On the third day of our safari, we trekked an hour and a half into the dense, untamed jungle. Gorilla trekking is one of the main attractions in Uganda and I can definitely understand why! The whole experience truly felt like we were in a real-life Tarzan movie. With only about four hundred mountain gorillas left in the wild, residing exclusively in this mountain range bordering Uganda, Rwanda, and the Congo, we felt extremely privileged to have this experience.

Because it was rainy season, which means low season for tourism, our group was the only group trekking in the park that day. This was very lucky for us because it meant we got to visit the closest group of gorillas and avoided a potentially eight-hour hike into the jungle! Our first gorilla encounter was with a teenage male blackback gorilla. This particular gorilla had had a misunderstanding with one of our guides a few years back. In an attempt to lead the family of gorillas back into the park and out of a nearby farm, our guide had hit this gorilla with a stick while chasing him. Unfortunately for us, gorillas remember a face forever. The young male was keeping a slight distance from the rest of the family in an attempt to protect them from our guide. As soon as we approached, the gorilla quickly charged at our group, making loud noises, and lunged towards our guide. Together the guides were able to lead him away from the rest of our group and the gorilla quickly calmed down. It was definitely an exciting first encounter!

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