Bwindi protects 331 square kilometres of dense montane and lowland rainforest along the Albertine Rift, close to where Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo meet. Parts of the forest have been continuously wooded for millennia, which is why its biodiversity is so unusual: more than 160 tree species, over 100 fern species, around 120 mammals and roughly 350 birds including some two dozen Albertine Rift endemics.
The forest was gazetted as crown reserve in 1932, became a national park in 1991, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Bwindi is above all a gorilla destination. Habituated family groups are tracked from several sectors — Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo among them — and permits are strictly limited, with a fixed number of visitors per family per day and a one-hour limit in their presence. Trekking is genuinely strenuous: steep, wet, and often several hours through thick vegetation, which is exactly what keeps the experience uncrowded.