Uganda Gorilla Trekking
One hour with a gorilla family in Bwindi, at least ten metres away. 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
A Uganda gorilla permit is USD 800.
Rwanda charges USD 1,500 for the same hour.
Bwindi and Volcanoes run gorilla treks on almost the same rules: eight people per family per day, and one hour with the gorillas. What differs is the permit. Uganda asks USD 800, or USD 600 for treks in November 2026. 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 about nine and a half hours from Entebbe. So flying into Rwanda and trekking in Uganda puts the cheaper permit about four and a half hours from an international airport.
Everything after that is yours. You can add a second trek, the golden monkeys at Mgahinga, or two nights on Lake Bunyonyi before flying home. We will tell you honestly which of those is worth the days.
Highlights
The itinerary
Kigali to Bwindi, via the Cyanika border
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 to the border post at Cyanika.
We handle the crossing 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.
About 4 hours 30 by road, plus the border
LuxuryForest-edge lodge with a fireplace in each room
PremiumComfortable lodge near the trailhead
Bwindi: the gorilla trek and one hour with a family
The day starts with a briefing at the park, and tracking begins at 8:00 from the sector your permit is for, with no more than eight visitors to each gorilla family. Nobody can tell you in advance how far the gorillas have moved overnight, so the walk can take under an hour or most of the day.
The ground is steep, often wet, and sometimes there is no path until the guide cuts one. When you reach them, the hour starts, at least ten metres away, as the Uganda Wildlife Authority asks.
On foot, from under an hour to most of the day
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 trip changes shape: a second trek, the golden monkeys at Mgahinga, or two nights on Lake Bunyonyi, terraced to the waterline and full of islands, enjoyed from a canoe; we stay out of the water.
About 4 hours 30 by road, 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
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
Private safaris in Uganda, built around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which holds 459 of the world’s 1,063 mountain gorillas by the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s latest count. Uganda’s gorilla permit is USD 800, against USD 1,500 in Rwanda, and the same trip can take in chimpanzees in Kibale, the Kazinga Channel and Murchison Falls.
Permits, sectors, porters and prices: what to know before you 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
- Small notes in cash for your porter
Before you ask
Are gorilla permits really available on my dates?
No more than eight visitors are allowed with each gorilla family a day. 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 anything from under an hour to most of the day on steep, often muddy forest paths between about 1,160 and 2,600 metres, with no cut path in places. Your permit is for one sector, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority assigns the gorilla family at the morning briefing. Porters are hired at the trailhead, from the villages around the park, and are worth every cent.
What happens if I need to cancel?
Nothing is paid when you enquire. Once you confirm, we buy your gorilla permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in your name, and UWA takes the full permit price when we book it. If you cancel, whether any of the permit price comes back is UWA's decision under its own rules, not ours. If your dates change instead, UWA's rules let a standard permit move up to two times, to a new date within 12 months, as long as the request reaches UWA at least 14 days before the trek (we make it for you, so tell us before then) and permits are still available on the new date. UWA charges nothing for the first move and 25% of the permit price for the second, and UWA does not refund a permit once it has been moved. Under UWA's rules, the discounted low-season permits (USD 600 in November 2026) cannot be moved. What happens to the rest of your payment is set out in your booking confirmation, and we give you your deposit amount and balance date 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 about nine and a half hours from Entebbe. A Uganda permit is USD 800 where Rwanda charges USD 1,500, so flying into Rwanda and trekking in Uganda is a way to reach the cheaper permit about four and a half hours from an international airport.
Can the gorilla trip be longer than three days?
Usually it should be. Three days is the shortest version that works. You can add a second trek, Lake Bunyonyi or the Mgahinga golden monkeys. 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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