I’ve heard and read about gorilla trekking for years, so when Kelly suggested we visit Uganda I was all in. With a bit of online checking, I verified that Uganda is one of three places on the planet where you can still see gorillas in the wild. The others are The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

All are located in one area, which is home to the remaining 800+ gorillas in the world. We would venture into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where several families of gorillas were located. I learned there was no guarantee we would see the gorillas and that the trek to get to them could be difficult. Little did I know how difficult. I started training to do the trek – not religiously, but I convinced myself I could walk for miles and would be able to complete the trek. Little did I know!

First step was finding a lodge to stay at in the gorilla trekking area. I quickly located the crème-de-la-crème spot, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge. (See my blog on Clouds for more details.) Suffice to say Clouds was spectacular. The agent for Clouds arranged for everything including our transportation to the lodge. We had to reserve our trekking date ahead of our trip and pay the $750 fee per person to confirm our date. This fee goes to the government and helps to protect the gorillas and keep them safe. (Fees are $1500 per person in Rwanda.)

Our adventure started in Nairobi, where we landed and spent three days to adjust to the jet lag and see some of the sites there. We than took a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Entebbe, Uganda. It was a short one-hour flight. After landing, we taxied to our hotel in Entebbe, No. 5 Boutique Hotel, after the hotel’s driver was at the wrong spot to meet us. No. 5 was a pleasant spot, located in a residential area on a dirt road (Africa has lots of dirt roads). We checked in and got a profuse apology about the driver missing us and then settled in for pizza in their pizza café. We spent a restful afternoon and evening at the hotel and got up early the next morning to take our flight to Kisoro, where we would meet up with the folks from Clouds to take us to the lodge.

The 10-seater plane ride was less than an hour to a tiny building that served as the airport in Kisoro. We were met by Rasheed, a kind young man, who escorted us to a late-model SUV and began our drive to the lodge. As we left the short, paved road in town to transition to the ever-present dirt road, we were pulled over by a policeman. It seemed the policeman didn’t think our car had the proper tourist stickers. (Uganda was in lock-down because of COVID and only tourists were allowed to transfer from place to place. No public transport was running.)

After much back and forth, Rasheed asked us to switch to another vehicle that was behind us and carrying four other trekkers. The drive to our lodge was only 15 miles, but took almost two hours. Suffice to say the roads were challenging even for a four-wheel drive vehicle. We dropped off the other four trekkers at their lodge and then proceeded to our lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge.

What a delight. We were greeted at the entrance to the lodge by Kim and Des, the friendly and helpful managers, who profusely apologized for the car being stopped and assured us the town’s mayor had put everything to rights.

The next day was our trekking day. Kim and Des told us to take it slowly, go a bit at a time. They outfitted us with large walking sticks and put gaiters on our pant legs. First our pants were inserted into our socks, then the gaiters were buckled around our legs – all in an effort to keep bugs out of our shoes and legs. We were given four bottles of water and a bag lunch to bring with us on the trek.

Rasheed walked us to the Ranger station. It was rough walking there and I should have gotten a huge hint when I was winded getting to the station – about three blocks away from the lodge.

After waiting for everyone to arrive at the station, we were given a talk about the gorillas, warned to wear masks and divided up into groups. Our group was Kelly and I and two young twentyish girls from California and Lebanon. We had a ranger and two accompanying guides – one with machete and one with a large gun.

It had also been suggested that we hire two porters to carry our backpack (with our water and lunch). Richard and Gideon were a god-send – I soon found out as we began the trek. Let me describe it as not a flat surface in sight, all up and down hill with ravines, twisted roots and the need to keep your eyes firmly planted on your next step so you wouldn’t break a leg, twist an ankle or worse. After an hour of this trekking, the porters were helping me most of the way, with me hanging onto a shoulder or both of them supporting me by my waist. All this was at 6000 feet elevation, so I was already feeling the effects of the high altitude.

I kept asking our ranger how far we had to go. He would point to two mountains in the distance and say, “down this valley, up that first mountain and around it and then up the second one.” It seemed unreal to me to even walk that far, let alone, climb and navigate that distance. After 2.5 hours of climbing, sliding and being totally wet from the exertion, I finally said enough. I sat down in the forest and said “you guys go on, I’ll wait here. I can’t go any further.”

