A guide to gorillatrekking in Uganda

Uganda was and is one of my favourite countries, and it is largely due to the amazing wildlife-encounters I had there. I went on both a chimpanzee-trek and a gorilla-trek, and I cannot recommend it enough. There is nothing quite like seeing such a majestic primate up close in a safe and ethical environment. However, before I went on the trek I had a million questions in my head. They ranged from when I should go, how much did it cost and what company I should go with, to more practical questions such as how to behave and what to wear once I was actually on the trek. But I didn’t really find one stop website with all the info that I needed, which is why I am writing this post. I want to try and cover any and all questions you might have, so that hopefully you feel confident, safe and excited when you go on the same adventure.

How much does a permit cost and how to acquire the permit

The permit costs about 700 USD in Uganda, and 1500 USD in Rwanda. In addition to the cost of permit, you must take into account the cost of staying at a lodge, using tour companies to drive you to the national parks, food and other miscellaneous costs.

When it comes to acquiring it, I highly recommend doing it through a booking agency. This is due to the complicated way in which a gorilla trek goes about. You usually book a gorilla family, and it is difficult to know where you stay when you don’t know where the gorilla family is located. Furthermore, there are often troubles with the tickets, and the offices usually prioritize booking agencies than independent bookers in my experience. They can also secure a permit faster, and won’t charge extra for acquiring the permit if you use their additional services like transportation (which you need to get anyway). With a booking agency you can usually book everything with them, such as transportation and accommodation, which makes the whole experience easier, safe and free of problems. However, if you wish to book the permit on your own, you should go visit https://bwindiforestnationalpark.com for more information.

Best time to go

The great thing about gorilla trekking, is that you can do it all year round. But the best times to do the trekking is in the drier and less rainier months, which would be June, July, August, September and December. It is a lot simpler to hike in these months. Try and avoid March, April and May as these months are notorious for heavy rainfall, making the treks a lot more challenging. January and February are also good, considering that it is low season which means the crowds are less and the rain isn’t overbearing.

Where to go see the mountain gorillas: should you see the gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda or Congo?

The mountain gorillas resides in three national parks, that surrounds three countries, and you can trek to see them in any of these countries. The countries are Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.

Uganda is the cheapest one. It also sports the option of doing a chimpanzee trek in Queen Elizabeth national park. You have the option of trekking in two different parks here: Mgahinga and Bwindi. Bwindi is probably the most common of the two, and a trek in Bwindi can be challenging. The park resides on a mountain, and the trek is either going up or down the mountainside, sometimes even for hours.

Rwanda has been deemed the safest of all the African countries to travel too, and the capital Kigali is a buzzling modern city. In addition, Rwanda has an especially heartbreaking history with the Rwandan genocide, that everyone can benefit from learning more about, and how the country managed to persevere and come out stronger than ever. The trek in Rwanda is usually simpler and not as challenging as in Uganda, due to the easier terrain. However, it does come at a steeper price of about 800 USD more.

Both of the countries have a maximum of eight people per group, and have about 10 habituated families

In my opinion, due to security concerns I would stay clear of trekking in DRC, and stick to either Rwanda and Uganda, both being excellent options.

Physical fitness

Gorilla trekking can be a straining activity. I was very lucky in that we found our gorilla-family within 40 minutes of walking. But my travel group was split in two, and the other half had to walk for 4 hours up the mountain before the reached their gorilla-family. In other words, there is really no way to predict how long you have to trek, and how difficult the trekking path will be. I will say you need about an average level of fitness. You definitely don’t have to be an athlete of any sort, but you will have to be able to walk in steep and uneven terrain for multiple hours. If you are concerned, you should maybe opt for a trek in Rwanda as their trekking is usually simpler than the one in Uganda. However, people in their 60s and 70s do it all the time, and you can hire a porter to carry your gear if you want to. You can also ask for a gorilla-group that will match your fitness level. In addition, my group had one person that was quite sick and one person that had to catch a flight. This is just pure speculation, but I have a feeling

Is it safe?

This was one of my main concerns to be honest. Given that we will be so close to them, and that the silverback male is usually very strong and powerful I was slightly worried for my safety. But to my relief, I was told that gorillas in nature are gentle. They are also extremely used to getting visitors and seeing people. If anything they are more curious and playful than scared, with gorilla babies being notorious for going up to people and start playing with them. As long as you follow the ranger’s guidelines, and do not provoke a situation or get to close without the gorilla coming to you first, I’d say you are perfectly safe.

What to wear for gorillatrekking

It can be very difficult to know what to bring with you for trekking, but there are actually pretty strict dresscodes at play. For one, it is of vital importence that you bring with you long socks so that you can tuck in your pants into your socks. This is because there are fireants in the jungle, and they can leave a pretty nasty bite.

Furthermore, it can get very hot in Uganda, but it can also rain a lot. And you will be sitting still for an hour when looking at the gorillas, and this can make you very cold. Especielly considering the climate is rainy, humid and at an high elevation. You should therefore go for layers, a nice t shirt with a thin longsleeved t-shirt, and a rain jacket is what I opted for, and it was perfect in my opinion. It is important to be prepared for any kind of weather, as you may be walking in the jungle for hours before spotting the gorillas, and the weather can shift quickly.

In addition to this, sometimes you will not be on any trails at all. You will be stepping over bushes, twigs and leaves at an unpaved path with just the rangers paving the way with a machete. You should leave your fancy clothes at home, and wear something that makes it easy for you to move, that you’re comfortable in, and that you’re not concerned with ruining.

It is a requirement to wear long sleeves and long trousers, preferably in black, neutral or khaki colours (i.e. no bright colors). You should also wear good waterproof hiking shoes. Proper footwear is crucial. Also consider taking with you some gloves, a rainjacket, and a hat.

The gorilla habituation experience

As mentioned, you only get one hour with the gorillas. However, there is an option to spend up to four hours with a gorilla-family, called the habituation experience. This is unique to the gorilla-trekking in Uganda, and cannot be done in Rwanda or Uganda. The experience allows you to understand the gorillas on a deeper level, and more individually. You will get to know the gorillas on a more personal and individual level, getting to know each and every one of their personalities. The experience is essentially a trial run to get the gorillas acquainted with people so that they too can be open up to trekking like the other gorilla families. It costs about 1500 USD. Read more about the experience here: https://www.bwindiforestnationalpark.com/gorilla-habituation-experience.html

Is it ethical?

Usually, when there is any sort of program involving animals, I am immediately skeptical. I do not condone animal abuse, or animal exploitation. And at first, it does seem to be unethical to disturb gorillas in their natural environment. However, each family is only allowed to be with humans for one hour a day. Also, you are required to be within a distance of 6 meters at all times, unless the gorilla approaches you. And most importantly, without the money from the trekking these gorillas would most likely not even be here. The money from the trekking-experiences is of vital importance to the preservation of the mountain-gorillas, and for the first time in a long time the population is growing and not decreasing. This is a massive and impressive achievement for the Ugandan, Rwandan and Congolese government. I therefore think it is important that we support this mission, as the mountain gorillas are such fantastic and amazing creatures that deserves to live and thrive, which they now can.