Sudhir’s Midnight Safari: The Gorilla Trek That Sparked Uganda’s Tourism Boom - SWIFT DAILY NEWS
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Sudhir’s Midnight Safari: The Gorilla Trek That Sparked Uganda’s Tourism Boom

By Frank Kamuntu

The tourism world is abuzz after Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia revealed an extraordinary personal story at the POATE 2025 welcome dinner – the untold tale of how a dangerous midnight encounter with mountain gorillas 30 years ago shaped Uganda’s entire hospitality industry.

As 500 international buyers sipped cocktails at Speke Resort’s lakeside terrace, Uganda’s foremost businessman shared a gripping confession: “I built Munyonyo because a silverback once spared my life.” The revelation came after a surprise screening of never-before-seen 1995 footage showing a young Sudhir (in his signature white shirt, now mud-stained) standing frozen as a 400-pound gorilla examined him in Bwindi’s moonlit forest.

“That moment taught me Uganda’s wildlife wasn’t just heritage – it was our golden ticket,” Sudhir told the captivated audience, explaining how the experience inspired his then-controversial decision to shift from pure banking to tourism investments. Conservationists gasped as he disclosed his team secretly funded ranger patrols in Bwindi for a decade before publicly associating with the project.

The story took a dramatic turn when veteran guide Francis Mugisha stood unannounced from the crowd – the very man who led that fateful trek.

“Dr. Sudhir returned next morning with notebooks, already sketching what would become Uganda’s first luxury eco-lodges,” Mugisha revealed, producing yellowed sketches that bore uncanny resemblance to Speke Resort’s now-famous canopy walkways.

Tour Uganda CEO Lilly Ajarova later told The Digest: “We never understood why he insisted on nocturnal wildlife viewing platforms at his properties. Now we know – he was recreating that transformative night.”

As the evening concluded, Kenya Tourism Board representatives were seen urgently phoning their headquarters, while Rwanda’s delegation requested a private meeting with Sudhir. Meanwhile, 23 international buyers immediately committed to new Ugandan safari packages – with one demanding “the full Sudhir moonlit gorilla experience.”

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