For many travellers, especially those with an affinity for Africa, trekking to see mountain gorillas is one of the continent’s most sought-after experiences, offering the chance to see these fascinating primates in their natural habitat.
Over 1,050 mountain gorillas are found in the wild, split between the Virunga Massif which is split between the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda as well as Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Permits are sold on a daily basis and allow visitors to trek to see their pre-assigned group in the company of a ranger and a team of trackers, with porters to assist with carrying bags and helping visitors through rougher terrain and steeper areas. Once the group has been located visitors are allowed a strictly controlled hour with their group to photograph them, observe their fascinating social interactions and learn about them from the guide.
Uniquely, Uganda offers two different parks for gorilla trekking – The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Bwindi offers guests the chance to trek in four different “sectors”; Buhoma (six gorilla families), Rushaga (five families), Nkuringo (three families) and Ruhija (four families). In general the gorilla trekking in Bwindi is regarded as the most challenging of the trekking experiences, with the steep sided and heavily vegetated mountainsides requiring a good level of fitness and agility to negotiate. Equally, the vegetation does provide more places for gorillas to hide, but the skill of the trackers and guides means that all visitors will get to see their assigned gorilla group. Generally speaking, trekking in the Ruhija sector is regarded as the easiest, followed by Buhoma and Rushaga, with Nkuringo regarded as the most challenging.
The lodge that visitors stay in will dictate which sector the trekking is done in, but it can also be the case that guests choose a sector where they want to do their trekking and “work back” to choose a lodge from there, although this does depend on whether the specific accommodation or difficulty of the trek is the determining factor for the experience.
Wherever one chooses to stay and do their trek, the process remains very much the same, with an early wake up and breakfast before driving to the sector HQ where the guide will assist with registration for the trekking. It is possible to request a specific walk difficulty at this point, although it should be noted that the level of difficulty can never be guaranteed. From there guests are driven to the start point for the trek and, after a quick briefing, set off to explore the forest and find the assigned gorilla family. Trek times will vary, with some being as short as an hour (on occasion gorilla families have been found at the sector HQ or in the grounds of some lodges) up to four or even five hours. Once the hour is up the trek back to the vehicle begins, often by a different route to ensure variety. A short drive will take visitors back to the sector HQ where the ranger will present certificates to all trekkers and then it is back to the lodge for some well-earned R&R.
The trekking experience in Mgahinga is a little different, in that there is only one family that has been habituated there. Visitors are taken from their lodge to the small park HQ for a brief orientation and then it is off to see the family. Trekking here does tend to be a little easier – the park is part of the Virunga Massif, which also stretches across in to Rwanda and the DRC, but again, visitors should prepare for the trek to be challenging and expect 6-7 hours for the whole experience.
Unlike Uganda, gorilla trekking in Rwanda all starts and ends in the same place – the Volcanoes National Park HQ at Kiningi. From the get go, the upmarket influences of the Rwandan lodges are obvious here – with a large covered waiting area, TV screens with footage of the various gorilla families, a coffee shop and recently renovated bathrooms. Once the groups have been assigned (as with Uganda, requests for trek difficulty can be made without guarantees), guests are taken to their own individual briefing areas, designed to resemble gorilla nests, before setting off on the trek.
The general rule is that the treks in Rwanda are a little less strenuous than those in Rwanda, although this isn’t always the case and visitors have been known to trek for four hours each way to reach their assigned family. There are ten gorilla families to visit in Rwanda, spread out across the park so the drive times to the start and end point of the treks can be a little longer than those across the border. As with Uganda, a strict one hour is allowed with the gorillas before visitors head back to the vehicle where guides will be waiting.
A hugely enjoyable addition to the gorilla trekking experience in Rwanda is the Ellen DeGeneres Campus at the Dian Fossey Foundation. It comprises a very smart visitor centre, a cafe, research facilities and gardens where guests can take a walk and enjoy the views across to the park. A minimum donation of $20 per visitor is made directly at the visitor centre and this gives guests access to a series of exhibits about Dian Fossey, the gorillas that she protected and promoted, as well as plenty of information about the conservation and future plans for the park. Just a 10 minute drive from park HQ, as well as many of the lodges where visitors stay, this is a great way to spend some time either before or after the gorilla trekking experience.
A lot of this will be driven by how much time you have as well as how much you are looking at spending. With each gorilla permit costing $1,500 in Rwanda and $800 in Uganda, it is a costly experience, albeit a very worthwhile one. If you were to do a combination of both countries the suggestion would be to combine Rwanda with gorilla trekking in Bwindi to offer a very diverse pair of trekking experiences.
Both destinations are very diverse and offer a huge range of experiences beyond gorilla trekking. In Rwanda you can also trek to see golden monkeys in the Volcanoes National Park, explore the Nyungwe National Park and see chimpanzees, spend time by Lake Kivu and enjoy a bona fide big five safari in the Akagera National Park, as well as explore the strikingly modern capital city of Kigali.
Uganda offers an arguably even more diverse range of experiences, with excellent trekking enjoyed around Bwindi, big game viewing safaris in the Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, chimpanzee trekking in Kiable and a great range of community and cultural activities. Visitors seeking adventure will relish the chance to visit Jinja at the source of the river Nile, with world-class white water rafting and one of the most uniquely located lodges in all of Africa.
Whilst gorilla trekking is offered all year round, it is worth noting that the rainy season of April and May can be a very challenging time to try the trekking as the rain is very persistent. November can also be quite wet, so this is worth considering, but the treks are offered throughout the year.
Read our month by month guides to find out more.
Guides are required for both destinations and they will accompany you throughout your trip. All guides are private and they will help with logistics, timings and try to accommodate any requests for specific gorilla groups that you want to see.
Whilst both destinations offer incredibly varied safaris in their own right, combinations with other countries are absolutely possible. Flight connections mean that Uganda combines very well with Kenya, whilst Rwanda and Tanzania are incredibly well connected. An increasingly widespread flight network offered by Rwandair out of Kigali also means easy connections to Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
12 Day Itinerary
Guide Price: £10,300pp
Traverse the unique terrain of Uganda featuring panoramic views of volcanoes to trace two separate mountain gorilla families through the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
10 Day Itinerary
Guide Price: £15,500pp
Witness the wildlife wonders on an unforgettable African adventure. Experience thrilling treks to seek out gorillas and endangered golden monkeys, explore stunning National Parks and witness the captivating Great Wildebeest Migration.
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