Rwanda & Uganda: an hour with the mountain gorillas
Around a thousand mountain gorillas survive, all of them in the forests where these two countries meet the Congo. Trekking to sit with a family for an hour is the most moving wildlife encounter on earth.
Why Rwanda and Uganda
Mountain gorillas cannot survive in captivity, so the only way to see one is to walk into the forest where it lives. The Virunga volcanoes, shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest hold the entire world population, which conservation has slowly rebuilt from a few hundred to a little over a thousand. Each morning small groups of visitors, eight at most, trek to a habituated family and spend exactly one hour with them. Nothing prepares you for a silverback looking back at you from five metres.
The two countries offer different versions of the same experience. Rwanda is polished, compact and expensive: Volcanoes National Park is two and a half hours from Kigali on good roads, the lodges are among the best in Africa and the permit is US$1,500. Uganda is bigger, rougher and nearly half the price, with Bwindi's treks often longer and steeper, and the bonus of chimpanzees in Kibale and a proper savanna safari in Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls on the same trip.
Both are genuinely safe for visitors, both put a large share of permit income into communities around the parks, and both are worth the long flights.
Where to go
Volcanoes National Park
Dian Fossey's park, on the slopes of the Virungas. Twelve habituated gorilla families, well-organised treks that start at the Kinigi headquarters each morning, and a growing number of golden monkey groups. The lodges near the park are exceptional and so are the prices.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
An ancient, steep rainforest with roughly half of all mountain gorillas and more than twenty habituated families across four sectors. Treks can be long and muddy; the reward is the same. Permits are US$800, with discounts in the low-season months of April, May and November.
Queen Elizabeth & Murchison Falls
Uganda's savanna parks. Queen Elizabeth has the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha and boat trips on the Kazinga Channel; Murchison has the Nile forced through a seven-metre gap and good elephant, giraffe and lion. Both combine naturally with Bwindi on a ten-day loop.
Kibale & Nyungwe
Chimpanzee tracking in Uganda's Kibale forest, home to some 1,500 chimps, and in Rwanda's Nyungwe, which also has a canopy walkway and thirteen primate species. A morning with chimpanzees is louder, faster and, in its own way, as remarkable as the gorillas.
When to go
Gorilla treks run every day of the year. The forests are wet whenever you go, but the drier months make the trails easier and the drive in more pleasant.
- June to September and December to February: the drier seasons and the most popular. Rwanda's permits sell out months ahead for these months.
- March to May and October to November: the rains. Muddier, steeper-feeling treks, fewer visitors, and in Uganda cheaper permits in April, May and November. Photography in the forest is harder but the gorillas are exactly the same.
Getting there and around
Kigali has direct flights from Brussels, Doha, Dubai, Nairobi and Addis Ababa, and Volcanoes National Park is about two and a half hours by road. Entebbe, for Uganda, is served via Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Doha, Dubai, Brussels and Amsterdam; Bwindi is a long day's drive of eight to ten hours, or a scheduled light aircraft to Kisoro or Kihihi. Many travellers fly into Kigali and drive across the border to Bwindi in four to five hours, combining Rwanda's convenience with Uganda's permit price. A driver-guide in a 4x4 is standard in both countries.
Where to stay
- Rwanda: a cluster of lodges around Kinigi and Musanze, from high-end lodges with volcano views to good mid-range guesthouses. Kigali itself is clean, calm and worth a night.
- Uganda: lodges in each Bwindi sector, from luxury to basic. Book your lodge in the same sector as your permit, because the sectors are hours apart by road.
Practicalities
Permits. The gorilla permit is the single biggest cost: US$1,500 per person in Rwanda and US$800 in Uganda (US$600 in Uganda's low-season months), each for one trek and one hour with the gorillas. Chimpanzee permits are far cheaper. Permits are limited to eight people per family per day and must be booked well in advance through the park authority or your operator. You must be 15 or older, and anyone with a cold or other infection will be refused, to protect the gorillas.
The trek. Treks last from under an hour to six or more, at 2,000 to 3,000 metres, on steep, muddy, nettle-lined trails. Porters are available and hiring one supports the local community. Bring sturdy boots, gloves, long trousers and rain gear.
Visas. Rwanda issues visas on arrival to all nationalities, about US$50 for 30 days, with many African and some other countries exempt. Uganda requires an e-visa applied for online in advance, also about US$50. If you are visiting both plus Kenya, the East Africa Tourist Visa (US$100) covers all three for 90 days. Passports need six months' validity.
Health. Uganda requires proof of yellow fever vaccination for all arrivals; Rwanda requires it from travellers arriving from yellow-fever countries. Malaria is present in both, less so at altitude near the gorilla parks; prophylaxis is recommended.
Money. Permits and lodges are priced in US dollars. Cards work in Kigali, Kampala and the better lodges; carry cash in the parks.
Electricity. Rwanda 230V with European two-pin (Types C and J) plugs; Uganda 240V with British three-pin (Type G).
Book this trip
Gorilla permits are the first thing to secure and everything else is built around them. A specialist can hold permits, match lodges to sectors and add chimpanzees or a savanna park. Our partner links are being finalised.
Checked October 2026. Entry rules, fees and seasons change; confirm with official sources before you book.
