Mountain gorillas are drawing increasing numbers of intrepid travellers to Ruhengeri in the Virunga Mountains, part of the Republic of Rwanda.

I look up with a start as the other seven tourists gasp. The lush green foliage parts and standing not more than two metres away is Ubumwe. He's tall, dark and looks a little bit pissed off. Given that he is almost 200 kilograms of muscle, I'm not going to argue with him. Remembering what I had been told in the morning briefing, I look down quickly as he looks at us — "don't make eye contact and if the silverback charges, crouch over and show submission". Is whimpering with fear submissive enough?

But Ubumwe does not charge or any such thing. He reaches to his left and snaps off a thick piece of bamboo and turns his silver back to us. Staring out over one of the thousand hills for which Rwanda is renowned, Ubumwe chomps on his morning tea. Behind him, his family begin to appear, almost nonchalantly unaware of the gaggle of gobsmacked tourists. Everyone is silent, with mouths open in awe. If I reached out I could shake Ubumwe's hand. If I could reach out, that is. Instead, I am stuck to the spot staring at a creature with whom I share 97 percent of the my DNA.

Rwanda's troubled history

Mountain gorillas are drawing increasing numbers of intrepid travellers to Ruhengeri in the Virunga Mountains, part of the Republic of Rwanda. An understandable sense of caution hovers over the idea of visiting this central African country. Only 13 years ago, nearly a million people were butchered in one bloody month. A day spent at the Kigali Memorial Centre, built to highlight the atrocities that occurred, is a worthy introduction to Rwanda and offers insight into its people and their troubled history.

The Virunga Mountains

We had been in Rwanda for almost a week before venturing up into the Virunga Mountains. Amongst the hills is the capital city of Kigali, a bustling, dusty town that hasn't succumbed to the tourist dollar. Its lack of pretension is part of its charm. Tourists are given a curious glance and generally greeted with a smile. Evenings in Kigali buzz with local street stalls and vendors. Small bars welcome the thirsty and music lures the drunks to dance. With the genocide so recent, the desire of the Rwandans to move on and celebrate life seems to come alive in the music of the evenings. We spend three days in Kigali, enjoying the atmosphere and seeing groups return from their treks to Ruhengeri, wild-eyed with stories of chest-beating silverbacks, curious baby gorillas climbing onto tourists' shoulders and even the tale of a young American girl being wrestled to the ground (gorillas are very intelligent). Each night we'd sit around one of the local bars with a cold beer, growing more envious with every story.

Gorilla numbers dwindling

On the morning of our tour, the gorilla briefing from our guide Francois was strict. Given the dwindling numbers of these amazing creatures, his stern warnings were not unexpected. Anyone with flu-like symptoms cannot make the trip and we are told several times that we must keep a distance of two metres at all times as the gorillas are susceptible to human diseases. Francois is a tough old character (the other guides call him "silverback") with sorrow in his eyes. While his passion for the primates is obvious and he tells us with pride of the honour he has for his job, Francois has also seen the dark side of the work. This included the death of his friend Dian Fossey, the pioneer of this incredible opportunity.

We are split up into groups of eight. Each group is allocated one hour per day with their designated gorilla family. No more, no less and accompanied at all times by a soldier who is armed and ready to kill any suspected poachers. Depending on which group you find yourself in and where your family has wandered to, the treks into the mountains can take from two to six hours. With trackers out in the mountains radioing back to headquarters, we are aware of the gorillas' general vicinity before trudging off into the mountain jungle. The foliage has nettles the size of my head, a sting from which can render the area numb for up to a week.

The first sighting

The first sighting is exhilarating. Francois points to an infant sitting in a tree about 15 metres away. Having just unloaded all our carry bags and water (which cannot be taken close to the family), the excitement amongst our group is almost boiling over. Here in front of us is one of only 700 mountain gorillas left on the planet, so close and in its natural habitat. That habitat, the dense Rwandan jungle, is no place to get overexcited and in my rush I find myself face first in the scrub. I try to explain that this is due to my new hiking boots but no one is listening. They are staring at the young gorilla. It is now just a couple of metres from us and is staring down at me from the tree with an air of superiority.

Silverback encounter

Ubumwe soon emerges from the flora. It is difficult to describe the experience when he looks around and our eyes meet. Again I remember the advice of Francois not to engage the eyes of the dominant male silverback, as it can appear confrontational to him, but I can't draw away and for what seems like a minute (but is probably close to a second), our eyes lock. I look away before Ubumwe does, staring down his nose at the markings on his face. They are similar to a fingerprint, in that each gorilla has distinctly different patterns.

Ubumwe starts up and walks sternly towards our group. Francois whispers for us to stay still. Ubumwe walks forward on all fours and seems ready to stride right through us. At the last minute however he veers slightly to the left, shrugging me to the side. This is one seriously powerful creature and his shrug of annoyance is a telling display of strength. He moves into the thick growth until all we can hear is the cracking of branches as he finds some more bamboo to munch on. Francois beckons us closer to where the remaining young gorillas are playing.

While it seems like we have only just come across Ubumwe and his family, Francois is soon explaining that we have only 10 minutes remaining. The time has flown by, with gasps of laughter at the fact you can actually sit with these hairy people. We have seen around eight gorillas. They interact like a normal family as they wander along — the young ones playing, fighting and mucking around, all generally going about their business oblivious to the strange, clothed relatives who clamber past each day for an hour-long gawk. One of the youngest snatches at a couple of cameras and bangs his chest like a toy King Kong. Later that evening, a group of Germans listen intently to our stories in the local bar. They try to comprehend the enormity of the tales we're telling, but as we have discovered ourselves, an encounter with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda cannot truly be recounted. It must simply be experienced.

Get planning:

• The best time to visit is June to September, outside Rwanda's wet season.
• When travelling to Rwanda, it is necessary to take precautions to prevent malaria. Visit www.travelclinic.com.au your local travel clinics.

Get involved:
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International was established in 1978 and is dedicated to the conservation and protection of gorillas and their habitats. To support their efforts and help stop the extinction of the mountain gorillas, visit www.gorillafund.org

Facts:

• Rwanda is sometimes called Africa's Switzerland.
• The word gorilla derives from the Greek word gorilla, which means "a tribe of hairy women".
• The first recorded gorilla sighting (by western civilisation) was in the 5th century BC by a Roman explorer.
• Gorillas are a critically endangered species due to poaching for meat, logging of their habitat, civil war violence and susceptibility to diseases such as Ebola.
• Gorillas do not drink water. They obtain moisture from the foliage they eat.

Originally published in Get Lost magazine.