Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a 25,000-year-old rainforest in southwestern Uganda. It is home to roughly half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas, and the only place on earth where they can be tracked through dense, almost prehistoric undergrowth rather than open volcanic slopes. We design Bwindi journeys with a particular attention to pace, sector choice and lodge fit, so the hour you spend with a gorilla family is met by everything around it.

The four trekking sectors

Bwindi has four trekking sectors: Buhoma in the north, Ruhija in the east, Rushaga and Nkuringo in the south. Each sector has its own habituated gorilla families, its own lodges, and its own access road. We match sector to traveller: Buhoma for first-time visitors who want the classic Bwindi experience; Nkuringo for those who don't mind the steepest terrain in return for the most cinematic views; Rushaga for families who want gorilla habituation (four hours with a semi-habituated family) rather than the standard one-hour trek.

Permits, access and pace

Gorilla permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and must be reserved well in advance, particularly for the dry seasons. We hold permits as part of the design process, never as an afterthought. We also build in a rest day before the trek and a quieter day after, because the most common mistake on a Bwindi itinerary is treating the trek as a transit point rather than as the centre of the journey.

Where we stay

Our preferred lodges in Bwindi are a small set of properties chosen for their proximity to the trailheads, their kitchens, and their relationships with the local communities. We don't publish the list publicly; lodge fit is part of the design conversation.