Why 2026 is the year for the ultimate gorilla encounter in Uganda

Six decades after Dian Fossey’s groundbreaking gorilla research began in the misty mountains of East Africa, Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest offers travellers the chance to step into her legacy – joining scientists, meeting gorillas face-to-face and seeing conservation success firsthand

“Today, you are going to penetrate the impenetrable.”

Asif Cherubet, an athletic guide clad in khaki camouflage uniform, stands between manicured rows of tea bushes. Their leaves glow lime and emerald in the low morning sun, a vivid contrast to our destination on the opposite hillside: the shadowy greens of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

This tantalisingly-named jungle in Uganda’s southwest corner is home to around half the world’s mountain gorillas, the largest of all primates. Alongside elephants, polar bears, lions, and tigers, they sit on the ‘Photography Big Five’ list of the most magnificent species to capture, and so, armed with hiking shoes, waterproof jacket and my camera, I’m about to venture into the tangled undergrowth in pursuit of a face-to-face encounter.

“In this area we have four gorilla families,” declares Asif. “Today we’re visiting the Posho family, which has 18 members, including four babies. Gorilla sightings are never 100 per cent guaranteed, but the trackers have been searching since early this morning, and they’ve already found the nests where they slept last night. So we should reach them soon.”

A legacy 60 years in the making

This chance to spend time with one of the most powerful creatures on the planet is thanks to one extraordinary woman. 2026 marks 60 years since Dian Fossey began her groundbreaking experiments in ‘habituation’ – patiently teaching gorillas to tolerate human presence. Her work laid the foundations not only for the extraordinary encounters now possible here in Uganda, but for the entire survival of the species. 

In the 1960s, mountain gorillas teetered on the brink of extinction with just 250 individuals left in the wild, but thanks to dedicated conservation work, in large part funded by tourism, their story has now shifted from crisis to celebration. The last census in 2018 counted 1,063 individuals across Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, enough to downgrade the species from Critically Endangered to just Endangered on the IUCN Red List. A new census is underway with results due in 2026, and thanks to a baby boom during COVID, our guides are optimistic that their numbers have increased again.

A different kind of gorilla trek

I’ll spend just one precious hour with these magnificent animals, but for wildlife lovers looking for the ultimate encounter, Bwindi offers an even more intimate Gorilla Habituation Experience, where you follow in Fossey’s footsteps, spending up to four hours with a new family undergoing the habituation process, and observing the rangers as they carefully build trust between human and ape.

My journey to meet them begins in northwest Uganda, in Murchison Falls National Park. Here, WildPlaces Africa, the family-run company behind seven of Uganda’s finest lodges, has a private concession on the south bank of the River Nile, with luxury bush camp Papa’s, and a new riverfront lodge, Kula Ora, due to open in 2026. Before owners Jonathan and Pamela Wright arrived, this part of the park was unexplored wilderness – they had to map out their own roads and patiently teach the antelopes and buffalo to accept them.

“Poaching used to be rife in this area, so the animals were terrified of people and would scarper as soon as they heard a car,” explains Johnny. “But since we started funding ranger patrols and removing snares, the poaching has decreased, and the animals are bouncing back.”

On our last morning we spend a quiet hour with six of the resident lions as they chill in the swaying grasses – a private encounter that’s worlds away from the jostling and engine revving I’ve witnessed in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.

It’s a similar story on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, a languid waterway where elephants bathe and pied kingfishers dart and dive from the riverbank. Here, WildPlaces Africa has two riverfront properties: boutique tented camp Honey Bear, and the glamorous River Station, which features 11 chic safari rooms with private plunge pools, and a swimming pool overlooking a lake packed with hippos and great white pelicans.

On our last morning we spend a quiet hour with six of the resident lions as they chill in the swaying grasses – a private encounter that’s worlds away from the jostling and engine revving I’ve witnessed in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.

Conservation meets comfort

From there we drive southwest to Bwindi, where the landscape rises into steep ridges and the air cools. Perched on a hilltop at 2,000 metres on the western edge of the forest, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge feels like a country house retreat transplanted to Africa: my private stone cottage has a log fireplace lit nightly by my personal butler, while three-course dinners feature fresh pumpkin and mango from the lodge’s kitchen garden.

Built twenty years ago in partnership with the Africa Wildlife Foundation and the local community, Clouds was established to bring ethical tourism into this under-visited area and raise funds to support both the gorillas and the people. Over the past 20 years they’ve channelled more than two million dollars into local schools, health services and conservation projects.

Most ingenious of all is the tea plantation ‘buffer zone’ that we cross at the start of our trek. Unlike me, a tea-guzzling Brit, gorillas loathe the stuff. The neat rows act as a natural fence, providing the community with a sustainable income while keeping the apes safely in the forest.

Which is where, after an hour of hacking through vines and trying not to lose a shoe in the mud, we find the Posho family relaxing in a clearing. In the middle sits the silverback, 22-year-old Magara, his fur gleaming blue-black in the dappled light as he supervises his brood. Nearby, young female Mpangare grooms her baby, while six-year-old Rutaraka scrambles up a low tree to munch on fresh leaves. None of them are bothered by our presence – they observe us watching them but seem entirely indifferent – as if we’re just part of the furniture.

Some people cry when they meet gorillas for the first time. It’s a humbling experience, and a very different type of luxury. Yes, you may have to hike in the rain, and you may get dirty, but at the end of it there’ll be an unforgettable encounter, a hot shower, and the warm glow not only of a crackling fire, but of knowing that your visit has directly supported the people and wildlife that make Uganda so special.

Journey notes

Where to stay: Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge

A private cottage costs from $970 USD ($1494 AUD) per night, full board, based on x2 adults sharing (up to $1620 USD ($2495 AUD) per night in peak season).

Getting there

Qatar and Emirates both offer flights from Sydney to Entebbe with a stop in either Doha or Dubai from about AUD$3000 return. From there you can take a 1-hour internal flight to Kisoro followed by a road transfer (1.5h), or a scenic drive from Entebbe (8-9h).

Tour info

WildPlaces Africa hosts eight-night trips to Uganda including overnight accommodation at The Boma Entebbe, x3 nights at Papa’s Camp in Murchison Falls National Park, x2 nights at The River Station in Queen Elizabeth National Park, x2 nights at Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park from USD 8,800 ($13,560 AUD) per person based on x2 sharing a room. Price includes full board accommodation, game drives, park & conservation fees, domestic flights and overland transfers. Excludes international flights and gorilla trekking – which costs USD800 ($1230 AUD) per person. wildplacesafrica.com