Planning a Gorilla Tour in Uganda
Today in the high mountains of the Virungas and Bwindi Impenetrable forest, mountain gorillas flourish as they have for thousands of years, thanks to gorilla tourism. Gorilla trekking is one of Uganda’s most rewarding tourism experiences, and in this post, we’ll give you all the information you need in planning a gorilla tour in Uganda.
With Uganda protecting more than half of the world’s mountain gorillas, seeing mountain gorillas in Uganda on a gorilla trekking safari is one of life’s most exhilarating experiences. Uganda offers the best primate viewing opportunities in the world, coupled with classic game safaris in ten protected national parks.
A typical gorilla tour can consist of a day gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable forest, another day traversing the savannah plains of Lake Mburo or Queen Elizabeth National Park, and finally, end in the primate jungles of Kibale National Park.
So let’s take a look at how to start planning a gorilla tour in Uganda, covering all the available resources and bureaucratic information.
Resources to Plan a Gorilla Tour in Uganda
- Where to see mountain gorillas in Uganda
- How to prepare for a gorilla safari
- Finding a local operator
- Booking a gorilla permit
- Uganda travel restrictions
- What to bring on the gorilla tour
- What to expect on a gorilla tour
- Getting to where the gorilla live
- Where to stay during the trip
- The experienced trekking gorillas
- Best time to go on a gorilla tour
- What else before or after gorilla trekking
- Sustainable gorilla tourism
- Booking your gorilla tour
Where can I see mountain gorillas in Uganda?
There are two sanctuaries in Uganda where tourists can see mountain gorillas. The first is Mgahinga National Park, located in the Virunga Mountains that straddle Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC’s borders. The other is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, located in Uganda’s southwestern highlands that form part of the Albertine Rift Valley.
Uganda’s best place to see mountain gorillas is in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where almost half of the total gorilla population lives. About 200 mountain gorillas in Bwindi are habituated for humans to visit and spend at least one hour with them: what we call gorilla trekking in tourism.
Bwindi has 19 gorilla groups habituated for tourism spread around four trailheads located in the park boundaries. Tourists start daily gorilla trekking experiences at Buhoma in the north, Ruhija in the east, Nkuringo, and Rushaga in the south. Each of these sectors in Bwindi independently organizes tourists in groups of eight people to visit each gorilla family in that sector.
When you book your gorilla permit to track gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, your chosen sector will be indicated on the permit, allowing you to trek only the gorillas in that group. At the trailhead, during the early morning briefing, the UWA guide will allow you to chose which gorilla group you want to visit.
Mgahinga has one gorilla family habituated for gorilla trekking, and a visitor can access the gorillas through UWA park headquarters after paying for a gorilla permit. Mgahinga National Park lies on the base of three extinct Virunga Mountains: Mount Muhavura with the highest peak, Mount Gahinga the smallest, and Mount Sabinyo, which lies between the three countries’ borders.
In the bamboo forest jungles of the Mgahinga, tourists can spend an hour among one of the world’s natural wonders and live to testify the encounter.
Where to see mountain gorillas is a great post we would recommend reading to know more about the gorilla habitats in Uganda.
How To Prepare For A Gorilla Tour in Uganda
Even after the devastating effects of the pandemic on the travel world, the logistics of preparing for a gorilla tour in Uganda have not changed much. The process involves choosing a local operator to help you organize the trip, booking a gorilla permit months before the trip, checking travel restrictions, buying your air tickets, deciding what to pack, and getting yourself to the small country in East Africa.
Finding A Local Operator
Finding the right local operator is like selecting a hairdresser. They must know how to navigate the local bureaucracy to give you an incredible safari experience that fits your expectations. Some travelers chose to navigate the process of planning a gorilla tour themselves, others chose to work with an agent in their country, and many travelers prefer to deal with local experts directly.
However, working with locals brings many advantages to the table, including avoiding agency costs and getting expert knowledge reaching you directly at zero fees. A local operator will quickly deal with the challenging processes, booking you into your styled accommodation, preparing your transfers, booking your tour activities, and managing your journey at a single price.
