With over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population, it’s no surprise that the majority of guests visit Rwanda to track and view the highly endangered cousins. Rwanda is superb for primates in general, including the fun-loving Sykes monkey, the Golden monkey.

Imagine sitting silently under a barely illuminated forest canopy with a few leaves between you and a twenty-strong family of black-furred giant apes. Imagine looking into the familiar deep brown eyes of a 200kg silver back suspicious of your every move. Imagine its quiet grunts and mysterious snuffling’s, and sounds of moist gnawing’s, the chomp of its teeth, and the heaviness of its breath a few feet away from where it can smell your fear.

Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is a peerless wildlife experience and one of Africa’s indisputable adventure highlights. One moment you will be machete-bushwhacking through thickets of vines and bamboo, hiking up steep, rugged slopes full of sharp rocks, unyielding roots, and staggering ascents that transfer enormous amounts of strain to your pale, shaking thighs.

The next moment you scoot out of the endless cocktail party of trees, and sunlight streams through the bald canopy to illuminate a matted clump of black against a curtain of jungle green. You’ve anticipated this, and yet still, you gasp! Seated perhaps 10 meters away are some of the last roughly 1,000 mountain gorillas remaining in these dense backwoods.

Nothing will prepare you for the profound impact spending time with mountain gorillas will have on you. Watch mothers cradle their young, toddlers tumble about in the forest, family members pick leaves lovingly from one another’s coats. Revel in the privilege of witnessing these familial interactions, so similar to our own ways.

Joining the daily gorilla trekking tours excursions in Volcanoes National Park is the only way to see mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

No place is better suited for a jungle adventure mix of superb gorilla trekking and conservation tourism than Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. And with an insane price tag on trekking permits at $1500, expect royal treatment throughout your whole adventure experience.

Take this opportunity to hike the peaks in this park. On the Democratic Republic of Congo border, the tallest of the Virunga Mountains on the most westerly side of the park is the 4,507-meter Mount Karisimbi. Moving eastwards, the other prominent peaks within the national park are Bisoke on the Democratic Republic of Congo border; Sabyinyo, at the tripartite border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gahinga and Muhabura on the Ugandan border.

Gorilla trekking excursions in Rwanda begin at 08:00 am, irrespective of the date or weather. Expect to spend a night at a forest lodge near the visitor centre and be up before daybreak.

Walking with Gorillas takes the reader on an incredible personal journey with Dr. Gladys, from her early days as a student in Uganda, enduring the assassination of her father during a military coup, to her veterinarian education in England to establishing the first veterinary department for the Ugandan government to founding one of the first organizations in the world that enables people to coexist with wildlife through improving the health and well being of both. Her award-winning approach reduced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on critically endangered mountain gorillas.

In the face of discrimination and a male dominated world, one woman’s passion and determination to build a brighter future for the local wildlife and human community offers inspiration and insights into what is truly possible for our planet when we come together.

Walking with Gorillas is unforgettable gorilla walk safaris through the forests and landscapes of her life and the lives of those who have influenced her choices as a veterinarian, a leader, partner and mother. Her method for building community and improving methods for protection of the forest has not only had an impact on the survival of our closest relatives the great apes, it has added a chapter to our understanding of how to build a thriving relationship with nature.

Her wisdom is what we urgently need as we meet the challenge of declining biodiversity and deforestation, pandemics and climate change. If the measure of a life is one’s legacy, Dr. Kalema – Zikusoka shows in her book that being part of a lineage is also important. Her learning from her for bearers while creating communities that live in harmony with all sentient beings is a model for public health, economic livelihoods and field science.

Infused with the remarkable spirit of purpose, compassion and innovative thinking that is synonymous with Gladys herself, Walking with Gorillas is an inspiring memoir that showcases the importance of community-based conservation through one of Uganda’s most determined voices for wildlife.

A captivating look at the dangers that humans pose to our closest of relatives, this book gives a compelling insight into the role that healthcare and women in society play in the author’s pioneering ‘One Health’ approach – one that the future of conservation surely depends upon.

Dr. Gladys Kalema – Zikusoka’s pioneering efforts to save endangered gorillas by improving local human health have been an inspiration to conservationists around the world. Her new memoir details this incredible journey, including the adversity she had to overcome and what she’s learned along the way. She artfully illustrates the complexities of conservation, sheds light on how protecting nature helps us protect ourselves, and offers insights that are applicable to conservation programs worldwide.

Gladys Kalema – Zikusoka is one of Africa’s greatest conservation Eco heroes. Her work on mountain gorillas and her innovative approaches linking this essential conservation activity with the health of human communities living in close proximity is truly ground-breaking and serves as a model for other projects around the world.