Mountain GorillasBwindi Impenetrable National Park
A magnificent verdant swathe across the steep ridges of the Albertine Rift Valley, this ancient rainforest - one of the few in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age - is home to roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas.
Looking deep into the expressive brown eyes of these gentle giants is surely the most exciting and poignant wildlife encounter that Africa has to offer - but we should not let it distract from Bwindi's broader biodiversity, a result of its immense antiquity and an altitude span from 1,160 to 2,607m.
The national park has 90 mammal species, including 11 primates, of which the black-and-white colobus, with its lovely flowing white tail, is prominent.
The forest birding ranks with the best in Uganda, with 23 highly localised Albertine Rift endemics present.
The Virungas
formerly Albert National Park, in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) was created in 1925, it has an area of some 3,050 square miles (7,900 square km) and contains a vast diversity of habitats.
The park's southern tip rests on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, a short distance from the town of Goma to the east. The Virunga Mountains lie between Lakes Kivu and Edward and extend into Rwanda and Uganda. The great volcanoes of this range, clothed in cloud forests, include the dormant Mikeno, Karisimbi, Visoke, and Sabinio (Sabinyo), as well as the active Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira. Farther north are the Rutshuru Falls and the Mai ya Moto sulfur springs. Much of the park's central region is occupied by Lake Edward. To the northeast the Ruwenzori Range soars to more than 16,000 feet (4,880 metres). The park is home to abundant wildlife, including elephants, whose numbers decreased in the late 20th century, and lions, who have increased in number, unlike most other large mammals. Hippopotamuses, rare mountain gorillas, okapis, antelope, warthogs, and pelicans all live in Virunga as well.
