South-western Uganda

Bwindi gorilla trekking: the four sectors, where to stay and when to go

Private gorilla trekking trips to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, planned around the sector of your permit: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga or Nkuringo.

Plan my Bwindi gorilla trek

Bwindi, mapped: the forest and its four gorilla trekking sectors

Bwindi has four gorilla trekking sectors, each starting from its own trailhead: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. Your permit is for one of them. Kabale to Ruhija and on to Buhoma is about 95 km of winding unpaved road and about 4 hours, UWA says.

So sleep near the trailhead on your permit. Tap a lodge, a trailhead or a lake to see more.

Lodges on the mapOur guide to price level; ask us for rates for your dates.

Price level: Luxury

Price level: Mid-range

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open markers: a lodge's area, not its exact spot.

Run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

A forest of 321 square kilometres, 1,160 to 2,607 metres above sea level and over 25,000 years old, UWA says. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

Gorilla trekking from four trailheads: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo
Age: 15 and over for the gorillas, UWA's rules say
With the gorillas: one hour, at most eight visitors per group, 10 metres away
If you are ill: UWA asks you not to visit the gorillas with a cold or other infection
Gorilla permit, set by UWA: USD 800 for a foreign non-resident visitor; USD 600 in April, May and November, when it cannot be rescheduled

Where to stay in Bwindi, sector by sector

Choose your lodge after your gorilla permit is confirmed. The permit sets your trailhead, and gorilla tracking starts from 8:00 am, UWA says, so sleep near that trailhead.

Price level: LuxuryPrice level: Mid-rangeOur guide to price level; ask us for rates for your dates.

Buhoma, in the north

The northern sector, where the park's headquarters are; UWA says Kihihi airstrip serves the north.

Gorilla Forest Lodge

Northern Bwindi

Price level: Luxury

10 suites
Children from 6
Kihihi airstrip, a 2-hour drive

Best for: A large private suite, with forest, birding and Batwa walks arranged from the lodge.

Look elsewhere if: you are travelling with children under six.

Bwindi Lodge

Buhoma

Price level: Luxury

10 bandas
Kihihi airstrip

Best for: Setting off on your trek on foot, along the lodge's private path into the forest.

Look elsewhere if: you want childcare: the lodge's fact sheet says it has none.

Buhoma Lodge

Buhoma

Price level: Luxury

10 chalets, 1 for families
Kihihi airstrip, 90 to 120 minutes by road

Best for: Walking to the trek briefing, with a family chalet that has its own lounge and fireplace.

Look elsewhere if: your permit is for Rushaga or Nkuringo, in the south.

Mahogany Springs

Buhoma

Price level: Luxury

14 suites
Two-bedroom family suites
Kihihi, a 60-minute transfer

Best for: Families, with two-bedroom suites, a spa for after the trek, and a Batwa Experience the lodge says the Batwa created themselves.

Look elsewhere if: your permit is for the south: Buhoma is the northern sector.

Ruhija, in the east

UWA's brochure calls Ruhija high and draughty, and names its Bamboo and Mubwindi Swamp trails as renowned for birds found only in the Albertine Rift Valley, on whose eastern edge Bwindi lies.

Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge

Ruhija

Price level: Mid-range

11 cottages, 2 for families
Kisoro or Kihihi, 2 hours or more

Best for: Trekking from Ruhija, with two family cottages.

Look elsewhere if: you want a short airstrip transfer: Kisoro is 2 hours away and Kihihi 2 hours 30, the lodge says.

Rushaga and Nkuringo, in the south

UWA names Kisoro and Lake Mutanda as places to stay for these two sectors.

Gorilla Safari Lodge

Rushaga

Price level: Mid-range

Family rooms with 3 beds

Best for: Walking to the Rushaga briefing in a few minutes.

Look elsewhere if: you would rather fly in to Kihihi: Rushaga is reached from Kisoro.

Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge

Nkuringo

Price level: Luxury

8 cottages, 2 for families
Kisoro, 34 km and 2 hours

Best for: Views over the forest from 2,100 m, and two-bedroom family cottages.

Look elsewhere if: you want a short drive from the airstrip: Kisoro is 2 hours away, the lodge says.

Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge

Nkuringo

Price level: Mid-range

Family villas
Kisoro airstrip

Best for: Family villas with two joined bedrooms, on the ridge above the forest.

