Tulabagane
Crafting Memories Across Africa
Gorilla trekking is Uganda's single most extraordinary wildlife encounter: a guided hike through misty rainforest to spend a full hour at close range with a habituated family of mountain gorillas. Uganda is home to roughly half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas, most of them in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with a smaller population in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park near the Rwanda and DRC borders.
Treks begin early at one of Bwindi's four trailheads — Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga or Nkuringo — where rangers assign you to a specific gorilla family based on fitness level and trekking difficulty. The hike itself can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours through dense, steep forest before rangers locate the group, but the moment you're sitting metres from a silverback is what every visitor remembers.
Tulabagane Expeditions handles the part most travellers find stressful — securing your $800 Uganda Wildlife Authority gorilla permit, matching you to the right trailhead and lodge tier, and arranging a 4x4 with an experienced driver-guide for the journey from Kampala or Entebbe.
A Uganda Wildlife Authority gorilla permit costs $800 per person for foreign non-residents. Tulabagane Expeditions secures and includes this in your package price.
You should be able to walk for several hours on steep, uneven, sometimes muddy forest trails. Porters are available to carry your daypack and offer a helping hand for a small tip.
The driest, easiest trekking conditions are June to September and December to February, though gorilla trekking runs year-round.
Park rules require a minimum 7-metre distance, but gorillas often move closer on their own. You get one hour with the family once located.
5 safari packages currently featuring Gorilla Trekking.
3 Days
Gorilla Trekking
Trek through ancient rainforest to encounter habituated mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
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3 Days
Fly-In
Skip the long road journey and fly directly into Bwindi from Entebbe for a premium gorilla trekking experience.
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4 Days
Best Combo
Combine gorilla trekking in Bwindi with a relaxing boat cruise stay on Lake Bunyonyi.
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7 Days
Multi-Country
Gorilla trekking, chimp tracking, and three Uganda national parks across Rwanda and Uganda.
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7 Days
Ultimate
Kigali and Lake Kivu, gorilla trekking in Bwindi, a Queen Elizabeth game drive and boat cruise, chimp trekking in Kibale, and Murchison Falls.
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