Uganda Gorilla Trekking
One hour, seven metres from a gorilla family in Bwindi that has known people for a decade. That is the shape most first gorilla trips take. Yours will change once we have your dates and an honest word about how far you want to walk.
A starting point, not a packagewe change the route, the nights and the pace to suit you
fromUSD 3,450per personfrom, per person, two sharing, permit included
Uganda charges USD 800.
Rwanda charges USD 1,500 for the same hour. The gorillas do not know about the border.
Bwindi and Volcanoes sit in the same volcanic chain under identical rules: eight people per family per day, one hour, seven metres. What differs is the permit. Uganda asks USD 800, and USD 600 in April, May and November. Rwanda asks USD 1,500 for the same hour.
Kigali International is the closest well connected airport to southern Bwindi: about four and a half hours by road plus the border at Cyanika, against roughly ten hours from Entebbe. So flying into Rwanda and trekking in Uganda is the shortest road to the cheaper permit, and it is the route we build most often.
Everything after that is yours. Some people add a second trek, which doubles the odds of an easy encounter. Some add the golden monkeys at Mgahinga, or two nights on Lake Bunyonyi to sit still before flying home. We will tell you honestly which of those is worth the days.
Highlights
The journey
Kigali, the border, and the forest
We meet you at Kigali International and drive north-west out of the city. Rwanda's hills are terraced to the top and farmed to the edge, and the road climbs through them for two hours before the border post at Cyanika.
The crossing takes about forty minutes and we handle it with you. On the Uganda side the country opens out, the Virungas line up behind you, and the last stretch runs along the edge of Bwindi itself. You arrive in the late afternoon with time to settle in before the briefing in the morning.
4h 30m, plus the border
LuxuryForest-edge lodge with a fireplace in each room
PremiumComfortable lodge near the trailhead
Bwindi: the trek, and the hour with them
Briefing at the park headquarters at seven. You are put into a group of eight and assigned a gorilla family, and the trackers who slept near them radio in their position. Then you walk into forest that has stood since the last ice age.
It can take forty minutes or it can take six hours. The ground is steep, often wet, and sometimes there is no path until the guide cuts one. When you reach them, the hour starts. A silverback weighs as much as three men and will sit eating eight metres from you with no interest in your presence at all.
Back at the lodge by mid-afternoon, usually quiet. Most people need a few hours before they want to talk about it.
Trek 2 to 6 hours, on foot
LuxuryForest-edge lodge with a fireplace in each room
PremiumComfortable lodge near the trailhead
The road back to Kigali, or onward
If you are flying out, we drive back through Kisoro and over the border to Kigali, with the Virungas on your right for most of the morning. You are at the airport in good time for an afternoon flight.
If you have taken more days, this is where the journey changes shape: a second trek, the golden monkeys at Mgahinga, or two nights on Lake Bunyonyi, which is the only lake on this route with no bilharzia and no crocodiles, and the place people finally sit still.
4h 30m, plus the border
Departure, or onward wherever you choose to go
Permits are released per day, and the best months go first.
Give us an approximate date and we check availability against it. No payment, no obligation.
What your trip includes
Gorilla permit, USD 800 per person
Full board throughout
Private 4x4 and driver-guide, the same one all trip
All park fees and government taxes
Airport collection and return
Border assistance at Cyanika
Bottled water in the vehicle
What it does not cover
International flights
Uganda and Rwanda visas
Porter on the trek, about USD 20
Tips for your guide
Alcohol and personal items
Single room supplement, USD 45 per night
Not quite the trip you had in mind? Every departure is private, so the length and the lodges are yours to change. Tell us what you want.
Rwanda
Kigali is the cleanest, best-connected arrival point in the region and the reason this itinerary works: you land there in the morning and sleep beside the forest that night. Rwanda also has its own gorillas in the Virungas, Nyungwe’s chimpanzees along the canopy walk, and Akagera, the only big-five park in the country.
Uganda
Half of the world’s mountain gorillas live in Bwindi, and the permit to sit with them costs less than anywhere else they exist. Beyond the forest the country runs from the snow on the Rwenzori to the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha and the point where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria.
What we tell everyone before they book
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket, whatever the forecast says
- Thick gardening gloves for the vegetation
- Long trousers you can tuck into your socks
- Ankle boots with real grip
- Insect repellent
- Two litres of water
- Camera, with the flash turned off
- About USD 20 in cash for your porter
Before you ask
Are gorilla permits really available on my dates?
Eight people are allowed with each gorilla family per day, and that is the entire supply. June to September and December to February sell out months ahead. Send your dates and we check them against Uganda Wildlife Authority availability before anything else is decided. A reply comes within one working day.
How hard is the trek?
Moderate. Expect two to six hours of walking on steep, often muddy forest paths at around 1,500 metres, with no cut path in places. The Uganda Wildlife Authority assigns your sector on the morning, not in advance. A porter costs about USD 20 and is worth every cent.
What happens if I need to cancel?
Nothing is paid when you enquire. The permit is bought from the Uganda Wildlife Authority in your name once you confirm, and UWA does not refund permits once they are issued. Your deposit amount and balance date are put in writing before you pay anything.
Why start in Kigali rather than Entebbe?
Kigali International is the closest well connected airport to southern Bwindi: about four and a half hours by road plus the border at Cyanika, against roughly ten hours from Entebbe. A Uganda permit is USD 800 where Rwanda charges USD 1,500, so flying into Rwanda and trekking in Uganda is the shortest road to the cheaper permit.
Can this be longer than three days?
Usually it should be. Three days is the shortest honest version. Adding a second trek doubles your chances of an easy encounter, and most people who add Lake Bunyonyi or the Mgahinga golden monkeys say those were the days they remember. Tell us how long you have and we will shape it.
I am travelling alone. What changes?
Rooms are priced for two sharing, and a single room adds USD 45 per night. The permit costs the same whoever you travel with, and the vehicle and guide are yours either way.
Tell us roughly when
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