Bwin­di, the birth­place of moun­tain goril­la trekking, is a jun­gle par­adise cov­ered in dense misty Afromon­tane for­est that clings to steep moun­tain slopes and cloaks secret val­leys. This bio­log­i­cal­ly diverse for­est enthralls trekkers with its mas­sive trees and dense under­sto­ry of ferns and vines – hence the name ‘Impen­e­tra­ble’.

Bwin­di is one of three places to trek for moun­tain goril­las, and hosts almost half of the >1,000 moun­tain goril­las remain­ing in the world. It is a UNESCO World Her­itage Site and home to an aston­ish­ing vari­ety of ani­mals, birds, plants and insects – plen­ty to do in addi­tion to goril­la trekking.

Bird-watch­ers flock to Bwin­di as there are an esti­mat­ed 350 bird species with 23 endem­ic to the Alber­tine Rift and 14 record­ed nowhere else in Ugan­da. Glob­al­ly threat­ened species such as African green broad­bill and Shelley’s crim­son­wing (there is no known pho­to of this bird tak­en in the wild, oth­er than those net­ted dur­ing research) are also found here.

Bwin­di is a scenic 1‑hour char­ter flight from Entebbe Inter­na­tion­al Air­port, or a 7–8 hour dri­ve across Ugan­da. This trip can be bro­ken up with vis­its to Lake Mburo, Queen Eliz­a­beth Nation­al Park and Kibale Nation­al Park.