Look elsewhere if: your permit is for Buhoma or Ruhija, in the north and east.

Chameleon Hill Lodge

Lake Mutanda

Price level: Mid-range

15 rooms
Kisoro airstrip

Best for: A lake view of the Virunga volcanoes; UWA lists Lake Mutanda as a base for Rushaga and Nkuringo.

Look elsewhere if: you want to start your trek on foot: the lodge gives no walk or drive time to any trailhead.

Facts: the lodges' websites, read in October 2026. We book every lodge here; ask which suits your permit.

Things to do in Bwindi: Batwa walks, forest trails, birding and a four-hour gorilla visit

Spend four hours with a gorilla family, walk with the Batwa, take a forest trail with a UWA guide, or go birdwatching: here is what Bwindi offers, and where.

A Batwa man blowing a smouldering bundle of grass into flame in the forest, on Mahogany Springs' Batwa Experience, Bwindi, Uganda

A hot-stone back massage in a treatment room opening onto a balcony above misty hills, Mahogany Springs, Bwindi, Uganda

A mountain gorilla resting with an infant in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Four activities, and the lodges that offer them

01
Spend four hours with a gorilla family
UWA's gorilla habituation experience gives you four hours with a family still getting used to visitors, from 6:30 am: USD 1,500 until the end of 2026 and USD 1,800 from January 2027, UWA says. We have not been able to confirm which sector sells it, so we check when we book your permit.
02
Walk with the Batwa
The Batwa once lived inside the forest and now live on its edge, UWA says; Batwa guides lead the Buniga Forest Walk at Nkuringo. Mahogany Springs offers a Batwa Experience, and several lodges arrange Batwa visits.
Offered byMahogany Springs Gorilla Forest Lodge Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge Chameleon Hill Lodge
03
Take a forest trail with a UWA guide
UWA's guided walks leave at 9:00 and 14:00, its brochure says: the Waterfall Trail to three waterfalls, the Munyanga River Trail along the forest edge at Buhoma, and the River Ivi Trail through the forest to Nkuringo, among others.
Offered byBwindi Lodge Gorilla Forest Lodge
04
Birdwatching: 23 species found only in the Albertine Rift
More than 350 bird species live here, 23 of them found only in the Albertine Rift, UWA says. Its brochure names Ruhija's Bamboo Trail and Mubwindi Swamp Trail as renowned for these birds, including the green broadbill.
Offered byGorilla Forest Lodge Buhoma Lodge

Village walks, a massage, Lake Mutanda by canoe and golden monkeys in Mgahinga: where each happens

A massage after the trek
Mahogany Springs' spa, the Opatra London Spa, has two treatment rooms and a private terrace, and offers massages and foot treatments before and after gorilla trekking, the lodge says.
Mahogany SpringsBuhoma
Village walks
Community walks through forest-edge villages at Buhoma and Nkuringo, UWA's brochure says.
BuhomaNkuringo
Lake Mutanda by canoe
Chameleon Hill offers a walk and canoe trip of about three hours on the lake.
Lake Mutanda
Golden monkeys in Mgahinga
UWA's tariff for July 2024 to June 2026 listed golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park at USD 60 plus park entry; its 2027 rates do not list it, so we confirm the price.
Mgahinga
Two gorilla treks in one trip
Permits are booked by date and trailhead, UWA's guidelines say. Ask us about a second trek on another day.
Date and trailhead

Sources: UWA's Bwindi page and brochure, conservation tariff and July 2024 tracking guidelines; the lodges' websites, read in October 2026.

When to go to Bwindi, month by month

UWA says Bwindi can be visited any time of the year. What changes by month is the permit price and the flights from Entebbe with Aerolink, the airline that flies to Bwindi's two airstrips. Pick a month to see both; the buttons start on this month.

Gorilla permit USD 800Gorilla permit USD 600 (low season)Aerolink's 10:30 flight runsAerolink's 10:30 flight does not run

January

Gorilla permits USD 800, and Aerolink's 7:00 and 10:30 flights run. UWA says the park can be visited any time of the year; bring rain gear.

Permit USD 800

Gorilla permitUSD 800

Aerolink from Entebbe7:00 and 10:30

WeatherUp to 2,390 mm of rain a year, UWA says

Permits: UWA's tariff and its letter of 26 February 2026. Flights: Aerolink Uganda's timetable, valid to December 2026; we check flights for 2027 months. Weather: UWA's Bwindi brochure.

