The Ultimate Wild Gorilla

More than a year in the making, Premier Safaris recently launched this exclusive up close and personal glimpse into the life of a single wild gorilla family in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

 It took roughly 12 months of gradual encounters with guides and researchers to get the 16 family members — who had never before encountered people — ready for our weekly visits. The aim is not to completely habituate the animals, but make them comfortable enough with human presence for guests to get close with the gorillas fleeing or exhibiting aggressive behavior. However, you can still witness very exciting mock charges as the silverbacks show who really runs the forest (and this group has multiple silverbacks working in coalition). It’s a very exploration orientated activity into a part of the Impenetrable Forest that few people ever get to see.

The most important difference from a regular gorilla trek is that we don’t have a set schedule or routine, but rather different approaches according to our client’s interest. For photographic opportunities, we prefer very early morning so we can join them at the nests as they wake up, or later in the day when they wind down and squabble over the best site to spend the night. In addition, this bespoke adventure lets you stay with the creatures for four hours — a first of its kind at Bwindi, where gorilla visits and photography are normally limited to one hour.

For those interested in primate behavior or serious photographers, this is the ultimate experience. The trek must be reserved in advance (rather than on the spur of the moment) to make sure the guides who know this family are available. Given the amount of trekking through often difficult terrain required to reach these gorillas, the trip requires a good level of physical fitness. Starting times are flexible to achieve the best results, but can be adjusted according to specific interests and/or the distance from the client’s accommodation to the trailhead.

Without doubt, this is a completely new way of experiencing gorillas not available anywhere else in Africa. A bespoke experience for passionate naturalists who want to immerse themselves in the forest, observe animal behavior or need more to capture the perfect image of these amazing primates.

Cost: USD 1,500 per person, but we only allow four guests on each trek. Larger groups can be accommodated on alternate days that also include a Batwa (pygmy trek) or a normal gorilla experience.