How to book Uganda and Rwanda tours in 2024-25

It would help if you had a confirmed gorilla permit for either country to book the gorilla tours in Uganda and Rwanda for 2024 to 2025. These gorilla permits need to be secured in advance at least a year to 6 months upfront. Each day, a maximum of 8 gorilla trekking permits are opened to the public to book per gorilla family. In case you opt for a gorilla habituation experience where four hours are allowed with the mountain gorillas, a maximum of four gorilla permits are opened to the public.

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 off season Gorilla and Chimp Safari

5 Day Gorilla and Chimp Tracking Safari

16 Days Uganda Primates & Wildlife 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

Uganda has two gorilla safari destinations, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with currently gorilla habituation families in the southern part and 19 gorilla trekking families. Locally, the word Bwindi means impenetrable, which is apt for this forest, which is why it was portioned into four administrative areas, each with its gorilla trekking families. The four Bwindi forest areas are Buhoma to the North, Ruhija in the East, Rushaga, and Nkuringo in the South. Mgahinga National Park is still celebrating one gorilla family called Nyakagezi.

Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park is home to 15 gorilla trekking families that meander the five distinctive volcanoes: Mountain Gahinga, Muhavura, Sabyinyo, Bisoke, and Karisimbi. Some of the Rwanda gorilla trekking families include Amahoro, Umubano, Sabyinyo, Karisimbi, Muhoza, Agashya, Hirwa, Susa, and others.

When booking the gorilla tour permits, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has the mandate to sell and regulate permits for Uganda. Rwanda Development Board is responsible for selling and regulating the gorilla permits for Rwanda. 

At Encounter Africa Safaris, when you enquire from us about gorilla safaris through our safari consultants, we check availability per your date of preference first since we are lucky to have access to the gorilla safari permit list of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Rwanda Development Board.

Accommodation for the gorilla safaris in Rwanda and Uganda must be booked in advance as these sell out fast, especially during the peak season. The peak Uganda tourism season is normally June, July, August, September, December, and January. For gorilla trekking permits booked in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, consider where your gorilla permit is booked before securing accommodation.

What Are The Requirements For Booking Gorilla Trekking Permits In Uganda And Rwanda?

Select the date for the gorilla trekking safari and number of permits

Before checking gorilla permit availability, you must know the day when you wish to do this adventure. This saves you from having to move back and forth with checking gorilla permit availability. Gorilla permits for Uganda and Rwanda are booked per day, with a maximum of 8 gorilla trekking and four gorilla habituation permits opened daily.

 In case you want to do gorilla safari in Uganda, choose to do gorilla trekking or habituation experience. The gorilla trekking tours allow you one hour with the fully habituated mountain gorillas, while with gorilla habituation experience, you escort a team of researchers to locate a family of semi-habituated mountains to spend four hours with them.

Check the ages for gorilla tour participants.

The Uganda gorilla safari age limit is currently 15 years and over, while 15 years and above is the current age limit for Rwanda gorilla safaris. These ages were set based on the nature of the gorilla safari, where tourists may be required to hike to get to the mountain gorillas, which children below this age may need to be in position to do.

The time of finding and returning from a gorilla safari is still being determined, necessitating someone to have some level of patience, which children below these ages may not withstand. 

Have A Valid Passport that does not expire before the gorilla safari

Remember your permits' expiry date as you book the gorilla tour to Uganda and Rwanda. Failure to travel because your passport is expired amounts to no show in case you don't use the permit.

You stand to be refunded only if you show up on the day of gorilla safari with reason according to the refund policy of Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board.

Alternatively, you can renew your passport before the start of the gorilla tour to Uganda and Rwanda. The passport is important on the day of the gorilla trek as a document for identification.

How To Plan Rwanda or Uganda Gorilla Safari 2024 to 2025

After booking the gorilla permits for either Uganda or Rwanda gorilla safari destinations, you need to secure other safari logistics:

Reserve Accommodation for the gorilla safari

After the gorilla permits, reserve accommodation during the gorilla tour. In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga National Park Uganda, or Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, accommodations are categorized into Luxury, Mid-range, and budget.

For Bwindi Impenetrable National Park accommodations, note the area where the gorilla permit is booked. Bwindi forest is vast, and crossing from one area to another is challenging because of the nature of the landforms and the thick vegetation cover that makes up this park. Ensure you book accommodation within or closer to the area where the gorilla trekking permit is booked.

Volcanoes accommodations: Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Kinigi Guest House, Hotel Muhavura, Hotel La Palme

Mgahinga accommodations: Gahinga Lodge, Traveller’s Inn, Kisoro Tourist Hotel, Mgahinga Gorilla Triangle, Majambere Iwachu

Bwindi Accommodations: Gorilla Forest Lodge, Mahogany Springs, Buhoma Community Bandas, Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge

Book Transport for the Gorilla Safari

When heading to the gorilla safari destination, you need transport. Since most of these mountain gorilla safari destinations are located upcountry, you need a 4x4 wheel drive vehicle. Having a professional and experienced driver guide is very important.

During the peak season, demands for gorilla safari logistics are high, creating scarcity. It would help if you secured the means to get to the gorilla safari destinations in advance.

Air transport to the gorilla safari destinations

Uganda has daily domestic flights to the upcountry airstrips, Kisoro and Kihihi airstrips. You need to reserve a seat in advance because they sell out too. Book a transfer vehicle, too as these airstrips are located some distance from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.