A gorilla trekking day in Bwindi, from the 8:00 start

What the day of your trek looks like, with the rules UWA sets for it.

Early
To your trailhead
Breakfast, then to the trailhead named on your permit.
8:00
Tracking starts
Gorilla tracking starts from 8:00 am, UWA's guidelines say. You are told on the day which gorilla family you will track.
Morning
Into the forest
Tracking can last from a few hours to a whole day, depending on how far the gorilla group has moved since it nested the evening before, UWA's brochure says.
Bring warm clothing and wet weather gear, UWA advises.
When you find them
One hour with the gorillas
At most eight visitors per gorilla group, 10 metres from the gorillas, for one hour.
No flash, and no eating, drinking or smoking while tracking, UWA's rules say.
14:00
A walk, if you have the energy
UWA's afternoon nature walks leave at 14:00, its brochure says.
Evening
Bring a warm layer
UWA says the forest can be cold in the morning and at night: the yearly average runs from 7 to 20 °C.

Travellers photographing up into the forest canopy on a guided trek

A small group walking a forest trail on a primate trek

Rules: UWA's conservation tariff and July 2024 tracking guidelines; UWA's Bwindi brochure.

How many mountain gorillas live in Bwindi: 459 in the 2018 census

The last full census, in 2018, counted 459 mountain gorillas in Bwindi and the small Sarambwe forest in Congo, almost half of all those known. UWA is waiting for the results of a newer count.

Mountain gorillas counted in Bwindi and Sarambwe

2011 survey36 groups and 16 solitary gorillas

400

2018 census50 groups and 13 solitary gorillas

459

1,063mountain gorillas known worldwide: Bwindi's 459 plus 604 in the Virunga Massif, counted in 2016

25gorilla groups in Bwindi used to people (habituated), UWA says, March 2026

Endangeredon the IUCN Red List since 2018

8visitors at most with each gorilla group, for one hour

Sources: the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration, census results of 16 December 2019; UWA's Bwindi page (March 2026) and its news of 23 September 2026; IUCN, 14 November 2018; UWA's tariff.

A young mountain gorilla clinging to a stem in dense green forest, Uganda

Bwindi's wildlife: 120 kinds of mammal, more than 350 birds, more than 200 butterflies

These are UWA's counts of what lives in the park. No one can promise you any one animal or bird.

A silverback mountain gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Endangered459

Mountain gorillas in the 2018 census

Counted in Bwindi and Congo's Sarambwe forest together.

A L'Hoest's monkey walking on the forest floor, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

120

Kinds of mammal

Chimpanzees, baboons, elephants and forest antelopes among them, UWA says. Pictured: a L'Hoest's monkey in Bwindi.

A male regal sunbird among green leaves near Ruhija, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

350+

Bird species

23 of them found only in the Albertine Rift, UWA says. Pictured: a regal sunbird near Ruhija.

A brown pansy butterfly with its wings spread on a leaf, Bwindi, Uganda

200+

Butterfly species

Eight of them found only in the Albertine Rift, UWA says. Pictured: a brown pansy butterfly in Bwindi.

Sources and photo credits

Sources: GVTC 2019; UWA's Bwindi page (modified 19 March 2026); IUCN 2018. Photos: L'Hoest's monkey, the brown pansy and the gorilla at the top of this page by Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; regal sunbird by Barry Stewart, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist.

Getting to Bwindi: a short flight from Entebbe, or a long day by road

Fly to the airstrip nearest your trailhead, Kihihi for Buhoma or Kisoro for the south, or drive the full day from Kampala. We price both.

EntebbeKihihi, for Buhoma

Aerolink's 7:00 flight, about 1 hour 15 by its 2026 timetable, which times the flight's first stop. A second flight leaves at 10:30, except in March, April, May and November.

DailyAerolink 2026

EntebbeKisoro, for Rushaga and Nkuringo

The same 7:00 flight, and the 10:30 flight outside March, April, May and November. Aerolink serves Kisoro early and mid-morning only, because of the weather.

DailyAerolink 2026

KampalaBuhoma

About 460 km to the main trailhead, UWA's brochure says; a 4WD vehicle is highly recommended, UWA says.

460 kmUWA's figure

KabaleNkuringo

About 105 km, approximately 4 hours in total, UWA says.

