uganda: gorilla trekking adventure

Very likely, though nobody can promise a wild animal and the Uganda Wildlife Authority does not.

For the gorillas, trackers set out at dawn for the place where the family nested the night before, so your rangers know where to head before you start walking. We put success at better than 95 per cent.

For chimpanzees the trip gives you two chances, and that is deliberate. Kyambura Gorge holds one small community in a forested gorge 100 metres deep, and sightings there are far less certain. Kibale Forest, two days later, is the dependable one: the Authority puts the chance of finding its chimpanzees at over 90 per cent.

Once they are found you have one hour with the gorillas, and one hour with the chimpanzees at Kibale.

It is a proper walk, and nobody knows how long until the morning itself.

Bwindi is steep rainforest lying between about 1,160 and 2,600 metres, the trails are often muddy, and a trek can take anything from under an hour to most of the day, depending on where the gorillas spent the night. You do not need to be an athlete, but you do need to be comfortable walking for several hours on steep, uneven ground.

At the briefing the rangers usually try to give the nearer families to anyone who would find a long day hard, so tell them. Walking sticks are handed out, and we strongly suggest hiring a porter from the local community, at your own cost, to carry your bag and lend a steadying hand.

The two chimpanzee walks are easier: Kyambura means a steep climb into and out of the gorge, and Kibale is gently rolling forest. The Authority's minimum age for gorilla trekking is 15, and these departures take travellers of 16 and over.

Never more than seven guests, travelling together in one 4x4 with an English-speaking Ugandan driver-guide, and the trip runs with as few as two.

In the forest the numbers are set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority rather than by us: only eight visitors a day may go to each gorilla family, and chimpanzee groups at Kibale are limited to six. So on those mornings you may walk with a few trekkers from outside the group, or the group may be divided between two families.

Solo travellers are welcome, with a room of their own for a supplement.

Gorillas are tracked every day of the year, so the choice is about footing, not sightings.

Of the six departures, June and July are the ones we rate highest at every stop, in the long dry season when Bwindi's steep trails are at their firmest. August and December are also good months for the forests, with a little more rain likely in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

October is an in-between month with muddier trails. March, when the long rains begin, is the most demanding underfoot in Bwindi.

Those two dates have real advantages all the same: March is the lowest priced date of the year, permits and lodges are easier to come by, the forest is at its greenest with strong birding, and heavy cloud acts like a diffuser, giving photographers soft, even light on a dark-coated animal.

Bwindi is rainforest, so pack waterproofs and good boots whichever date you choose.

Yes. The price on every date includes one gorilla permit for Bwindi and both chimpanzee permits, for Kyambura Gorge and for Kibale, and we secure them when you book.

That is the best reason to book early: only eight permits a day exist for each gorilla family, so a date can have room in the vehicle and no permits left.

The included trek falls on day three or day four, depending on the permits issued. A second gorilla trek is an optional extra: tell us when you book and we will look for a further permit, at additional cost.

The price also covers:

• The flight from Entebbe to Kihihi
• Park entrance fees
• The Kazinga Channel boat trip
• The Bigodi Swamp walk at Kibale
• Meals from breakfast on day two
• Selected local drinks at the four lodges after Entebbe

It does not cover international flights, your visa, travel insurance, tips, a porter for the gorilla trek, or meals and drinks in Entebbe beyond breakfast.

You fly the longest leg.

A scheduled 11-seat Cessna Grand Caravan takes you from Entebbe to the Kihihi airstrip in about an hour and a quarter when it flies direct, longer if it calls at another airstrip first. Buhoma is then between an hour and a half and two hours by road. Luggage on that flight is limited to 15 kilograms in soft-sided bags, hand luggage included.

From Bwindi onwards you travel by 4x4, on slow dirt roads in the south:

• Two to three hours to Ishasha
• About two hours north to the Kazinga Channel
• Around two and a half hours on to Kibale
• Roughly seven hours back to Entebbe on the last day

You arrive in the late afternoon, so book a flight home that leaves after 7pm. If you would rather skip that final drive, we can book the scheduled flight from Kasese to Entebbe at extra cost, which needs at least two passengers.