How many days do you need for gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda?
A gorilla trekking tour takes a minimum of 1 day depending on your location prior to the gorilla trekking experience, your budget, your fitness, how many times you want to see the gorillas and other activities you may wish to add on the gorilla trekking experience.
For example, if you are already in Kigali City in Rwanda or Kabale Town and Kisoro Town in Uganda, it’s possible to do a 1-day Gorilla tour to either Bwindi National Park/Mgahinga National Park in Uganda or Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. To do this, you will wake up at as early as 4:00Am and transfer to the gorilla trekking starting point from where you will start your gorilla watching experience up to until 2:00Pm and then return to your hotel or home in one of the mentioned towns marking the end of the trip.
On the other hand, if you start your Gorilla Safari Tour from Entebbe International Airport or Kampala City to Bwindi or Mgahinga you will need a minimum of 3 days to do your Gorilla tour with day 1 of the trip set aside for transfer to the Gorillas in Bwindi National Park, day 2 for actual Gorilla trekking experience and day 3 for transfer back to Entebbe/ Kigali International Airport to mark the end of the trip.
There are only 3 countries in the world to visit for mountain gorilla encounters and include Uganda, Rwanda and D.R. Congo. Each of these gorilla safari destinations are open to trekkers, but require good time for you to have the best of your trekking experience.
To enjoy the best of Uganda gorilla trekking tour, you need at least 2 nights (3 Days) or 3 nights (4 Days) or more. This is taking into account the distance of gorilla safari parks in Uganda from Kampala city centre. There are 2 parks where mountain gorillas live in Uganda- the Pearl of Africa, and include Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
The 3 nights 4 Day Uganda gorilla tour will include; day one dedicated for you to travel from your home country to Uganda, day two, transfer from Kampala/Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Day three, you embark on gorilla trekking experience and Batwa cultural experience.
Short gorilla tours such as 3 Days, 4 Days focus mainly on one destination –Bwindi or Mgahinga where you will enjoy gorilla trekking adventure. But for nature enthusiasts who desire to explore of Uganda’s hidden gem, you can opt for long tours starting from 5 Days plus and here you stand a chance to visit other parks like Queen Elizabeth National Park or Kibale NP.
Combining gorilla trekking in Bwindi /Mgahinga with Queen Elizabeth National Park on a 5 -Day tour will include game drive and boat cruise. Queen Elizabeth Park is Uganda’s 2nd biggest park, also home to over 96 mammal species including the rare tree climbing lions and other big game species; 620 bird species and several primates.
Still the 5-day trip gorilla tour can include Kibale National Park and Bwindi/Mgahinga NP. At Kibale Forest National Park, you will be tracking chimpanzees or embark on a full day chimpanzee habituation experience. This means, you will have a close encounter with 2 apes in the wild –chimpanzees and mountain gorillas.
Besides driving to Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla NP, there is also option of fly-in gorilla tours. Flights take off from Entebbe International Airport (EBB) or Kajjansi airfield to Kihihi airstrip where you can easily connect to Bwindi NP or Kisoro airstrip the nearest airstrip to Mgahinga and the Southern gorilla trekking sectors of Bwindi that is Rushaga and Nkuringo.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda
Trekking mountain gorillas in Rwanda requires just 2 days or more. Given the close proximity of Volcanoes National Park from Kigali city centre, even one day gorilla tour can be arranged and you will be part of gorilla trekking in Rwanda.
Volcanoes NP is found not far from the heart of Kigali, and takes visitors just 2-3 hours to drive and they will be at the park. Volcanoes NP is situated in Ruhengeri, Northwestern Rwanda and other than connecting from Kigali, there is an option of traveling from Uganda side –Kabale via Katuna border or Kisoro through Chanika border area. If you are connecting from Uganda, you will need at least 2 days or more.
Visitors who prefer a double gorilla trek in Rwanda / Uganda may need more days at least 4 or 5 days. The advantage of with double gorilla trekking safaris is that you get a chance to visit more than one habituated gorilla group whether in Uganda or Rwanda.
In Uganda, there are 21 fully habituated gorilla groups all open for gorilla trekking and 12 in Rwanda. A normal gorilla trek lasts for 2 to 6 hours, inclusive of one hour of a close encounter with mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Gorilla permits
All persons above 15 years are considered eligible to engage in gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda/Congo. Uganda gorilla permits are issued by park authorities at USD800 and in Rwanda, visitors are charged USD 1500 per person for one gorilla permit.
Note, gorilla trekking is an all year round primate adventure although the dry season is the most favorable time. The dry season often occurs from June to September and the 2nd phase runs from December to February.
Contact Us to start planning your gorilla tour or to book your Gorilla Permits in Uganda and Rwanda. You may also reach us through WhatsApp on +256 757341593