&Beyond Bwindi Lodge

Bwindi Lodge is where you meet your first mountain gorillas. &Beyond's eight forest cottages stand beside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with the forest close enough that you hear it all night.

The trek is the reason you are here, and we plan everything around it. Permits for your whole party are secured well in advance. On the second morning you set out with your guide and the park's trackers and climb into the forest, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for most of the morning, until the trackers stop and point. Then you have one hour with the family. A youngster tumbles out of the vines. The silverback goes on eating, entirely unbothered by you. Nobody takes as many photographs as they meant to.

Three nights give you room. The day after the trek you can rest, or add a second trek in Bwindi before your next one across the border in Rwanda. The cottages are comfortable, which matters after a wet morning in the forest.

Bwindi suits anyone fit enough for a steep, muddy walk at altitude. Porters can carry your bag and give you a hand on the slopes.

You arrive by road, on a private game drive south from Queen Elizabeth through the Ishasha sector. When you leave, your Cessna Caravan flies you from Kihihi to Kigali, where you clear into Rwanda.

Good to know

• Gorilla trekking has a minimum age of 15. Permits are limited and booked many months ahead.
• Each gorilla family receives no more than eight visitors a day, for one hour.
• Bring waterproofs, gloves and boots with good grip; the forest is wet in every season.

Country: Uganda