Encounter Africa Safaris is a licensed local operator with an incredible streak of successful gorilla tours in Uganda and Rwanda. They’re among Uganda’s most outstanding safari companies that can help you prepare for a gorilla tour.
Booking a Gorilla Permit in Uganda
One of the most challenging things in planning a gorilla tour in Uganda is securing a gorilla permit. The gorilla permit is very scarce, especially during peak seasons.
With only 19 gorilla groups available for gorilla trekking in Uganda, and only eight people allowed to visit each group per day, 152 permits are available at UWA offices per day. The number of tourists interested in the gorilla tour per day is way higher than the available permits.
We highly recommend booking the permit months in Advance to avoid clashing on which dates you want to take the gorilla tour in Uganda. When you book early, you get to dictate your travel date, which park sector, and where you would like to rest after the trek.
How much is a gorilla permit in Uganda?
A gorilla permit in Uganda costs USD 700 (£495/€575) per person per day. The minimum age for a permit is 15 years old. A permit for foreign residents (with work permits) costs $600, and EAC nationals cost UGX 250,000 per person.
We wrote a trending post on how to book your gorilla permit; it is compelling to read.
Uganda Travel Restrictions For Seeing Gorillas
Uganda is open for tourism through all borders and the international airport with restrictions. Tourists can visit Uganda’s lush national parks and see the gorillas any time of the year.
The most crucial travel restriction for a gorilla tour in Uganda is a negative test for Covid-19 before and after your visit to Uganda. Officials at entry points require a valid Negative COVID-19 PCR Test Certificate issued not more than 72 hours before boarding your first flight to Uganda. The test should be retaken before you leave the destination to protect those you’ll be getting to.
Whether you have taken your COVID vaccine or not, you’ll require the test. Travelers from some countries may be subjected to another 4-hour test on arrivals like travelers from the USA, UK, UAE, Turkey, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania. Others may make it through immigration easily.
Travel restrictions are dynamic and could unexpectedly change anytime. Ensure that you check up on the latest development at least a couple of weeks before you come.
Another regulation is wearing facemasks. Wearing a facemask is mandatory in Uganda. You’ll not be allowed on a gorilla tour in Uganda without at least two facemasks (preferably N95) with a fresh one at the point of seeing the gorillas.
You’ll only be allowed to get as close as a 10-meter safe distance from the gorillas with strict instructions to avoid any contact to the protected primates. And tourists can stay with the gorillas for only one hour unless they are on a habituation experience that allows at least four hours.
Please contact your travel manager or country consulate for the latest Uganda visa restrictions because almost everyone traveling to Uganda requires a visa. A Uganda visa costs $50 for a 60-day entry, which just about covers the time for a gorilla tour.
Visas are entirely processed online at visas.immigration.go.ug, there’s no need to wait till you get to Uganda to process your visa.
Our expert wrote something to help you plan your Uganda safari during the dynamic pandemic times.
What should I bring to a gorilla tour?
What you should bring to a gorilla tour includes essentials like a pair of tracking shoes, a long-sleeved shirt, trousers, rain jacket, waterproof backpack, and insect repellent: a few stuff to protect you from the drenching downpours, dangerous pricks, and bugs.
Remember, you’ll be booked into a camp or lodge near the trailhead, so your luggage will most probably be back at the camp. What you carry for the entire trip may not necessarily be with you on the gorilla trail.
On the gorilla trail, you’ll carry the light backpack that holds your packed lunch (you’ll spend half the day in the jungle), photography equipment, extra facemask, bug repellent, and a light rain jacket.
At the trailhead, you may be asked to present your passport and permit for verification. Your shoes and hands will be disinfected before you’re escorted into the jungle.
The mountain gorilla forests are located at high altitudes of up to 4000 meters. It gets chilly in the evenings at the camp, so carry something to keep you warm during those lazy moments.
Here’s a list with extended details of what you should pack for your gorilla tour in Uganda.
What To Expect on A Gorilla Tour
On a gorilla tour in Uganda, you should expect unfolding excitement at every point of your journey. It’s a long ride of about 499 km through some of the most beautiful countryside landscapes to the gorilla sanctuary.
