Gorilla trekking is widely regarded as one of Africa's most profound wildlife experiences. This guide covers everything you need to know before embarking on your gorilla trek.
The experience involves hiking through dense forest to find a habituated gorilla family. Once found, you spend one hour observing them, watching mothers nurse infants, juveniles play, and silverbacks maintain order. It is an intimate and moving encounter that stays with you long after you leave the forest.
Gorilla permits are expensive but essential. In Uganda, they cost $700 per person. In Rwanda, they cost $1,500 per person. Book well in advance as they sell out months ahead, especially during peak season from June to September.
Trek duration varies from 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on where the gorillas are on any given day. Porters are available to carry your daypack and provide support on steep terrain. The trek is physically demanding but achievable for anyone with reasonable fitness.
Pack sturdy hiking boots, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to protect against stinging nettles, a rain jacket since the forest is often misty, gardening gloves for grabbing vegetation, a daypack, a camera with no flash, and water and snacks.
Your gorilla permit fee directly supports conservation and community development. This model has helped gorilla populations recover from fewer than 250 in the 1980s to over 1,000 today. It is one of conservation's greatest success stories.
Bush and Boujee Safaris offers fully guided gorilla trekking packages in both Uganda and Rwanda. Contact us to plan your gorilla encounter.
