Top 10 Places for Wildlife Encounters: 2026 Ranking

New study reveals world's best wildlife encounters. Find out where to see gorillas, penguins and saigas in 2026

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Safari has long topped the travel wish list for many, and it's easy to see why: watching an animal not through the glass of an enclosure but in its own home is an experience that's hard to compare to anything else. But while some still dream only of Africa's Big Five, travel company Bailey Robinson decided to look further and put together the Wildlife Experience Index – a ranking of the 30 most remarkable wildlife encounters on the planet, from Rwanda's mountain gorillas to the snow leopards of the Himalayas.

Read about the 10 greenest cities in the world in the linked article.

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How Bailey Robinson calculated the rankings

Each of the 30 experiences was scored against six criteria. Rarity accounted for population size and how difficult it generally is to encounter the animal in the wild. Remoteness reflected how far travellers have to venture from standard tourist infrastructure, while conservation value was based on the IUCN Red List. The index also factored in exclusivity – how tightly visitor access is restricted – accessibility of the route, and the realistic chance of actually spotting the animal rather than just its tracks. Each category could earn up to 10 points, for a total score out of 100.

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Gorillas beat out penguins and saiga antelope

First place went to mountain gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, with 90 points out of 100 – including a perfect 10 out of 10 for the odds of actually seeing the animal, since experienced trackers all but guarantee a sighting. Rwanda issues only 96 permits a day, while Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park allows no more than eight visitors per habituated gorilla family at a time. Second place went to emperor penguin expeditions in Antarctica, which scored full marks for both remoteness and exclusivity, with saiga antelope-watching in Kazakhstan taking third.

According to Bailey Robinson's sales director Sarah Parker, the most striking pattern is the link between an animal's rarity and how remote its habitat is: the fewer people who've ever seen a species, the deeper into the wild you have to go to find it. Asia and Africa dominate the top of the list, and eight of the ten entries involve endangered species – which makes these wildlife encounters valuable for another reason too, since there may be fewer chances to have them in the future.

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Top 10 places for wildlife encounters

- Mountain gorilla trekking, Rwanda or Uganda – 90/100

- Emperor penguin expedition, Antarctica – 88.5/100

- Saiga antelope expedition, Kazakhstan – 87/100

- Snow leopard tracking, Ladakh or the Himalayas – 85.5/100

- Javan rhino tracking, Indonesia – 85/100

- Black rhino tracking, Namibia or Kenya – 84.5/100

- Polar bear watching, Svalbard – 84/100

- Bornean orangutan encounters, Borneo – 84/100

- Eastern lowland gorilla expedition, DR Congo – 81.5/100

- African wild dog safari, Botswana or Tanzania – 81/100

How much does it cost to see gorillas in 2026?

If gorillas are the priority, factor the permit cost into your budget from the start – the difference between neighbouring countries is significant. In Rwanda, a trekking permit for Volcanoes National Park costs $1,500 per person, a price that's held steady for a second year running. In Uganda, the same experience in Bwindi or Mgahinga is cheaper – $800 in high season and around $600 in the shoulder months (April, May, November), though discounted permits can't be rescheduled. The minimum age for trekking is 15, and booking three to six months ahead is recommended, especially for the dry season from June to September, when demand for permits outstrips supply.

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One more thing worth keeping in mind: trekking permits are generally non-refundable if you cancel, and emergency evacuation from a mountain park isn't cheap either. That's exactly why travellers rarely book a trip at this level of difficulty without an insurance policy that covers both cancelled bookings and medical care far from the nearest hospital.

Still, even if gorillas remain a someday dream, the Bailey Robinson list is a reminder of the bigger picture: wildlife doesn't wait. Rare species populations keep shrinking, and responsibly run tourism is one of the few tools that helps parks and local communities protect them.

Trips like gorilla trekking or an Antarctic expedition are an investment not just of time but of serious money: a single gorilla permit can run over a thousand dollars, and getting that money back if you cancel is often simply not possible. Then there's the remoteness of the routes themselves – mountain parks, polar stations or islands in Indonesia, where the nearest hospital can be hours or even days away. In conditions like these, an insurance policy stops being a formality and becomes a practical way to protect both your budget and your health: it covers trip cancellation or delay, emergency medical care, evacuation from hard-to-reach locations, and lost gear along the way. Before choosing a policy, it's worth checking whether it covers higher-risk activities like multi-hour mountain treks. 

Get travel insurance with Visit World before a booked wildlife permit turns into an expensive risk instead of just a dream. 

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Photo – generated with Gemini