Charter flight services are available too, from Kigali airstrip in Rwanda to Volcanoes National Park. In Uganda, charter flights are available from Kajjansi Airfield or Entebbe Airport to Kihihi or Kisoro airstrips.

Select additional activities to combine with gorilla tours.

Other than gorilla tours in Uganda or Rwanda, you can combine these adventures with other possible safari activities.

Additional Uganda safari activities you can choose from include chimpanzee safaris, game drives, birding in Uganda, white water rafting on the River Nile, Uganda cultural experiences, launch trips, mountaineering, and others. Our safari consultants are ready to give you free advice on where most Uganda safari activities happen and all necessary time required.

Optional Rwanda safari activities include chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park, game drives in Akagera National Park, Birding in Rwanda, Rwandese cultural experience, a visit to the genocide memorial, and others.

Pack the Right Gorilla Safari gears.

Consider packing the right gear while preparing for the gorilla tour in Uganda or Rwanda. This being an adventure in the wilderness, you must pack the right gorilla safari gear, boots, long-sleeved shirts, insect repellants, and others.

It is fine to over-pack as altering accommodations during your gorilla safari tour may be inconvenient.

Which is the best country for gorilla safaris, Uganda and Rwanda?

The gorilla safaris are incredible, no matter which country you visit: Uganda or Rwanda. That moment when standing before these only leftover mountain gorillas in the world makes you forget to find the different as each visit is unique.

• To find the difference between gorilla safari in Uganda and Rwanda necessitates taking this primate experience in both countries. Some of the few differences between gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda may include:
• Uganda has two gorilla safari destinations: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park, hosting almost half the total of the world mountain gorillas. Rwanda has only one gorilla safari habitat: Volcanoes National Park in Northwestern.
• The time to drive from Kigali Airport to Volcanoes National Park is about 3 hours, while the drive time from Entebbe Airport is about 8 to 9 hours to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park.
• Currently, a Rwanda gorilla trekking permit costs $1500 per person, while the Uganda gorilla trekking permit costs $800 per person per trek.

Uganda offers a wide variety of safari activity options other than gorilla trekking, like chimpanzee safari destinations, over four game safari destinations, a huge birding list, a visit to the source of the River Nile, relaxing Launch trips, 

• Unique cultural experiences and so much more. Rwanda is limited to optional safari. Additional safari activities include chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park, game safaris in Akagera National Park, genocide memorial visits, Rwandese cultural experiences, etc.

Can I Reschedule a Gorilla Trekking permit for Uganda or Rwanda?

If you notice that you may be incapable of attending the gorilla trekking safari, you can reschedule the permit to a future date if you want to travel by then. To reschedule the gorilla trekking permit, you have to follow this procedure.

Write to Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board reservations office requesting to move the gorilla permits as per the new dates. Note that to reschedule the gorilla permit, it must be fully paid for, and the new date must be within the year for which the permit being rescheduled is booked.

Upon confirming the rescheduling, the gorilla permit date is changed according to prevailing availability.  

Rwanda places charges on gorilla permit reschedule.

How Long Has Gorilla Trekking Been in Uganda and Rwanda?

The duration of the gorilla tour adventure in Uganda or Rwanda is hard to determine because mountain gorillas are free to wander in the forest. At the start of the gorilla trekking safari, the ranger guide starts from the trail where the mountain gorillas were last seen the previous day.

The ranger guides also follow the clues of early morning ranger guides that patrol the forest to trace the nesting point of the mountain gorillas and possible hangout spots for the day.

When you locate the mountain gorillas, you can only spend one hour with them. Although some tourists have located mountain gorillas within two hours from the start, other tourists have spent more than three-quarters of the day. It would help if you had some patience to finally find the mountain gorilla, enjoy their company, and return from the forest.

What Are The Rules Of Gorilla Tours In Uganda And Rwanda?

• No flash photography is allowed when taking photos for the gorilla trekking adventure. This scares the mountain gorillas.
• Never eat or smoke before the mountain gorillas because it may be harmful to their health
• Littering in the forest is forbidden because it alters the natural setting where mountain gorillas feed. The mountain gorillas are vegetarian, and this may slowly reduce on their food.
• When you locate the mountain gorillas, do not surround them. This makes them feel ambushed.
• Ask the ranger guide to dig a hole deep in case you wish to do a long call. You need to ever everything beyond recognition.
• Anyone below 15 years old is not allowed to gorilla trekking because the time of locating the mountain gorillas has yet to be discovered, and some patience is needed to complete this trek.
• Volunteer to stay behind if you catch any communicable infection like coronavirus, flu, cough, or cholera. This is because the mountain gorillas can catch human infections easily. They have a DNA that is about 96% similar to that of humans.
• When you locate the mountain gorillas, keep a distance of about 8 meters from them. To reduce the chances of passing a communicable infection to them.
• Never spit on the vegetation because it's food for the mountain gorillas. It is unhealthy and disgusting, too.
• Wear a mask and hand sanitize as an after coronavirus period precaution. It would help if you changed into a clean mask as you approach the mountain gorillas.
• Do not make noise or sudden movements with the mountain gorillas because it may scare them. The gorillas are often scared of unfamiliar noises in their presence.
• Only one hour is allowed with the mountain gorillas when you locate them. This is because they are habituated to be in the presence of human beings for just that hour.

Book your Rwanda and Uganda tours with us today. Contact us for more information.