Just back from

Reader Nandini Chakraborty recalls nine days’ trekking with primates in Uganda

Tales from your Uganda travels

The highlight: The gorilla trek – especially the experience of being gently pushed aside by a silverback as he passed between me and another visitor, trying to get to a fresh patch of greens. Must see: I seem to be repeating myself here, but if you do one thing in Uganda, then the choice is pretty obvious – go trekking to see the gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Top tip: Be sure to take a porter on the gorilla trek, even if you are super fit. You contribute to the local economy, engage local people with these lovely creatures and help to preserve a part of nature that needs our assistance to survive. The porters also carry your bags and help you along paths that are steep, slippery and are hardly discernable at some points. Cautionary tale: The gorilla trek is strenuous and the Rwenzori Mountains have some steep ascents. Make sure of your fitness levels before you try to squeeze too much into your itinerary. I wish I’d known... I wish I had worn an action camera during parts of the Rwenzori trek and the gorilla hikes. The steepest and most exciting parts do not give you much scope to film, but they’re the ones that I wish I had a record of. Anything else? Uganda is a lovely country, yet it needs tourism to support the economy and to preserve some invaluable assets for the world.