Tribute to Omugurusi Karwemera, the Icon of Western Uganda

UPDATE, DECEMBER 2024: Karwemera’s Bakiga museum in Kabale town is no more. We hope to bring it back one day. Festo Karwemera was a teacher right to the end of his remarkable life… People would come to his home on the outskirts of Kabale in Uganda’s Gorilla Highlands region to learn about culture, history, life….

Despite Obstacles: Bold Vision for Rwanda, Uganda and Congo

It’s the saddest week of the year in Rwanda, the time when survivors remember the outrageous tragedy that claimed one million lives 25 years ago. The Gorilla Highlands team’s humble contribution to the Remember – Unite – Renew theme of these commemorations is a daily photograph on our social media channels. These images celebrate the…

What Is the Point of #IAmGorillaHighlands?

UPDATE, April 2019: The Gorilla Highlands Batwa Jamboree has been moved from Easter to Christmas 2019 (more here) Have you come here because the #IAmGorillaHighlands campaign has made you wonder? Good — and welcome! The Gorilla Highlands idea has always been about respectful and helpful tourism, with the Batwa “Pygmies” as one of the main…

People and Lions: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

The 11 lions killed in Queen Elizabeth National Park earlier this year were just the latest victims in a centuries-old conflict, but one which has escalated in recent years. As human populations in East Africa have exploded, consuming increasing amounts of wildlife habitat in the process, the numbers of some of the region’s most iconic…

It’s a Breakthrough — Colourful News on Your Phone

It was an interesting creative challenge: How to make a newsletter that works nice on WhatsApp? And how to make it appealing in countries with low reading culture? It seems we have done it: Gorilla Highlands News #1 (WhatsApp edition) The email version of the newsletter is being sent out on Wednesday 20 June 2018… The…

Virunga National Park is Closed. Time to Slow Down.

UPDATE, 24/1/2019: Virunga National Park will reopen on 15 February 2019.  Yesterday’s announcement that Virunga National Park would stay closed for the rest of 2018 surprised no one. In a hot Congolese election year security was expected to become problematic, and the park leadership has always put client safety first. (The letter from the Chief Warden…