Our ranger said, he couldn’t leave me alone, so he sent one of the porters and one of the trackers with the three girls. The girls kept encouraging me to try to make it, but I had reached my limit. While we sat on the forest floor, the ranger said I had another option – the African helicopter. “What is that,” I asked.  He explained that he would call guys who would come and carry me to the gorillas and then down all the way back. It would cost $300. I contemplated that offer for a bit and realized it was the perfect solution. The guys had not worked for months and months, so the money would be well-spent. And heck, I’d already spent $750 to have the privilege of seeing the gorillas, why not!

So, the call was made and in about 30 minutes, 15 guys appeared with a bamboo carrier, complete with pad and pillow. (This was the trek that had taken us 2.5 hours!) They lowered the carrier to the ground and I got in, stretched out and said, now this is the way to travel. Two guys took the front and two took the back. The others walked along to clear brush, help locate the best paths and switch off in what seemed like a well-practiced routine. Mask in place, I grinned the whole way and thought to myself, now why didn’t I get this ride from the beginning.

While I sat in the forest waiting for the guys, I thought, well maybe I could make this last trek up this last hill. After proceeding with the guys and seeing the terrain, I quickly put that idea out of my mind. I was amazed at how they navigated, how they moved the carrier and got me up the remaining hill and finally to the gorillas.

The girls were already there and had been watching the gorillas for 20 minutes or so. The porters helped me move across a three-foot deep pile of huge vines and brush.

And there he was, the huge silverback Daddy, eating away at vines. He looked us right in the eyes, but kept eating, stripping away the vines from the nearby plants.

As the Daddy ate away, a female and baby appeared up in the trees. Although they were harder to see, they were still within our viewing range. At one point, the trackers began hacking away the vines and brush so we could see Daddy gorilla better. He didn’t like that and charged us. The ranger calmly told us all to stay still and don’t run away. “He’s just showing us who is boss,” he said.

Our viewing lasted well over the specified one-hour limit and I have to say it was amazing to be so close to them and see how powerful and huge they are. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

When we finished our time with the three gorillas, the ranger led us a bit away from them and we sat down to eat our picnic lunches. I was so exhausted I think I ate two bites and then drank water and that was it. Our climb back down the mountain was heavenly for me. Comfortable in my helicopter, I watched the guys juggle me, tilt me and get through the dense forest. They seemed to have fun and traded off regularly, so everyone had a time carrying me. It was interesting to see how they worked together and did so with humor and kindness. When it started to rain, they put me down and insisted that I put on my rain jacket and even told me to zip it up.

The trip back was fast and efficient and when we arrived at the ranger station, I told them I needed to go to the lodge and get the money to pay them. Luckily the lodge had sent a car and Rasheed drove me the short distance, I grabbed $300 in twenties and we drove back so I could pay the guys.

Our trip had been seven miles and Kelly’s iPhone said we had climbed 145 flights of stairs. Whew. It sure felt like it.

What tips can I share about seeing the gorillas?

Ask your booking agent to hook you up with the easiest climb or family. We found out when we returned from our trek that there was another place to see the gorillas that required a 15-20-minute drive and the forest was all flat. Boy, I would have loved that spot.

Consider using the African helicopter from the beginning. OK, I had no idea how rough the climb would be and I did want to experience it. But in retrospect, the day would have been so nice and easy with the guys carrying me the entire way.

Clothing for the trek. Wear a long-sleeved t-shirt with a light rain jacket with pockets for phone, Kleenex and other essentials. Good walking shoes or boots and socks are essential. Pants with gaiters are great. If you are walking in the sun some of the way, you may want to wear a hat. It rained on us coming back down the mountain, but it actually felt good to have some cooling rain. I had brought a fleece jacket and rain jacket and that was overkill. One would have been sufficient. Waterproof over pants had also been suggested, but I found them to be unnecessary.

Train for the trek. If you truly want to complete the entire trek on your own, train for it religiously. We were at 6000 feet elevation and everything was up and down. Flat Florida walking just didn’t make it. At that elevation, I would have struggled to walk on a flat surface.

Be lucky. The day after our trek, a couple who had left early for their gorilla siting, returned to the lodge after barely three hours. Did you see the gorillas, we inquired? Yes, they said. About eight of them were sitting before the river and we had a great site of them, they said. That was the river that I had easily passed the day before – which turned out to be about half-way to our siting area.

Stay at a nice lodge in the area. We were so lucky to find Clouds and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It’s a bit pricey but well worth the cost.