UGANDA

If seeing wild mountain gorillas is on your bucket list, Uganda is the place to visit. If seeing wild mountain gorillas isn’t on your bucket list, you need to reassess your bucket list.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to move fast, because as of September 2015, there’s estimated to be less than 900 mountain gorillas left in the wild. A combination of poaching, deforestation and disease has left the species critically endangered.

An important part of combatting this is engaging the local community. Volunteers are needed to help raise awareness of the problem, and to find and implement ways of protecting gorilla habitats while sustaining the local economy. It’s a tough task, but one that’s vital to the survival of the species.

Of course, Ugandan wildlife is no one-trick pony. The country is home to Africa’s largest lake and tallest mountain, the source of the world’s largest river and ten national parks, where you’ll find the Big Five (oh, and about 250 other mammals).