Getting To The Gorillas
Expect to drive on well-paved roads for about 8 hours and 3 hours on a dirt road to the gorilla park unless you take a one-hour local flight. A local flight takes about 1 hour to a small airport outside the gorilla park, and you’ll transfer for about 2-3 hours on a dirt road to get to a camp outside the gorilla park.
Local gorilla operators organize gorilla tours starting from Entebbe International Airport, spend a night or two in Entebbe or head straight to the gorillas if you still have the energy.
A budget gorilla tour in Uganda will spend a night in the park, track gorillas the next day and get on the road back to Entebbe or continue up north into the other safari parks that straddle the southwestern region.
One should expect to hire a 4×4 safari car for transfers between Entebbe and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and or between the airstrip and their lodging outside the park. So, expect a 4-6-seater to cost from $150 to $300 per day, including the driver guide and exclusive of the gas.
Where To Stay on A Gorilla Tour in Uganda
The sectioning of the gorilla parks in Uganda into smaller trailheads has enabled great investments in facilities around the five sectors of the national parks. Expect to find a varied selection of where to stay during your gorilla tour in Uganda.
The most famous gorilla trekking trailheads in Uganda are Buhoma, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. Located at walking distances from the trekking starting points are many lodging facilities spanning from budget camps to exotic jungle resorts that make you forget the treacherous trek to the mountain gorillas.
In Ruhija, eastern Bwindi trailhead, Ruhija Gorilla Lodge provides the tranquility and comfort you need for a gorilla trek. Warm showers, beautiful views, hot sumptuous meals, and warm linen are available at this small getaway.
In Rushaga and Nkuringo, south Bwindi trailhead, one can stay at
- Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge (high-end),
- Clouds Mountain Lodge (High-end),
- Mutanda Lake Resort (mid-range),
- Chameleon Hill (mid-range), and
- Bwindi View Banda (budget)
These are the best selected from the bunch of where to stay for the gorilla tour in Rushaga & Nkuringo trailheads. At least at any of these properties, you’ll get to the trailhead on time and also enjoy the ultimate jungle amenities when you return from the excursion.
In Buhoma, north of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, accommodation for gorilla trekking is available in
- Buhoma Lodge (high-end),
- Gorilla Forest Camp (high-end)
- Bwindi Lodge (High-end)
- Mahogany Springs (mid-range)
- Silverback Lodge (Mid-range)
- Engagi (Budget)
- Buhoma Community Lodge (Budget)
- Bwindi View Bandas (Budget)
Finding where to stay can be a daunting task, especially if it’s your first time on a gorilla tour. It’s usually advisable to use a local operator who knows and has vetted the camps to get you a great accommodation rate.
Encounter Africa has a great list of accommodation facilities that we’ve partnered with over the years and can promise you a great experience with the mountain gorillas in Uganda.
The Gorilla Trekking Experience
You should expect briefing early morning, a few minutes before 08:00, at the trailhead before you head into the misty jungles. Your lodge or driver will drive you to the trailhead office, where you’ll check in with other tourists for a briefing. You’ll also be assigned the gorilla family to trek.
Expect to be grouped with seven other trekkers based on their physical abilities to trek a particular gorilla group. You’ll be asked to adhere to operating procedures (mentioned earlier) and to stay close with your group members at all times.
Two rangers flanking the group and an expert guide will lead you into the jungle, moving at the slowest person’s pace. There will be no visible trail, but the rangers will be cutting through shrubs and bushes with a machete to create a path for you.
Ensure you’re wearing gloves, for you’ll be holding onto unknown bushes and branches to find balance on the uneven terrain. There’s no telling what kind of itchy or prickly branch you may mistakenly hold.
How long does gorilla trekking Take?
The trek can take about 30 mins to 4 hours to reach the gorilla family. Mountain gorillas roam freely within a range of up to 41 sq km, which means that it may be challenging to predict their exact location.
How likely is it to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda?
