Trekking with gorillas in Uganda was one of my favorite experiences during my 7-month backpacking trip. In fact, it’s still one of my top life experiences!
I will never forget the moment after a couple of hours of hiking that I turned the corner and pushed leaves away only to be staring directly into the eyes of a Silverback Mountain Gorilla! I mean, he was two arms lengths away from me. And our eyes met. And we had a moment.
Ha! Okay I know that sounds weird and maybe creepy, but you’ll know what I mean when you go trekking with gorillas in Uganda too!
After years of helping people travel Africa, here’s why I recommend trekking with gorillas in Uganda vs Rwanda or the DRC.
Quick Gorilla Facts
If you’ve done tons of research already, you probably already know this, but here are a few quick facts that I find interesting (because I’m weirdly obsessed with primates).
- Mountain Gorillas are only found in three countries in the world! And they are all right beside each other– Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Out of that, 50% of the mountain gorillas are in Uganda.
- Mountain Gorillas are one of the biggest and most rare type of gorillas with only 1000 left in the wild. The fact that there are so few is why I chose to trek gorillas instead of go on a safari. (Plus, I’ve been weirdly obsessed with monkeys, chimpanzees, and gorillas my whole life).
- There are other types of gorillas in Africa, but most of them are much smaller and not as endangered. The DRC actually has three types. The Western Lowland gorilla is smaller and has a population of about 100,000 and can be found in places like Gabon, Cameroon, and Equitorial Guinea.
Why I chose gorilla trekking in Uganda (instead of Rwanda and DRC)
Gorilla Trekking Cost
If you have an unlimited fund for your trip to Africa, then by all means choose Rwanda. However, as a backpacker on a tight budget who was trying to travel as long and as far as possible, Uganda is 2.5x cheaper than Rwanda.
This alone is one of the biggest differentiators. Because gorilla trekking will honestly be amazing anywhere so if you are on a backpacking budget, I’d choose Uganda simply because of this reason.
A gorilla permit costs $1500 in Rwanda, $600 in Uganda, and $400 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As cheap as I am, I chose Uganda over the DRC because there are more mountain gorillas in Uganda and that’s what I really wanted to see.
I did want to go to the DRC for other reasons. They have a spectacular volcano called Mount Nyiragongo that I wanted to visit, but the country was closed to tourists due to a group of rebels coming through when I was there. The volcano then erupted in 2021. But if at the time of your traveling, things have calmed down and it’s safe to visit, I personally would take the opportunity because I think it would be a fascinating country to visit- volcano or not.
FYI- there are unexpected costs of gorilla trekking. Getting to my lodge way up on a bumpy mountain road cost an additional $100 that I didn’t realize until the day of. So beware that with a two-day minimum stay and transportation and food, you can add a couple of hundred dollars extra on top of everything no matter where you go.
Where to See Gorillas in Uganda
Trekking gorillas in Uganda is incredible (with or without the gorillas) simply because of the park’s location. It’s inside the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest which would be incredible to visit even if there were no gorillas.
Bwindi is also known as the Place of Darkness. Are you getting the point– impenetrable…darkness? It’s a legit jungle that is covered in mist. It’s one of the reasons why I could be feet away from a gorilla and not know it until I moved a branch away and then suddenly a 400-pound gorilla was right there! It’s magic.
The forest in Rwanda is more open so travelers say that you can see them better. But I had no problem seeing gorillas. I liked that I was in the midst of all the trees and leaves and right there with them!
There were baby gorillas who were climbing trees above me. Sometimes the branch would break due to their weight, and they’d come crashing down. I was sure that one of the baby gorillas would fall on me! Which was scary and awesome all at the same time.
The Altitude of Gorilla Trekking
Despite being a more dense jungle, Uganda is somewhat easier to travel because the altitude is much lower.
The altitude of trekking gorillas in Uganda is 4000-8000 feet above sea level whereas Rwanda is 8000-10,000 feet above sea level. This is fine if you’ve been doing a lot of hiking during your trip. But if this is your first country, you may find it much easier in Uganda.
How Gorilla Trekking Works
I knew nothing about trekking with gorillas in Uganda before I arrived. Here’s how it works:
- The gorillas are totally wild.
- But they have been habituated. Which means that researchers and guides have visited this particular group of gorillas everyday for the past two to three years so that they become used to humans.
- Because the park is massive and the gorillas are always moving, your hike could take 1 to 8 hours depending on how long it takes you to find them.
- The park rangers do go out early in the morning and find them and then tell your guide where they are so that it is somewhat easier to find them. Otherwise, you would be wandering around forever.
- Once you find the group of gorillas, your group stays with them for an hour and then you have to leave. The hour goes by so quickly too!
- It is totally random what you’ll see. I got lucky and saw baby gorillas. The backpackers who went the day before me saw gorillas having intercourse. So each experience is unique to say the least.
What to wear for gorilla trekking
- Super comfortable hiking shoes that won’t make you slip while climbing
- Layers. I started off with a small jacket, and then was wearing yoga tights and a tank top by the end.
- You can bring snacks, but once you get close to gorillas, they will make you put your bag down before getting any closer (for obvious reasons…).
Is gorilla trekking safe?
Everything has risks, of course. But overall it’s safe. That is if you actually listen to the guides you are with. Seriously, follow every piece of advice they give you.
Poachers & the Real Heros
I am not going to lie, I loved watching the movie, Gorillas in the Mist, about Dian Fossey’s work. I usually never recommend any Hollywood movie regarding Africa. But this movie got me pumped before my trip.
However, the real credit goes to the local individuals who are protecting gorillas from the very real threat of poachers and forest deforestation. They deserve all the praise and support in protecting an incredibly magnificent and endangered animal.
With that being said– tip your guides well! Usually, a $10 to $25 tip is considered normal, but I honestly don’t believe that tipping too much is possible. They totally deserve it. They are risking their lives to protect these animals and give you a travel experience that you can’t do anywhere else in the world and that you will cherish forever. Tip them because they’ll use that money for their kids, their home, and their community.
What else to do in Uganda?
There are so many incredible things to do in Uganda, plus the culture and whole vibes of the country are so fun.
My top recommendations include:
- Visit Jinja, Uganda. Jinja is the start of the Nile.
- Go white water rafting on the Nile. There are different companies, but I chose Nile River Explorers and loved them. I know other backpackers who went multiple times with different companies, and this was there favorite too.
- Explore Kampala. It’s a crazy African city that is loads of fun.
- Eat a Rollex… everyday! It’s a chapati with egg that people make on the street. So delicious!
- Spend the night on an island in Lake Bunyony. It’s the 2nd deepest lake in Africa (so obvsiously be careful when swimming), and it has 29 different islands on it!
How to get to Uganda
You can fly directly into Kampala. It’s a fairly easy place to fly into.
However, because I was doing the Cape to Cairo Route (see my route here), I took a bus from the border of Rwanda to what was supposed to be Bwindi. However, I fell asleep, missed my stop, and woke up 8 hours later in Kampala!
Then because I had already booked my gorilla trekking, I literally got off my bus in Kampala. Killed an hour. Then hopped back and took another bus alll the way back to Bwindi. It was horrible haha!
So besides that mess up, I basically did gorilla trekking then Lake Bunyony then Kampala. From Kampala, I went to Jinja for a week, and then came back to Kampala. Then I took a bus from there to Nairobi.
Have a question about gorilla trekking or Uganda?
Leave it in the comments below! Or join my Facebook group and ask me there!
