We learned that there are roughly only 1000 mountain gorillas left on Earth, and they are ALL located in East Africa. There are three countries where you can visit these gorillas: Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However due to war in the Congo, it’s not advised for most travelers to go there. We certainly wouldn’t risk it.
When we were planning to go on a gorilla trek, I did a lot of research into what was best. I also had a good friend who had raved about her experience in Uganda trekking for gorillas. We were so excited and had everything planned out to go in Uganda, when a few weeks leading up to our trip, an Ebola Outbreak surfaced in the country and the US was re-routing flights. Thus, we ended up going on a trek in Rwanda. So full disclosure, we’ve only been trekking in Rwanda, but I’m going to recount the differences from multiple experiences and you can make the choice.
So let’s take a look at gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda and see what the best option is for you.
Where are the gorillas in each country?
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is where you’ll find gorillas in Uganda. In Rwanda the gorillas are found in Volcanoes National Park. Both parks are found on the Western border of each respective country.
What are the primary differences in a Rwanda vs Uganda gorilla trek?
Price difference between Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla Trek
Cost was ultimately the biggest factor for us when we were originally planning our gorilla trek. We were going on a three week adventure in East Africa, and so anything we could do to cut down on costs was welcomed. There is a fee per day when you go see the gorillas in any country. You need to have a permit for both countries, and you need to have a permit well ahead of time
Country preferences
A daily permit for Rwanda is $1500 USD and for Uganda it’s $700 USD. So right there, that’s a huge deciding factor when you’re planning your trip and budget.
What country do you want to explore: Uganda or Rwanda?
For us, we had heard nothing but amazing things about Uganda. My friend told me all about its beauty and the wonderful people. It also has 10 National Parks to explore. So when you’re heading up to Bwindi National Park, you can couple that with checking out several others. We had originally planned on coupling it with visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park, about 2.5 hours North, to see the tree climbing lions and huge quantities of hippos.
Rwanda It also boasts the cleanest country out of all East Africa, and is known for being incredibly safe overall. does however have 4 national parks, including Volcanoes National Park where you’ll find the gorillas. However the one we really wanted to explore, Nyungwe Forest was about an 8 hour drive South from Volcanoes, since there’s no main airport, so with an all-day drive, we couldn’t couple it.
Are there different difficulty levels to the trek depending on the country?
Yes, although there are varying difficulty levels within each National Forest as well. Either way you’ll be in for a minimal challenge.
Within Rwanda, they assigned each group of 16 people a different gorilla family. That means, you were all going to different parts of the park to find your family that day. Each different part of the park had very varying terrains, and you are sometimes going to get lucky and find your gorilla family right away, and others, may take hours, or even a half day. They described the hikes as short, medium, and long. Meaning, some people are going to find their gorilla family in 30 minutes, others in 5 hours. That certainly means more walking in the already higher altitude terrain. Our specific hike he labeled as “medium”, it took us about 2 hours to find our gorilla family, and then took us about 1 hour back. The night before we spoke with a couple at our hotel that said it took them almost 4 hours to find their gorilla family, and it was an uphill climb the entire time. So, you really never know what you’re gong to get.
And keep in mind, it’s called a “trek” because you certainly are hiking. There are no defined trails once you get into the forest, you’re literally following a man with a machete who is creating the trails. You’re working with trackers who visit the gorillas every day and know their estimated location, who are helping you guide your group to them.
We were told this is the same exact experience in Uganda. If you do have any sort of physical issues or want a shorter hike, you can certainly alert that day’s guide and they can see if they can help to locate you in a group that is more likely to see a gorilla trek sooner. There are also “porters” that you can (and should) hire for the day to help carry your stuff. The reason that you should, is that it helps that porter support their family. Even if you’re very physically fit, it’s nice to pay them $20/day to help support. Cheers to a great guide who was also on the trek with us for clueing us into this!
Are the gorillas different?
The two national parks are both home to mountain gorillas. The differences of the two gorilla populations are said to be incredibly slight, the Bwindi gorillas look more like lowland gorillas with shorter bodies with blacker hair. Volcanos gorillas have longer and bigger bodies. Thus, we’re told you’re going to have almost identical encounters and experiences meeting the two.
You need to get a COVID test before visiting gorillas in Rwanda:
Another difference between trekking right now is COVID tests. Gorillas can get the same kind of diseases as humans can, which makes visiting them when you’re ill quite dangerous for them. Thus, in Rwanda, they have added the additional precaution of having you get a PCR test the day before you go gorilla trekking to better protect the gorillas.
Your guide (or hotel) depending on who you booked through will take you to a local hospital in the town 20 minutes from Volcanoes National park, called Musanze. You will pay $50 USD for your rapid PCR COVID test. They will send your guide the results later that day.
What park is more accessible?
Volcanoes National Park is closer to an airport. From Kigali it takes about three hours to Volcanoes National Park in a car. For Bwindi in Uganda it will take about a 4-5 hour drive from Kigali, and an 8-9 hour drive if you opt to fly into Kampala/Entebe. Either way for convenience, you should fly into Kigali.
Where should I fly into?
For both treks, you’d fly into the same place, Kigali, which is Rwanda’s capital, for the closest round trip. You can also fly into Kampala/Entebbe International but the drive time is about nine hours away form the airport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Do I need a guide?
For either, yes. First of all, I’m pretty opposed to hiring guides. I like to book everything myself and be in full control over my experience. I found that this was not always the best option in East Africa. So I would absolutely recommend hiring a tour company or guide to help navigate these waters. Since you must book directly with the respective governments, it’s definitely nice to have a third party.
We hired a guide that was very affordable compared to others. His name is Jason, and he specializes in Uganda and Rwanda tours. Being from Uganda himself, he was certainly a bit more biased toward doing a trek in Uganda, but took us on an awesomely planned 2-day tour in Rwanda still. He was incredibly budget friendly and so knowledgable and fun to hang out with. Since you’re with your guide a lot of the time, you want to pick someone great. If you’d like his information he does tours in both Rwanda and UgandaHis company is called Safari Vacations and Travel Services, you can check out his Tripadvisor reviews here. We were originally going to do this package in Uganda, but instead did a very shortened version of this one. You can contact Jason on Jason on WhatsApp +256776423286
Just note, for a gorilla trek you’re hiring your guide to basically take you around the country and get you where you need to be as well as coordinate permits and hotels. He or she will not be your guide for the actual gorilla trek, they assign government, trained officials to do this for you.
How long do I need to see the gorillas?
You really need only one full day to see the gorillas. But of course, it’s all about accounting for travel time. However, we did come across some folks who were doing multiple days of visiting with gorillas to have different experiences. If you have the budget, and want to visit unique families, this might be a cool idea.
Have any questions? Ask below!
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