Finding Gorillas in Bwindi

The permit for Bwindi had been sitting in my bag for three months before I finally boarded the flight to Entebbe. Mountain gorilla trekking is not a casual undertaking — you can walk for seven hours through steep, muddy forest and still not find them. But when you do, nothing else in wildlife photography comes close.

The Trek

We set off at 7am from the trailhead near Buhoma. Our ranger had located the Mubare family the previous evening, which gave us a rough bearing. The terrain was relentless — near-vertical slopes draped in nettles and bamboo, everything dripping from overnight rain. After three and a half hours of hard climbing, the ranger stopped and held up a fist.

The Encounter

The silverback was 8 metres away, sitting with his back against a fallen tree, watching us with the calm authority of something that has nothing to fear. I raised my camera slowly. The light filtering through the canopy was soft and green. I had one hour with them — 60 minutes that I knew would be among the most significant of my photographic life.

On Conservation

There are only around 1,000 mountain gorillas left on Earth. That number is growing — the result of decades of conservation work and the community-based tourism that funds it. Every permit purchase contributes directly to the rangers, trackers, and local communities that protect the forest. Photographing gorillas responsibly is not just an artistic act. It is a form of advocacy.