Park angers hike ahead of your group (at down) to find the gorillas where they left them the previous evening and stay with the gorillas all day. They help in directing your group rangers on where to find them via walkie-talkies. So it’s highly likely that you’ll see the mountain gorillas on your trek any time of the year.
Your expert tracker will have a walkie-talkie to communicate with the on-location rangers. When you finally locate the gorillas, expect to leave your backpack or any other possession about 50 meters from the gorillas and silently approach them with only your muted camera (or phone).
In retrospect, you’ll not be personally tracking the gorilla trail, and you’re not expected to know how to track primates deep in the African jungles. You’ll have experts do the work while giving you a little insight on clues leading to the gorillas.
How hard is gorilla trekking in Uganda?
Anyone can trek gorillas. However, gorilla trekking in Uganda is moderately hard because of the uneven, challenging terrain that leads to them. Gorillas live in highlands moving between low and high altitudes, which makes it challenging to reach them.
However challenging it is to reach the gorillas, everyone who takes the gorilla tour in Uganda manages to meet them. The rangers’ system and availability of trekkers make it highly possible for anyone to reach them.
Should you hire a porter?
A well-organized group of physically fit young people gathers to provide porter services to any trekker hopping to get challenged by the terrain at the trailheads.
The question of whether to hire a porter or not is entirely your own choice and should be based on your physical ability to trek the jungle and carry your backpack or your moral judgment to support the locals.
Porter services cost about $20-$30 per person. It is one of the most direct ways of supporting the communities surrounding the gorilla parks directly.
Are there gorilla trekking rules in Uganda?
Please follow the guidance of your expert guide; there’s no telling what to expect with the wild animals. Remember that you’ll be the visitor, so it’s essential to follow the rules of the jungles to have a wonderful experience.
The regulations include staying silent, not mimicking the animals, not panicking when something changes in the environment, no eating around them, and most of all, wearing your facemask and staying a 10-meter safe distance from the gorillas.
The gorilla trekking rules and regulations seem so trivial, and breaking one of them could lead to massive 200 kilos of silverback snapping your neck in the middle of the jungle. The rules are very simple for any tourist to follow and shouldn’t cause any panic to fail meeting your jungle cousins.
Kindly read the gorilla trekking rules and regulations in detail.
How much time do you spend with the gorillas?
UWA allows trekkers only 60 minutes with the gorilla family. The best advice is to not give any thought to the time; focus on curating your experience with the gorillas. Allow yourself to get used to the surroundings, put the camera away for most of the time, and observe the fascinating social dynamics of the gorilla family.
The one hour is quite enough to spend in the jungle with a calm, conscious mind surrounded by a family of massive creatures. If you prefer to spend more time with the gorillas, book a gorilla habituation experience in Rushaga. The experience allows tourists at least four hours with the gorilla family and costs more than double.
Usually, tourists find the gorillas after having their breakfast and chilling in the warm morning forest breeze. So there’s rarely any movement involved. Expect to sit with the gorillas as they munch on plants near where they sit.
After your one-hour close encounter with gorillas, your lead guide, who will have kept informing you of the time, will announce the end of the experience and lead you out of the jungle.
Getting out of the jungle may take lesser time than going in because your rangers choose the shortest route out since they won’t be looking for gorillas. However, expect to stop somewhere far from the gorilla for a lunch break.
Back at the trailhead, each trekker is awarded a trekking certificate for having successfully completed the challenge.
Best Time To Go
A gorilla tour in Uganda is good all year round, but the best time to go is during the country’s dry months of June to August and December to February. It is easier to trek during the dry seasons because the trails are drier and have minimal expectations of a downpour.
However, the availability of accommodation and permits in the dry months is a bit challenging because everyone considers traveling during the same period. You have to book your gorilla tour months (at least a year) in advance to travel during the peak seasons.
The wet months of March to May and September to November are much easier accommodation and logistics but expect to get wet during the trek. Most facilities offer discounts during the wet months but reaching them may be challenging to a first-timer.
