Early bird gorilla trekking in Uganda 2025/2026.
Early bird gorilla trekking in Uganda 2025/2026.: As one of the most well-liked activities in Uganda, gorilla trekking allows tourists to walk through tropical rainforests in search of habituated gorilla families and, if they are located, spend an hour with them in their natural environment.
In Uganda, gorilla trekking is conducted in two national parks: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which is situated in the country’s southwest, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is renowned for having the greatest number of mountain gorillas. Additionally, gorilla trekking is conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kahuzi Biega National Park, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, and the Virunga National Park.
In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, gorilla trekking begins very early in the morning with a briefing on the guidelines to be followed. One habituated gorilla family can be found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, while approximately 22 habituated gorilla families can be found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
These families are spread across four sectors: Rushaga in the south, Ruhija in the east, Nkuringo in the south, and Buhoma in the north. In Uganda, mountain gorilla trekking can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 7 hours, depending on the gorillas’ location. While hiking, you can see many wildlife species, birds, and trees, among other things.
After locating the mountain gorillas, you will get the opportunity to spend an hour with them in their natural environment, where you may observe them going about their daily lives, gain insight into their habits, snap pictures, and record movies.
Additionally, Uganda provides a gorilla habituation experience, in which untamed mountain gorillas are acclimated to hiking humans. Only the Rushaga sector in the southern portion of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is used for gorilla habituation in Uganda, and it takes two to three years to complete. At the park headquarters, the gorilla habituation experience begins very early in the morning with a briefing about the expectations, rules, and laws.
Following the briefing, a group of park rangers, guides, and researchers will begin your jungle excursion. After locating the mountain gorillas, you will have the opportunity to spend four hours with them in their natural habitat, allowing you to see and learn about their habits, behaviors, feeding, grooming, and naming practices, as well as taking pictures.
The cost of a Ugandan gorilla trekking permit in 2025–2026
In Uganda, any visitor over the age of 15 who wants to visit a habituated gorilla family and spend an hour with the gorillas in their natural habitat must have a gorilla trekking permit granted by the government. The cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is 300,000 UGX per person for East African nationals, 800 USD per person for foreign non-residents, and 700 USD per person for foreign residents.
It costs 1,500 USD per person for foreign non-residents, 1,000 USD per person for foreign residents, and 750,000 UGX per person for East African citizens to obtain a gorilla habituation permit in Uganda.
How to reserve a permit for gorilla trekking in Uganda in 2025–2026
In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, there are two methods to reserve a gorilla trekking permit. One is to make a direct reservation through the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), where you will email or call the park’s headquarters to inquire about gorilla permit availability.
The second choice is to make a reservation with a reputable tour operator, such as All In Africa Safaris, in which case you will get in touch with us and let us know the day, month, year, and gorilla destination you would like to visit. After getting in touch with us, we will see if there are any permits available on the days you have selected. If so, you will be required to pay a deposit. As soon as the funds are received, we will buy the permit on your behalf and confirm with a scanned copy of the receipt.
However, because gorilla trekking permits in Uganda are competitive and typically sell out fast, especially during the dry or peak season, which runs from June to September and December to February, it is best to book them three to six months before the trekking date.
2025–2026 is the ideal time of year to go gorilla trekking in Uganda.
The best time to go gorilla trekking in Uganda is during the dry season, which is June, July, August, September, December, January, and February. This is because there is less or no rainfall in the gorilla destinations during this time, making access roads and gorilla trekking trails dry and passable, making trekking easier than during the wet/rainy season, when the trails are muddy and slippery, making gorilla trekking challenging.
Things to bring for Ugandan gorilla trekking in 2025–2026
Among the many essentials you should bring for gorilla trekking in 2025/2026 in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are hiking shoes, garden gloves, long-sleeved shirts and trousers, a waterproof rain jacket or poncho, insect repellent, energy snacks and drinking water, a camera and extra batteries, binoculars, a warm sweater, a walking stick, a hat, and sunglasses.
Please visit our website to order a gorilla trekking safari package or get in touch with us at All In Africa Safaris for more information on early bird gorilla trekking in Uganda 2025/2026.
