6 Days Rwanda – Uganda Gorilla Trekking

Tour details

Duration: 6 days

Best for: Travellers who want two gorilla treks in two countries and can accept a permit budget of roughly $2,300 per person

Group size: Private tour, your group and your guide

Travel style: Gorilla trekking, Cross-border, Cultural, Golden monkeys

Introduction

You get two countries, two forests, and two face-to-face encounters with mountain gorillas. That's the whole point of this trip. You start in Kigali, cross into Uganda, track gorillas on both sides of the border, and fly home from the same city you landed in.

Only 96 gorilla permits get issued in Rwanda each day. Book your slot early, or the trek you want will not be available.

On this journey, you will explore the following highlights:

Gorilla Tracking - The Ultimate Wildlife Encounter

Volcanoes National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Home of the Mountain Gorillas

Kigali City - The Heart of Rwanda

Cultural Encounters – Meet Uganda’s Communities

Day to day programme

Day 1: Kigali, then into the hills

Your driver guide picks you up in Kigali and takes you through the Genocide Memorial and Museum, the Nyamata Genocide Church, and the local markets. This isn't a rushed drive-by. You get the context before you get the wildlife. After lunch, you head to Volcanoes National Park, through the hills that gave Rwanda its nickname: The Land of a Thousand Hills.

Day 2: Your first gorilla trek

Pack your lunch. Bring water. Hire a porter if you want one, and most first-timers do. After a ranger briefing, you get assigned to one of the habituated gorilla families and head into the bamboo slopes to find them. The hike can take a few hours or most of the day. It depends on where the gorillas slept the night before. When you find them, you get one hour. Take the photos. Ask the rangers your questions. That evening, visit the Ibwachu Cultural Village, run by former poachers who now work in conservation.

Day 3: Golden monkeys

A different briefing, a different target. Golden monkeys move faster than gorillas but sit still less, so you won't need the full day for this one. You're back at the lodge by lunch, with the afternoon free.

Day 4: Dian Fossey's grave, then into Uganda territory

A 30-minute drive gets you to the trailhead. From there, it's a 1 to 2 hour trek to Karisoke Research Camp, then another hour to Fossey's grave. Your ranger guide walks you through her work and what her research still means for gorilla conservation today. After lunch, you transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda.

Day 5: Your second gorilla trek, in a different forest entirely

Bwindi runs four sectors: Buhoma and Ruhija in the north, Rushaga and Nkuringo in the south. Which one you trek depends on where you're staying. This search can run longer than Rwanda's, 2 to 5 hours depending on the gorillas' last known location, and the full day, including transfer and return, can stretch to 9 hours. You'll also pass butterflies, primates, and forest birds on the way. Pack a lunch. Hire a porter. You get one hour with the gorillas once you find them.

Day 6: Back to Kigali

Breakfast, the drive back to Kigali, lunch depending on your flight time, then your departure.

Where you'll stay

Every lodge on this list sits inside or beside the park you're trekking that day, so you're never far from the forest.

Volcanoes National Park (Days 1 to 3): Budget: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge, Davinci Lodge. Midrange: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Lodge, Ingagi Park View Lodge. Upmarket: Bisate Lodge, One & Only Gorilla Nest, Bishop's House, Virunga Lodge, Sabinyo Lodge.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Days 4 to 5): Budget: Ride 4 A Woman, Bakiga Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge. Midrange: Buhoma Haven Lodge, Gorilla Safari Lodge, Engagi Lodge. Upmarket: Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bwindi Lodge, Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge.

Why Mgahinga gets skipped less often than you'd think

If your itinerary routes through Mgahinga Gorilla National Park instead of Bwindi, here's what you're dealing with. Uganda gazetted it as a game sanctuary in 1930 and made it a national park in 1993. At 33.7 square kilometers, it's Uganda's smallest park, and it holds one transboundary gorilla family, Nyakagezi. The terrain runs from 2,227 meters to a peak of 4,127 meters. Beyond gorillas, you'll find golden monkeys and Batwa cultural trails, where you learn the history of the community that lived on this land before the park displaced them. That walk works well after your trek or on your last morning before Kigali.

Fitness and permits, straight answers

You don't need to be an athlete, but you do need reasonable fitness. If the hike concerns you, porters are available, and a sedan chair (locals call it the "human helicopter") exists for guests who need it. Permits are capped and go fast. If you have travel dates in mind, tell us now, not two months out.

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What's included

Includes

• Full board accommodation
• One gorilla permit per person
• Park entrance fees
• Internal flights
• Private guide for all sightseeing
• All transfers listed in the itinerary

Excludes

• Drinks
• Gratuities
• International flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa fees

Accommodations

During the trip, you will stay at:

Volcanoes National Park: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Davinci Lodge (budget), Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Lodge or Ingagi Park View Lodge (midrange), Bisate Lodge, One & Only Gorilla Nest, Bishop's House, Virunga Lodge or Sabinyo Lodge (upmarket), full board.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest: Ride 4 A Woman, Bakiga Lodge or Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge (budget), Buhoma Haven Lodge, Gorilla Safari Lodge or Engagi Lodge (midrange), Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bwindi Lodge or Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge (upmarket), full board.

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