Four best places to see gorillas in 2025-26

Four best places to see gorillas in 2025-26. The four best places to see gorillas in 2025-2026 included Rwanda, Uganda and D.R.Congo. The mountain gorillas are some of the endangered primates in the world with currently a population of approximately 1000 mountain gorillas living in the entire world. The mountain gorillas are not found anywhere in the world except their habitat in the Virunga area.

Most Popular Safaris

4 Days Gorillas and Golden Monkey Safari

2 Day Bwindi Gorilla Safari through Kigali

3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari

5 Day Gorilla Trekking Rwanda

5 Day off season Gorilla and Chimp Safari

5 Day Gorilla and Chimp Tracking Safari

16 Days Uganda Primates & Wildlife Safari

3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Tracking Safari

5 Day Gorilla & Chimp Tracking Safari

5 Day Low season Uganda Gorilla & Chimp Safari

5 Day Uganda Gorillas & Game Safari via Kigali

5 Day Gorilla Habituation & Chimps

In Uganda, gorillas live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park in the southeastern part of the country. In Rwanda, mountain gorillas live in only Volcanoes National Park in the Northwestern part of the country. The Virunga National Park in the Eastern Part of D.R.Congo is home to the gorillas in this country.

To do gorilla safaris in either country one must have authentic permits issued by the bodies responsible for regulating the gorilla tour activities in each respective country. Contact us for more information.

Where to do Gorilla Safaris in 2025- 2026

In Uganda

Uganda has two destinations where you can see the mountain gorillas including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. All these gorilla safari destinations are located in the southwestern part of Uganda.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a prehistoric forest in Uganda that is believed to be a survivor of the arid conditions of the ice age period that affected Africa. Bwindi forest has about 25,000 years and this is backed by the long list of inhabitants including mountain gorillas are amongst the occupants that are believed to have accumulated over several years.

Gorilla safaris are the main activities in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and one can do gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience. Bwindi was divided into four sectors that is Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo but each are has gorilla families affiliated to it. When booking gorilla trekking permits for Bwindi forest, they are secured according to these areas.

It is best t even reserve accommodation to use during the gorilla tour in Bwindi within or closer to the area where the gorilla permit is booked to prevent having to travel in the dark in order to catch up with briefing in another area.

Bwindi forest hosts other primates including olive baboons, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys, L’hoest, black and white colobus and others. More than 350 bird species have been registered as residents of Bwindi forest including Albertine rift endemics.

Accommodations of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Forest Gorilla Forest Camp, Clouds lodge, Engage lodge, Nkuringo Gorilla lodge, Nshongi Camp, Bwindi Backpackers’ camp, Ruhija Gorilla lodge

Mgahinga National Park

Mgahinga National Park is in the deep southwestern corner of Uganda and is the smallest National Park in the country but home to the endangered mountain gorillas. The Nyakagezi gorilla family is so far the only gorilla family open to the public in this park. Mgahinga National Park has its headquarters at Ntebeko where most of the administrative work of the park commences.

Other than the mountain gorillas, Mgahinga National Park is home to the golden monkeys which are some of the endangered primates in the world. Many joke that it is in Mgahinga National Park that silver meets gold.  Other primates are also members of Mgahinga forest including black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey and others.

The topography of Mgahinga National Park is composed of three mountains that is Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Muhavura and Mountain Sabyinyo. The mountain gorillas normally spend some time on the slopes of these highlands so tourists have to hike in order to get to them which may get quite challenging.

More than 115 bird species are residents of Mgahinga National Park including Albertine rift endemics.

Accommodations of Mgahinga National Park Gahinga Lodge, Traveller’s Inn

In Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park

In Rwanda, gorilla trekking safaris happen in Volcanoes National Park which is home to so far 12 gorilla trekking families including Umubano, Amahoro, Hirwa, Susa, Karisimbi and others. The nature of the topography of Volcanoes National Park is quite steep compared to the rest of the gorilla safari destinations.

The headquarters of Volcanoes National Park is at the ORTPN where briefing happens before starting the gorilla trekking safari in this park. The tourists are allocated different gorilla families after briefing under a criteria that is quite hard to estimate.

Other than the mountain gorillas, Volcanoes National Park is home to other primates including black and white colobus, blue monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys and others. More than 200 bird species have been recorded as residents of Volcanoes forest including Albertine rift endemics.

In D. R.Congo

The Virunga National Park is home to mountain gorillas and Kahuzi Biega National Park to lowland gorillas. This park is situated in the Eastern part of D.R.Congo but because of the insecurity in this area, the conservation of these gorillas has met so many challenges. At the moment, about 6 mountain gorilla families are so open to the public that is Lulengo gorilla family, Rugendo gorilla family, Munyaga gorilla family, Humba gorilla family, Kabirizi gorilla family and Mapuwa gorilla family

In Kahuzi Biega National Park there are some lowland gorilla trekking families including Nganwa, chimanuka, Mpungwe, Bonnianai and more. Look out for other interesting forest dwellers includes other primates, and several birds species to mention but a few.

