leave my room the next day, even.

Now, my mountain gorilla experience didn’t end my birding tour of Uganda. It did, however, restrict the remainder significantly. I was a bit more mobility-challenged than usual. I’d sit out the next day entirely. And I did miss one more very rare bird and quite a few local species during the rest of the trip.

But there was plenty to be grateful about:

It happened near the end of the tour, so it only impacted a couple real birding days; and

I had not actually broken my leg; and

I’m not allergic to bees.

Post Script: The Day After

I don’t want you to feel too bad for me, having to sit at the lodge alone with my injury while everyone else was off birding. Even if situation seem to be dreary, a silver lining can become abundantly clear if you look for it.

On this day, a “silver lining” looked exactly like another group of gorillas!

Yep, a different mountain gorilla family came to the forest edge by my lodge. I heard them first, shaking the branches of nearby trees. I didn’t have a camera this time – just my binoculars. While everyone else was away, I watched them climb through the trees. Although I was not too close, their trackers kept a close eye on me the entire time.

And then they were gone, easily and quietly disappearing further into the forest.

Two gorilla experiences? What a wonderful soothing balm that is. Those were memories worth the making.