105 kmUWA's figure

KabaleRuhija, then Buhoma

About 95 km on a winding unpaved (murram) road, about 4 hours, UWA says.

95 kmUWA's figure

Sources: Aerolink Uganda's timetable valid January to December 2026; UWA's Bwindi page and brochure.

Fishermen in dugout canoes on Lake Mutanda with the Virunga volcanoes behind

Add to a Bwindi gorilla trek: Queen Elizabeth, Kibale or Lake Bunyonyi

Kibale adds chimpanzees and Queen Elizabeth adds savannah wildlife. Lake Bunyonyi, near Kabale, is a base for the Ruhija trailhead.

Uganda, Ishasha sector about 64 km from Bwindi

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Its Ishasha sector is about 64 km from Bwindi, UWA says.

Uganda

Kibale Forest, for chimpanzees

Chimpanzees are tracked from Kanyanchu, the park's main tracking site, UWA's brochure says.

Uganda, near Kabale

Lake Bunyonyi

UWA names Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi as bases for the Ruhija trailhead.

Our Uganda safaris with a gorilla trek in Bwindi

A gorilla safari into Bwindi from Kigali, and a longer Uganda safari that adds chimpanzees and the savannah. We change either to suit your permit and your dates.

A silverback mountain gorilla looking directly out from thick forest

Typically 3 to 5 daysUgandaUganda Gorilla Trekkingfrom USD 3,450per personSee the itinerary

Elephant and buffalo herds along the water below a green escarpment, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Typically 10 to 14 daysUgandaBest of Ugandafrom USD 3,950per personSee the itinerary

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Questions about Bwindi gorilla trekking

Answered from the Uganda Wildlife Authority's published rules, tariff and park pages, Aerolink's timetable and the US CDC.

How much is a gorilla permit in Bwindi?

USD 800 for a foreign non-resident visitor, UWA says, or USD 600 in its low season of April, May and November, when a permit cannot be rescheduled. UWA's letter of 26 February 2026 gives no end date for the low season and its 2027 table lists only USD 800, so we confirm the April, May and November price for 2027 when you ask. The permit includes the guide, the park entrance for the day and a community contribution.

Which of Bwindi's four sectors should we choose?

Your permit decides it: permits are sold by date and trailhead, UWA's guidelines say. UWA does not rate the sectors by how hard the walking is. What differs is what is near: Buhoma has the park's headquarters and the Munyanga River Trail, UWA's brochure names Ruhija's trails as renowned for birds and recommends the River Ivi and Munyanga River trails for birding, and UWA names Kisoro and Lake Mutanda as bases for Rushaga and Nkuringo in the south. We book the lodge to match.

How long is the trek?

From a few hours to a whole day, UWA says, depending on how far the gorilla group has moved since it nested the evening before. Once you reach them, you stay one hour. The park lies 1,160 to 2,607 metres above sea level.

How old do you have to be to see the gorillas?

15, UWA's rules say. Younger children can stay at several lodges: Gorilla Forest Lodge, for example, takes children from 6.

What happens if we do not find the gorillas?

If a full day's tracking does not find them, UWA's guidelines offer a trek the next day or 60% of the permit back.

Can we change the date of our permit?

Up to twice, UWA's guidelines say. The first change is free and the second costs 25%. Ask at least 14 days ahead, and the new date must fall within 12 months. Low-season permits cannot be rescheduled.

How do we get to Bwindi?

By air, Aerolink flies daily from Entebbe to Kihihi for Buhoma and to Kisoro for the south, about 1 hour 15 to the first stop. By road it is about 460 km from Kampala to Buhoma, a full day, UWA says.

Do we need malaria tablets or a yellow fever vaccine for Bwindi?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends malaria tablets for Uganda, and Uganda requires proof of yellow fever vaccination from every arriving traveller aged 1 or over, CDC says. Ask your doctor, and do not visit the gorillas with a cold or other infection, UWA asks.

Send your dates and we email you a Bwindi route and price.

Tell us roughly when you can travel, how many of you there are, and whether you want one gorilla trek or two, so we can check permits for your dates.

01Send your datesRoughly when, how many of you, and how many treks.
02Get a route and a price by emailPermits, lodges, flights or road for your dates, with the cost per person.
03Change the route until it fitsThe month, the sector or the lodge.

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Bwindi, mapped: the forest and its four gorilla trekking sectors