Safaris
Gorilla Trekking Safaris
One hour, seven metres, and a permit that costs USD 700 less in Uganda.
Around half of every mountain gorilla alive lives in Bwindi, and the rest are in the Virunga chain that Uganda and Rwanda share. The rules are identical on both sides of that border. The price is not.
A Uganda permit is USD 800, and USD 600 in April, May and November. Rwanda charges USD 1,500 for the same hour with the same families in the same mountain chain. Kigali is still the closest well-connected airport to southern Bwindi, so flying into Rwanda and trekking in Uganda is the shortest road to the cheaper permit.
Eight people are allowed per family per day. That is the entire supply, which is why the permit fixes your dates rather than your flights, and why June to September and December to February sell out months ahead. The sector is allocated by the Uganda Wildlife Authority on the morning, never chosen in advance.
What that means in practice
- Permits checked against your dates before anything else is decided
- Bwindi and Mgahinga in Uganda, Volcanoes in Rwanda
- Minimum age 15, with no exceptions available from any operator
- Porters cost around USD 20 and are worth every cent of it
Where it happens
The places this runs
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