Travel with the experts
MOUNTAIN GORILLA
"On all fours we crawl through a wilderness of thorns and nettles before we are suddenly stopped by our tracker. – Shhhhhhh, they're here!"
An adventure
The mountain gorillas were not actually “discovered” until 1902 when two individuals were shot by the German officer Otto von Beringe at the foot of Mount Sabinyo in Rwanda. The National Geographic Society thought this was so well done that he had the subspecies named after him: Gorilla gorilla beringei . From that day on, a massive hunt for mountain gorillas began. Everyone just had to have a dried gorilla hand or a gorilla skull on their mantelpiece. Within a few years, over half of all mountain gorillas in the world were killed or captured, to the “enormous joy” of zoos and museums. In zoos, the vast majority died shortly after due to human-transmitted infectious diseases and depression. Things were about to go really wrong. Fortunately, people like Louis Leakey, Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall emerged, who are more or less responsible for both chimpanzees and mountain gorillas not being extinct today. With Gorilla Safaris you can experience these animals up close in their natural environment.
New safari in 2026
Mornings in Bwindi Forest belong to birds and monkeys. It starts gently with the night dew falling to the ground. And then it's on. The slightest sign of light starts a wild orchestra of monkey and bird sounds, and God-knows-what, and continues until the sun is well above the treetops on the ridge in front of you. Then it's as if someone flips a switch. It becomes mouse-quiet. Yes, even ants walk on tiptoe. In front of me, a stone's throw from my tent opening, lies the forest,
steaming with mysterious life. After the obligatory formalities, we are on our way into the forest. In the clearings along the river we follow, hundreds of butterflies dance and add color to the intensely green vegetation. Our trackers know that a family group was last seen a few kilometers away yesterday and we are now on our way there. Through nettles, giant ferns, lianas and bamboo we cut our way. Now the purpose is to find where the gorillas settled the night before. Our eminent rangers and trackers from the Uganda Wildlife Authority have no problem with that, and soon we find the “bedroom”. On the ground there are packed “mattresses” of soft vegetation, and in the middle there is something that looks like… poop.
Tour options
This vast area has great conservation value. Not only because of the rich biodiversity, but also for the locals who mainly live from agriculture. The connection between wildlife, people, culture and ecology is and will be evident. Tourism is of great importance to this cooperation, precisely because it provides funds for conservation, good economic development in the three countries and thus direct benefits for the locals. Gorilla Safaris helps to maintain this.
Uganda
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest er en av regnskogene i Afrika med størst dyre- og plantemangfold. Da det meste av Afrika var dekket av is lå Bwindi som en grønn øy på ekvator, der dyre- og planteliv fikk utvikle seg til noe av jordens mest spektakulære.
Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park is located in northwestern Rwanda. This is the most accessible national park for gorilla tracking, but also the most expensive.
DRC
Virunga nasjonalpark er en UNESCO World Heritage Site i den østlige delen av Den Demokratiske Republikken
Kongo. Virunga er Afrikas eldste nasjonalpark og det stedet på kontinentet med størst biodiversitet.
About Gorilla Safaris
Ulf has over 30 years of experience in arranging and guiding mountain gorilla tours in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has tracked mountain gorillas more times than most, and has been involved in building ecotourism in Uganda since 1992. Because of this work, Ulf was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. Photosafaris collaborates with Alakera Reiser as and the Rwenzori Ranges Hikers Association.
"We had a fantastic tour guide, Ulf Amundsen. We can't praise him enough. He is very knowledgeable, smiling and accommodating. He has made our trip unforgettable."
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"Ulf impresses, therefore, with his engaging, pleasant demeanor, his alert, professional gaze, and his knowledge."
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"Chimpanzee and Gorilla Trekking – with heart palpitations and excitement at a high level. The sunset! We sat there for a while with something good in our glass, the sunset on one side and a herd of elephants strolling down the valley on the other. Could life get any better?"
"Uganda med Ulf ....en opplevelse for livet. Fantastiske Uganda - turen over alle turer."
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"Vil spesielt fremheve Ulf, guiden vår som brukte mye tid på å ta oss med på private turer om dagen. Han har en genuin kjærlighet og respekt for økosystemet."
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«Uganda byr på uforglemmelige møter med dyr (gorillaene stiller i særklasse!), vakker og frodig natur og, ikke minst, vi ble møtt av vennlige og hjelpsomme folk over alt. Ulfs kunnskap om det meste og hans bekjentskaper fra 30 år i Uganda gir det hele en ekstra spiss. Vi vil tilbake!»
"Ulf Amundsen led a very successful birding excursion to Uganda for the Norwegian Ornithological Society."
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"We probably had the best tour guide in all of Norway. Ulf was incredibly knowledgeable and good at communicating."
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"Go on safari to Uganda! ADVENTURE!!! Large herds of elephants, buffalo, giraffes - had to pinch my arm. But the highlight was probably seeing the mountain gorillas, just a few meters from us."
"I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy."
-Ernest Hemingway