Gorilla safaris attract thousands of visitors from around the globe, so be part of this one-life time adventure. Gorillas can be tracked alongside Golden Monkeys because they share the same residence – Volcanoes National Park. You can obtain a Gorilla trekking permit for Rwanda through the RDB website, or we can book it for you. Tracking the Gorillas in Rwanda for African residents is 500 dollars and non-African residents for 1500 dollars each person. The same adventure is organized over the border in Uganda to locations of Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga National Parks. These are some of the locations tourists in Uganda visit for Gorilla tours. Permits here cost 800 dollars and, however, the experience is distinctive because you have to hike into the thick rainforests of Bwindi. Thousands of visitors every year worldwide come and look at these endangered Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in nearby Uganda, with price as the most attractive factor. Here close to 26 Gorilla families in Bwindi and Mgahinga respectively. Tourists who visit Rwanda and Uganda for gorilla tracking in a double gorilla trekking always have different safari experiences because the setup of these two gorilla spots is quite different. On the other hand, we take you to the DR. Congo, where there are Mountain Gorillas but more so the lowland Gorillas. For those who choose Safaris in the Congo, just know you have another adventure.
Gorillas and wildlife safaris - Rwanda and Uganda
Gorilla Safaris in Rwanda and Uganda are possible even on self-drive safaris. Rent a Car for self-drive tours and visit any of these places, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda or Uganda’s Bwindi Forest for Gorilla Trekking Safaris. We will secure a permit for you for any location, and you will pick it up once you get the car either from the hotel, airport or at the offices in Kigali.
Bwindi’s impenetrable forest is famous for Gorilla trekking tours in Uganda and is located in the shadow of the Virunga Mountains. The Bwindi National Park is regarded as one of the most biodiversity forests in Africa, largely owing to its antiquity and a broad attitude range between 1160 and 2607m above sea level. Bwindi has the largest living primates, the gorillas, as residents of the forest. Gorilla trekking is a captivating and unforgettable activity which is worth the effort of getting to Bwindi and the trek through the forest. Bwindi has 26 habituated Gorilla groups that are tracked by tourists. Tourists from Rwanda can access the forest through Rushaga, Ruhija, Buhoma and Nkuringo. Gorilla Permits to Bwindi cost 800 dollars and each gorilla family has to be visited by a maximum of 8 people.
Volcanoes National Park, located in northwestern Rwanda, with its borders on Virunga National Park of the DR. Congo and Mgahinga National Park of Uganda, is known as a haven for Mountain Gorillas. It is home to five of the eight volcanoes of the Virunga Mountains that is Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo with a span of 160 sq km covered in rainforest and bamboo. The park was the base for the zoologist Dian Fossey, gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by Karisimbi, Visoke and Mikeno.
Golden Monkey and Gorilla Trek
Gorillas and Golden Monkeys reside in the same mountain rainforests in both Uganda and Rwanda. These are all slightly referred to as endangered species. Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga are the main spots where you can track both the Gorillas and Golden Monkeys. If you combined 8 days in Rwanda and Uganda, you will have an affordable primate safari.
10 Days Uganda and Rwanda Tour
On a 10-day tour, combine Rwanda and Uganda on a self-drive holiday. Begin your trip from Kigali and travel through Rwanda. Cross to Uganda for Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and include Queen Elizabeth National Park north of Bwindi Forest.
1 Day Gorilla Trekking Rwanda
Take a day to Gorilla trekking in Rwanda from Kigali. Whether you do it yourself or with a driver, you have to get up at 4:30 am and drive a 2-and-a-half-hour journey to Musanze – Kinigi for your adventure safari.
Gorilla trekking Activity – Rwanda & Uganda
All Gorilla Safaris can be done on a self-drive trip. We can book you the Gorilla trekking permits at no fee and pick them up when you get your rented car. A team member who delivers the car to you will give you a short briefing on the gorilla trekking process, so you don’t miss out or make any delays. Alternatively, you can book with your lodge (a place for an overnight stay before tracking). However, you should find accommodation just near the section where you will have the briefing, which starts at 7 am. So you should wake up by 6 am, have breakfast and then head to the Park headquarters.
Gorilla trekking is one of the climaxes of every safari in Rwanda and tour to Uganda, therefore it is one of the most preferred safari activities. Permits are limited each day, meaning they are first come, first served. You should have yours in time. On trekking these apes, you need to prepare, and first, it should be personal fitness because in many cases you have to hike the forested mountains. Here below is a list of what you should have for trekking;
- Long-sleeved, a pair of trousers and shirts
- Hiking boots and hand gloves
- A raincoat
- Foot gutter wear to protect you from red aunts
- You must have enough water and packed lunch
- A walking stick (always provided by ranger guides)
