What Is Gorilla Trekking Experience?
What Is Gorilla Trekking Experience? Gorilla Trekking is one of the most incredible wildlife experiences offering a unique opportunity to see gorillas in their natural habitat, some even say it is a life changing encounter.
Encounters with gorillas as they go about their daily lives are carefully managed, with expert trackers and guides leading small groups of tourists (8 maximum) up bamboo – covered slopes to spend a precious and awe-inspiring hour just a few feet away from the gentle creatures.
Gorillas are the largest living primates, spread across much of the equatorial African rainforest. The species is divided into lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas. The volcanic range which spans Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to the endangered mountain gorillas.
As per the latest gorilla census, there are approximately 1,064 mountain gorillas in the wild, with 604 in the Virunga Massifs (made up of Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and DR.Congo’s Virunga National Park) and the second gorilla population in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Thanks to the concerted efforts between our governments, communities and NGOs, the population of mountain gorillas is increasing.
Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringeu) is one of two subspecies of the eastern gorillas and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the total population is estimated to comprise about 1,064. These gentle giants are part of the “great apes” family of primates and are known for their beauty, high intelligence, social structures, and they display uncanny similarities to humans. Gorillas have been observed using tools like other great apes and can communicate using a variety of vocal sounds.
Where Can I Go For Gorilla Trekking Experience?
Gorilla trekking is arranged in many countries of Africa. As a tourist you have to decide on which subspecies of gorillas you are interested in. Western Lowland gorillas are found in the swamps and rain-forests of West/Central Africa. Cross River gorillas are only found in Cameroon and Nigeria. Eastern Lowland Gorillas (the largest gorilla subspecies) are only found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mountain gorillas can be seen in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
Mountain gorilla trekking is the most popular with tourists and the reason to this is that they live in areas that are easier to access and where infrastructure is more developed. Western lowland gorillas live in very remote forests which are difficult to penetrate. To get to them, one may have to endure weeks of navigating through extremely dense forests.
Also, mountain gorilla trekking is generally more secure. The Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are generally safe for gorilla trekking. These two national parks are considered to be one of the best places to see gorillas.
What to Expect on a Gorilla Trek
Expect to arrive at the starting point at 7:00 am where you will meet other trekkers for briefing about gorilla trekking and the right way to behave while in the presence of the gorillas. Then you are split into groups of 8 people and be assigned a gorilla family to trek then head into emerald forest looking for mountain gorillas with your ranger guides and porters who can carry your bags and help you on difficult parts of the trek if you want too.
Each group goes with a guide and two guards with rifles to protect the group (one who walks in the front, and one who brings up the rear). The guides are there in case other wild animals for example forest elephants or unhabituated gorillas attack, they will fire into the air to scare the animals away.
The gorilla family you are assigned determines the duration and difficulty of your trek. Trekkers follow the guards and know where they were seen the day before, so they can approximate where they might be this day, but they move as they forage, so it is not guaranteed that a gorilla family that way easy to trek to the day before will be easy to get to the next day. The trek usually takes 4-6 hours or more depending on the movement of the gorillas and where they spent their previous, when you locate them, you will stay one hour in their presence watching them play, feed and groom each other.
Then trek back to the starting point, along the trek you will have a 15 – 30 minutes break for lunch. Enjoy the trek as the forest itself is beautiful.
What to do When You Meet the Gorillas
Before you get close to the gorillas, your guide will stop you, tell you to drink water. It is the last time you will drink for an hour, put your masks on and grab your camera. Then, say (a temporary) goodbye to your porters, you will follow your guide toward the gorillas to spend one hour with them.
Mountain gorillas will be shockingly close, and they are just stunning to be next to. Speak in a low voice, and don’t get too close to them. Also, you are prohibited from using flash, as this can damage their eyesight. The lighting conditions can also be quite unpredictable, so you want something with a good aperture (2.8f or better), and approximately 24-70mm (24 mm for more in-context shots, may be with you or your partner in them, 70mm for closeups of any babies).
Take it in, enjoy their very human like movements, and the hour will pass before you know it.
After you leave the gorillas, you will have an opportunity to tip the trackers, whom you will leave behind with the gorillas. Then you will hike back down with your group and your guide and porters, whom you can tip at the end.
Gorilla Permits
To take part in gorilla trekking you need to purchase a gorilla permit whose prices vary depending on where you go. As of 2025, prices for gorilla permits are as below
- Rwanda: US$1500 per person per day
- Uganda: US$800 per person per day
- DRC/Congo: US$400 per person per day
The gorilla permits give you one hour with the gorillas once you have found them, so as to not stress them. Currently, there are 12 habituated gorilla families in Rwanda and 21 habituated gorilla families in Uganda.
Every day, 8 gorilla permits are issued per gorilla family, thus limiting the total number of permits available, which helps regulate gorilla tourism.
The funds collected from gorilla permits goes toward local conservation, research and anti-poaching patrols among others.
What to Pack for Gorilla Trekking Experience
- What Equipment Do You Need For Gorilla Trekking?
- Copy of valid Passport or National ID
- Face mask (N95/Surgical)
- Personal sanitizer
- Hiking boots
- Raincoat
- expect rain any day and month of the year.
- Walking trousers & long sleeved to ease movement through scratchy bushes
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellant
- Pair strong gloves to handle prickly bushes and trees.
- A good camera (strictly no flash photography in the park)
- Waterproof bag
- Light shoulder bag to carry Water bottle, packed lunch, rain gear and other trekking essentials.
- Extra cash in local currency
When to Go for Gorilla Trekking Experience
Uganda and Rwanda share a common climate and although gorilla trekking is considered a year – round experience, the best time to visit for gorilla trekking experience is during one of the two dry seasons running from December to end of February and early June to late September. These periods are the most comfortable for trekking, but conditions are still ery humid and wet with plenty of mud. Rain is an essential part of the precious ecosystem in the equatorial rainforest and its season can be aptly described as wet, wetter and wettest.
