Mountains of the Moon: Rwenzori Trek & Mgahinga Gorillas

This morning you set out on a scenic drive west towards the town of Kasese and the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, the fabled Mountains of the Moon, whose glacier-capped peaks rise dramatically above the plains near the equator. The journey takes you across the Ugandan countryside of rolling hills, tea plantations and busy roadside towns, with stops for photographs, lunch and perhaps the equator crossing, and offers your first views of the great range looming ahead, often wreathed in cloud. You arrive at a comfortable lodge in the foothills in the afternoon, with time to settle in, meet your mountain guide and crew, sort and check your trekking gear, and rest. This evening, enjoy a hearty dinner and a thorough briefing on the trek ahead. Rest well, ready to begin the climb into the surreal, misty world of the Rwenzori tomorrow morning.

Today your Rwenzori trek begins in earnest. After breakfast and final preparations you meet your full mountain crew at the trailhead and set off on foot, climbing steadily from the foothills into the dripping, moss-hung montane forest that cloaks the lower slopes of the range. The trail leads through dense, green, primeval forest alive with birds, monkeys and the sound of rushing water, crossing streams and climbing steep, sometimes muddy paths as the air cools and the vegetation changes around you. Your guide points out the extraordinary plants and the shifting zones of this UNESCO World Heritage landscape. After several hours of rewarding hiking you reach your first mountain hut, tired and exhilarated, high in the forest. This evening, the crew prepares a hearty dinner as mist drifts through the trees. Rest well in the heart of the Mountains of the Moon, ready to climb higher tomorrow.

Today you climb higher into the surreal, otherworldly heart of the Rwenzori. Setting off after breakfast, the trail leads you up through dense zones of bamboo and giant heather draped in moss and lichen, then into the bizarre, dreamlike alpine world found only on Africa's high equatorial peaks, where giant lobelias stand like sentinels, tree groundsels tower overhead, and everlasting flowers glow amid boggy valleys and tumbling streams. The landscape feels primeval and utterly unlike anywhere else on Earth, with glimpses of glacier-hung peaks through the drifting mist. The hiking is challenging, over boggy, rocky and sometimes steep terrain at altitude, but endlessly rewarding, and your crew supports you at every step. You reach a higher mountain hut in the afternoon, surrounded by the strange beauty of the high Rwenzori. This evening, savour a hearty dinner and the profound silence. Rest well amid the clouds.

Today you savour the high Rwenzori before beginning your descent. Depending on your route, fitness and conditions, the morning may take you higher still towards a spectacular viewpoint, a glacial valley or a mountain lake, deep in the surreal alpine world of giant plants, mist and gleaming glaciers, for breathtaking views over the range and, on clear moments, the peaks and ice fields that crown the Mountains of the Moon almost on the equator. It is a profound, wild and beautiful place few travellers ever reach. In the afternoon you begin the descent, retracing the dramatic shifts of vegetation back down through the alpine zone and heather towards the forest, your legs weary but your spirit soaring from the achievement. You reach a mountain hut for your final night on the mountain. This evening, celebrate the trek with your crew over a hearty dinner. Rest well, proud and content.

This morning you complete your descent through the beautiful montane forest of the Rwenzori, hiking down the steep, green trails alive with birds and the sound of water until you emerge at the trailhead, where you bid a warm farewell to your mountain crew, tired, muddy and exhilarated by an unforgettable expedition. After a wash and lunch, you begin the scenic drive south through the dramatic highlands of southwest Uganda towards Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, set among the three great Virunga volcanoes where Uganda meets Rwanda and Congo. The journey winds among terraced hillsides, crater lakes and small farming villages, one of the most beautiful corners of Africa, with the volcanic cones rising ahead. You arrive at your lodge near Mgahinga in the evening. This evening, savour a well-earned dinner beneath the volcanoes. Rest well, ready to meet the gorillas and golden monkeys of the Virungas.

Today you meet the mountain gorillas of the volcanic Virungas. After an early breakfast you gather at the park headquarters for a briefing, then set off with a ranger and trackers into the bamboo and montane forest on the slopes of the great volcanoes, home to a habituated gorilla family, in one of Africa's wildest and most dramatic settings. The trek can be short or several hours of steep, exhilarating hiking, and a porter is warmly recommended to help you and support the community. When you reach the gorilla family, everything else falls away, and you spend a breathless, closely regulated hour just metres from a mighty silverback, gentle mothers with infants and playful youngsters, framed by the volcanic peaks. It is one of the most moving experiences in all of nature, made all the more special by the remoteness. You return to your lodge elated, to celebrate over dinner. Rest well.

This morning you enjoy one more Virunga treasure, tracking the rare and beautiful golden monkeys, found only in these volcanic bamboo forests. Setting off with a ranger, you trek through the swaying bamboo to find a habituated troop, watching these agile, golden-coated primates leaping, feeding and chattering among the stems, often at close range, a joyful and photogenic encounter quite different from the gorillas. Afterwards, if time allows, you might enjoy a short Batwa cultural walk to learn the traditions of the forest's original people. Then you begin the long, scenic journey back towards Entebbe, or transfer to a nearby airstrip for a light-aircraft flight (a recommended option after a big trek), arriving for a comfortable overnight near the airport. This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner, reflecting on the epic Rwenzori and the gorillas and golden monkeys of the Virungas. Rest well ahead of your departure.

After a relaxed final breakfast beside Lake Victoria, and depending on your flight time, perhaps a last stroll or some souvenir shopping, you are transferred to Entebbe International Airport for your onward departure. You leave having conquered one of Africa's great mountain expeditions and met some of its rarest wildlife in the wild highlands of the Pearl of Africa, the surreal, glacier-capped world of the Rwenzori, the Mountains of the Moon, and the profound encounters with mountain gorillas and golden monkeys among the volcanic Virungas at Mgahinga. The images stay vivid long after you land, the giant lobelias in the mist, the glaciers on the equator, the silverback beneath the volcanoes and the golden monkeys in the bamboo. Few journeys are as rugged, remote and rewarding. You depart proud, weary and already dreaming of a return to the wild highlands of Uganda.