Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas.  It is approximately 331 sq km of lush rainforests and situated in South Western Uganda on the edge of the western rift valley. 

The closest large town is Kabale. Bwindi can be reached from Queen Elizabeth National Park in the north (2-3 hours), from Kabale to the south (1-2 hours) or from Kampala via Mbarara (6-8 hours).

The main attraction is Gorilla tracking and permits need to be pre-booked.  There are also spectacular forest walks, birding and monkey-viewing.

The national park has 90 mammal species, including 11 primates, of which the black-and-white colobus, with its lovely flowing white tail, is prominent.

The forest birding ranks with the best in Uganda, with 23 highly localised Albertine Rift endemics present.

Looking deep into the expressive brown eyes of the gentle giants (Gorilla) is surely the most exciting and poignant wildlife encounter that Africa has to offer.