Whichever time you chose to go on a gorilla tour in Uganda, ensure that you carry some clothing to keep you dry during the trek and warm during the chilly evenings at the camp. Mountain gorilla sanctuaries are located in the highlands at very high altitudes of about 8,000 to 13,000 feet at very low temperatures, especially during the evenings.
You can also read our month-by-month recommendation on when you should book your gorilla safari.
What Else Before And After Gorilla Trekking
Uganda is undoubted the best destination to watch primates, and the best activity to include on your gorilla tour is trekking the chimpanzee troops in one of the chimp forests. Nonetheless, a safari experience about 64 km north of Bwindi is sure to give you the experience you would have gotten anywhere else in Africa.
Safari Game Drive
The best thing about a gorilla tour in Uganda is that you can easily include a classic game drive safari in one of Uganda’s savannah game parks and enjoy watching game as much as you would have in any other big safari destination.
Gorilla game parks in Uganda are within 100 km of Lake Mburo National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park, which provide excellent Africa safari experiences.
On safari in Uganda, elephants and buffalo are very common, and lions are surprisingly easy to spot on the plains. Many antelope species, hippo, giraffe, and crocodile, are common around the Kazinga channel and in Mburo, especially the giraffe and zebra.
Most gorilla tours in Uganda include a stop at Lake Mburo before they head up into the highlands. Others prefer joining the Queen Elizabeth’s Ishasha sector to watch the impressive tree-climbing lions and then continue on a boat safari on the Kazinga Channel. You’ll enjoy driving through Uganda’s savannah plains and meet the same animals as in Kenya, but the difference will be the volume of animals you meet.
Chimpanzee Trekking
Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge (Queen Elizabeth NP) or Kibale National Park is an excellent addition to your gorilla tour in Uganda. Uganda has more than 1500 chimpanzees roaming the rainforest jungle, and a few of them are habituated for tourism, offering the best chimp viewing experiences in Africa.
Among Kibale National Park’s diverse animal and plant species are 13 primate species, including black and white colobus monkey, red-tailed, and blue monkeys. If you’re on a mission to furnish your love for primates, Kiable is the destination to add to your gorilla tour.
A chimpanzee permit costs $150 per person and can be processed the same way as the gorilla permit: through UWA offices.
Cultural Experience
Although Uganda presents one of the most diverse cultures on the continent, most gorilla trekkers quickly chose to meet the mountain forest people called the Batwa because they reside along the gorilla sanctuary boundaries. They live in small communities near the gorilla trekking trailheads and are easy to reach.
The Batwa are a small pygmy people that lived in the rainforests among the gorillas before the government ousted them to gazette the forests as national parks. Now they live in the park’s boundaries, trying to keep up with the modern world and struggling to retain their cultures.
After the gorilla trek, a visit to the Batwa village and a walk through their forest trails showcasing their historical moments and sharing their cultural practices is worth your time.
Nature Walking Trails
You’ll be visiting Africa’s oldest rainforest, where UNESCO has identified thousands of wildlife species and declared them protected sanctuaries. Therefore, the gorilla destinations are your best choice for nature hiking or forest walks in Uganda.
One of Uganda’s most famous nature trails included on gorilla tours is the Buhoma-Nkuringo across the Bwindi walking trail. Locals use the 4-7-hour trail to connect the two trading centers and cuts through the misty jungles going over ridges, crossing rivers, and climbing slopes under the thick misty Bwindi canopy.
Other trails around Bwindi and Mgahinga outside the national parks, like the community trails, offer stunning views of the dreamy landscapes occupied by human settlements around the gorilla homes.
A one to three-hour walking experience in the communities or open landscapes around Bwindi and Mgahinga is worth adding to your gorilla tour in Uganda.
Golden Monkey Trekking
Golden Monkeys in Mgahinga are getting quite the attraction lately. Golden monkeys are cute tiny endangered primates with bright fur adorned with a golden brush on the tips. These small primates survive only the bamboo forests of the Virunga mountain shared between Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC.
One golden monkey troop with about 30 members is habituated and available for tourism in Mgahinga National Park for a permit fee of $50 per person.
Watching spending at least an hour with the golden monkey troop and watching their cute little faces will surely bring some joy on your gorilla tour in Uganda.
