Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

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Though by no means one-dimensional, the 127 mi² (330 km²) park’s main attraction is unmistakably its mountain gorilla population. Finding these gorillas can be an arduous task: after scouts locate the groups in the morning, trekkers must be willing to hike through challenging terrain of gullies and vine-laden, steep hills for up to 4 hours, sometimes even more. Currently there are 12 family groups that may be visited by a maximum of 8 tourists per day.

In the midst of the park’s enormous hardwood trees, giant ferns, tangled undergrowth and hanging vines, chimpanzees (the only park in East Africa to feature them and gorillas), black-and-white colobus monkey, red colobus monkey, gray-cheeked mangabey, L’Hoest’s monkey, blue monkey, elephant, giant forest hog and duiker also reside. The park is also home to 345 bird species, including the great blue turaco, yellow-eyed balck flycatcher, Luhder’s bushshrike, vanga flycatcher, black-faced rufous-warbler, black-throated apalis, and green broadbill. This breathtaking biological diversity is made possible by the size and altitudinal range of Bwindi’s forests, which support more species of trees, ferns, birds and butterflies than other forests in East Africa.