When Is The Best Time To Book Gorilla Safaris On An African Safari in 2025 to 2026

The best time to book the gorilla safaris is any time of the year but most tourists prefer the dry season which is normally June to September and December to January. The forests in this Virunga area are highly moist most of the year because there is less sunray penetration that gets to the ground through the dense canopy.

The Virunga area has a network of rivers that may sometimes flood leaving the ground logged most of the time. Tourists need to wear waterproof tracking boots to enable them to maneuver through the thick overgrown and tangled vegetation on the ground.

In general, the demand for the gorilla permits of these three countries is high in the peak season yet supply is restricted as a conservation measure. It is best and safe to book the necessary gorilla permits in advance to prevent panic at the last minute. Even the gorilla permits are sold in installments especially in Uganda and Rwanda must be topped up as the terms state so that you do not get disappointed on arrival for the gorilla safaris in these countries.

The wet season must not be ignored when planning the gorilla safaris in the Virunga area. This is because no matter the season, be sure to see the gorillas. During the wet season, the gorillas tend to spend most of their time up in the trees or on the slopes so get ready to do some hiking where necessary.

Book even other related logistics that support Uganda safaris in time so that you do not run out of options when on ground. The demand for logistics like accommodations, and transport tends to get high in the peak season.

Is It Safe To Do The Gorilla Safari In The Virunga Area In 2025-2026

Uganda and Rwanda are safe safari destinations to do the gorilla safaris but D.R.Congo still has some insecurities. In Uganda and Rwanda, the gorilla safari destinations are under the management of well trained ranger guides and other security agencies in each respective country.

Every tourist is expected not to move in the forests during the gorilla safaris without an escorting ranger guide. There are rules for gorilla safaris that every tourist is expected to abide by and these are explained in detail to the tourists during briefing.

The ranger guide follows the paces of the slowest trekker so that no person is forgotten in the jungle which may be too thick to find your way out. The rangers carry some emergency weapons to use in case the eed arises.

Security starts with you so as a tourist, you have the responsibility over your belongings and ensure that you desist from engaging in unlawful activities that may land you into trouble.

Try not to provoke the gorillas as this may agitate them and send the gorillas into hiding or charge which may cause a stampede in the forest.

Carry a first aid kit with emergency medication that you can use where the need arises.

Are Gorillas dangerous to visit

In nature, the gorillas are calm and serene primates even though they can charge when provoked. They are not dangerous primates even though they live in the jungle. Before opening the mountain gorillas to the public they are first habituated for an unknown time unit proven ready. Gorilla habituation is a process done by researchers on wild gorillas to help them get used to humans presence without altering their nature. This process may take 2years to more depending on how fast they adopt.

In case you notice some odd behavior amongst the gorillas when on the trek, do not panic because you may escalate the situation wait for the ranger guide to find the cause of the matter. Be ready to follow the new guidelines given by the ranger guide in order to calm the situation because you have one hour of viewing the fully habituated gorillas and four hours with semi-habituated gorillas. Get in touch for more information.

Is The Visit To See The Gorillas Worth The Time And Money

Gorilla safaris in Africa are on the top list of adventures to do on an African safaris but the limits to the numbers of permits open to the public is what stops many from enjoying this experience. The gorillas whether mountain gorillas or lowland gorillas are endangered so there are few destinations in the world that host them. Getting to be just a few meters away from the family  of gorillas is a dream come true for many tourists.

Purchasing the gorilla permits from either Uganda, Rwanda or D.R.Congo is one way to support the conservation of these vulnerable primates. Even though there is so far great progress in the quest to conserve the gorillas, more support is still required.

Visiting the gorillas is one way to contribute to the humans to gorillas relationship where by more people get to recognize the relevancy of the gorilla existence amidst them. The local on ground usually earn a living from being porters for tourists on the gorilla safari so community sensitization is done through such opportunities.

What Are The Rules To follow on A Visit To See The Gorillas

• Eating or smoking before the lowland and mountain gorillas is forbidden . Do this atleast 200 meters away from them so that they are not enticed to pull what you are eating from you. They are wild animals that must search for there own food.
• Only children 15 and above are allowed to do gorilla trekking because of the nature of the gorilla trekking environment. The time of locating the lowland and mountain gorillas is unknown because of there movement.
• Spitting on the soil or vegetation may spread germs to the mountain and lowland gorillas so it is forbidden. Lowland gorillas can easily catch human infectious diseases like covid-19, cough, flu, cholera.
• In case you have a communicable infection volunteer to stay behind and protect the lowland gorillas from such infectious diseases. The extent to which this disease may spread and kill the  gorillas is unknown.
• Wearing a clean mask before the Lowland gorillas is one of the preventive measures adopted to prevent spreading covid-19 virus to the mountain and lowland gorillas and other germs.
• Keep a gap of at least 8 meters from the gorillas when you locate them to prevent spreading any infection.
• Loud noise is forbidden in the forest because this may scare the mountain and Lowland gorillas. They are very sensitive to unfamiliar noise in there presence.
• Even using flash photography is prohibited because the mountain and lowland gorillas may go into hiding because of unfamiliar light.
• Provoking the gorillas is forbidden because this may entice the gorillas to charge yet one hour is allowed with the gorillas when you find them.

Contact our team for more information about gorilla trekking places.