Bird Watching
Bwindi alone has a fantastic foray of bird species that will impress an ardent bird watcher. 350 bird species have been recorded in Bwindi, with notable ones like the African green pigeon, African harrier hawk, Cinnamon-chested bee-eater, Crowned hornbill, Giant kingfisher, and the Great Blue Turaco.
A 3-6 hour birdwatching expedition on the Kashasha River, Ivy River, or Buhoma trails are well recorded to all bird watchers after the gorilla trekking experience.
For more details, read our well-written post on what else after a gorilla trek.
A Sustainable Gorilla Tour in Uganda
Not long ago, the plight of mountain gorillas was in the hands of poachers and forest hunters, driving the surviving gorillas to extinction. Thanks to several conservationists, especially Dian Fossey. Fossey dedicated her life to studying the mountain gorilla, living among the critically endangered apes in DRC and Rwanda for decades.
Almost six decades from the dark days of the end of the twentieth century, populations have gradually recovered, but the species is still classified as critically endangered. Here’s why.
Habitat loss
Habitat loss is still the biggest threat to the mountain gorilla’s existence. Although protected within specific game parks, the mountain gorillas are still losing their territories to human populations that keep growing around the gorilla sanctuaries, eating away pieces of the natural forests, bit by bit.
Commercial forest logging, road building, and agriculture eat away the gorilla sanctuaries to feed human communities. The poor economic situation and limited natural resources mean that gorillas will continue competing for resources with humans.
Human Diseases
Research has shown that gorillas share 98% of our DNA, with so many other physical body similarities, which means that gorillas are highly susceptible to human diseases and do not share the same immunity as humans. Consequently, exposure to human diseases has previously had a devastating effect on gorilla populations.
Poaching
Despite improved monitoring and security, poaching is still a big threat to mount. Poachers kill these amazing creatures for bushmeat, traditional medicine, and illegal animal trade. Poaching mountain gorillas has recently gone down, thanks hugely to conservation efforts.
Conservation Efforts
The lucrative gorilla tourism is mainly why the governments of Uganda and Rwanda have made mountain gorillas a huge conservation priority.
These governments have instituted conservation efforts, including 24-hour policing of protected areas, harsher penalties for poachers and traffickers, better veterinary care, community education, and alternative livelihoods for the communities around the gorilla game parks.
Much of the gorilla habitat borders overlap with remote and poor communities of people who previously depended on the gorilla forests. A lot of awareness and help in conducted by various local and international organizations to help these communities to create other dependencies.
How You Can Help Gorillas
Find out more about how your local operator’s sustainable programs with mountain gorillas. Better yet, book with a local operator with sustainable gorilla trekking programs to make sure you positively impact your gorilla tour in Uganda.
Secondly, you can hire a porter to help you on your trekking adventure. By hiring a porter, you’re directly employing one of the community members that would have illegally ended up in the forest to find a living. Or you can tip a porter at the trailhead even if you don’t need their services, therefore making sure they get the help directly.
Around the trailheads are community members selling souvenirs on the trails. Kindly buy their small items for as little as $2. That small gesture is a considerable contribution to anyone living below 5 cents a day.
Governments invest a percentage of every gorilla permit fee (20% in Uganda) to support infrastructure, schools, and alternative livelihoods to decrease the human impact.
Despite considerable hurdles, the conservation through gorilla tourism ideal is mainly successful, and revenue from gorilla trekking in Uganda has significantly impacted the mountain gorilla’s future survival with humans. Do your part by going to see them.
The best post we wrote about this is where to see and support gorillas. Browse through and let us know your opinion in the comment section.
Booking Your Gorilla Tour
Book your gorilla tour in Uganda with Encounter Africa Safaris. Our experts will process your gorilla permit, advise on the best time to visit, and give you the best list of accommodation places to chose from.
Our local experts are pretty knowledgeable about the local bureaucracies of planning a gorilla safari. They will intimately combine their knowledge with your expectations to create a memorable primate safari of your life. Send us an email at info@gorilla-tracking-uganda.com.
