Wildlife travel guide

It takes a few minutes for it to sink in when you see animals in the wild for the first time. We all grew up with wildlife centres or watching Life on Earth, so there is a familiarity about seeing a giraffe elegantly reaching up to eat some acacia leaves, or a hippo emerging from a muddy river. But then it hits you. There are no fences, feeding time or fun and frolics. When that polar bear clocks you in the eye, it has only one thing in mind: dinner. With a gorilla, it might be a gentle glance to welcome you into the bosom of his family. The impact of seeing animals in the wild is a highly emotional one, touching the psyche in multi-dimensional ways. You don’t need to be a hardcore, up-at-dawn wildlife fanatic to be struck by this. In fact, our wildlife vacations guide aims to show you that you can combine wildlife watching vacations with other activities, adventurous and cultural, but ultimately helping you find that wildlife moment that will stay with you forever.

The most commonly used phrase back at the bar in a safari lodge is ‘What did you see today?’ as people raise a glass to the honour of seeing a highly endangered black rhino, or watching a cheetah chase a zebra. So, what exactly can you see in the wild? Unless you are an expert, it is hard to know where to start with wildlife watching vacations, what you can see and when you can see it. And of course, wildlife is wild, so it is never possible to truly predict its behaviour, the weather or the impact on habitats. Our wildlife travel guide gives you some pointers….

These vacations vary in name: gorilla safaris, gorilla tracking or trekking, but they are the same thing really. You certainly need to trek to see the mountain gorilla families of Rwanda and Uganda, the countries with the most impressive populations and tourism infrastructure to boot.

You can see gorillas all year round, although if you don’t want to trek in the rainy seasons, avoid November and March-May. You need to book well in advance as permits are compulsory and like gold dust. Minimum age for a permit is 15. See our gorilla safari travel guide for more details.

Orangutans are only found naturally on the far-flung islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They are highly endangered, so wildlife vacations usually include a visit to a sanctuary or rehabilitation centre, which are vital to the conservation of these creatures for future generations. The isolated forests still shelter a marvellous menagerie of other creatures, including proboscis monkeys, hornbills, slow lorises and pygmy elephants. You can see orangutans all year round, although the rainy season Nov-Feb can get pretty soggy.

Plenty of countries have astounding wildlife, but rarely have they preserved it so carefully for decades – and few offer so many ecosystems in such a tiny space as Costa Rica. Sightings are so superb here as there is simply nowhere for the creatures to run. Turtles, quetzals, howler monkeys, sloths, caiman, otters, dolphins… take your pick of iconic species, and your waterproofs. It rains for seven months a year here, but with plenty of silver linings to those clouds. Late Dec-April are the driest and sunniest though.