AS ADRENALINE-SPIKING ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS GO, it doesn’t get more memorable than hacking through bamboo rainforest to come face to face with a gorilla. For couples who’ve ticked off classic safaris in Tanzania or Kenya, gorilla-tracking in Rwanda and Uganda is what honeymoon dreams are made of. Seeking out the apes is thrilling and romantic, and a new generation of eco lodges provide a luxe backdrop.
Travel to Rwanda Photo Gallery
The mountain gorilla population is estimated at fewer than 900, a scarily small number but an improvement on the 1967 census by primatologist Dian Fossey (immortalised in Gorillas In The Mist), which put the figure at 240. They can only be seen in the Virunga Mountains and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and, in both spots, the permit fee (approximately £466 to £1,170 per day) goes straight into conservation work.
It’s a feel-good experience – 50 years after Fossey began her efforts to save the apes from extinction, conservation and tourism have united to produce a rare success story. For a ’moon that combines culture and awe-inspiring wildlife, this has to be The One.
