Destination
Gorilla trekkingin Bwindi, Uganda
Bwindi's forest, and the closest relatives we have.
An hour into the forest, the guide stops, points at nothing you can see, and the undergrowth moves. Then a silverback is eight metres away, ignoring you completely. That is the whole trip in one moment, and everything else is arranged around it.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest holds around half the world’s mountain gorillas. It is a wilder forest than the volcanoes over the border, and a longer journey to reach. Kibale is the primate capital: chimpanzees, and twelve other species. Queen Elizabeth’s Kazinga Channel puts hippos, elephants and a great many birds in one boat trip. Around Fort Portal the crater lakes sit under the Rwenzori Mountains, and that is where most of our itineraries spend their first night.
Our itineraries fly you into Kigali rather than Entebbe. It is the cleanest way in, and the drive from there to Bwindi’s southern sector is the route they use.
Rwanda is the other half of most gorilla trips: Volcanoes National Park, golden monkeys, and the memorial in Kigali on the way through.
Where you’ll stay
Midrange: Gorilla Leisure Lodge and Mahogany Springs at Bwindi, Buffalo Safari Lodge on the Kazinga Channel, Tabebuia on Lake Nyabikere near Fort Portal.
Luxury: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge and Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, where the habituated families occasionally walk through camp; Kyambura Gorge Lodge on the gorge edge; Papaya Lake Lodge in the crater lakes.
Practical notes
Draft: awaiting owner verification. Permit rules, prices and quotas change frequently and are confirmed in writing with your quote.
- Gorilla permits are limited and dated. They are booked before the rest of the itinerary, not after.
- Trekking involves a real walk at altitude on steep, wet ground. Tell us your fitness honestly and we will match the sector to it.
- There is a minimum age for gorilla trekking. We confirm the current rule when we quote for a family.
- Uganda and Rwanda are separate countries with separate entry requirements. We confirm both for your passport.
At a glance
Practical facts
- Plug & voltage
- G
- 240V · 50Hz
- Currency
- UGX
- Ugandan shilling
- Time zone
- UTC+3
- (EAT), no DST, same as Nairobi
- Driving side
- Left
- Languages
- English
- Swahili
- SIM & data
- A TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or MTN or Airtel at Entebbe with your passport.
- Tipping
- Expected in tourism, and generous in spirit rather than in amount. Porters, trackers and your driver-guide are each looked after in turn, with small notes carried with you.
- Tap water
- Bottled or filtered throughout. Lodges provide it. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap.
Comparing countries? The full table puts every destination we plan side by side, and when to go does the same for the months.
Getting there
The flights for this trip are ticketed at the same desk as the rest of it: Safarilink among the 66 airlines we ticket. Ask for the fare when you ask for the trip, and one person holds both.
Why go
Uganda in four lines
- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, holding roughly half the world's mountain gorillas
- Kibale for chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth for the Kazinga Channel
- Crater lakes around Fort Portal, with the Rwenzori Mountains beyond
- Lodges on the forest edge, from Mahogany Springs to Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
Privately crafted
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