Any gorilla tour in Uganda costs $800 for an individual foreign nonresident and $700 for a foreign resident. Uganda shillings 300,000 is expected from visitors who are citizens of the East African Community. If you are from a country in the Rest of Africa and not in the East African Community, you pay $500. In the low season, however, foreign nonresidents and foreign residents can trek gorillas at lower rates. Respectively, they are charged $600 and $500 per person. This is offered in the months of April, May and October.
Meanwhile, Uganda also offers gorilla habituation experiences and foreign nonresidents pay $1,500 per person. Foreign residents and Rest of Africa at $1,000 per person while East Africa Community at Uganda shillings 750,000. However, this is about to change since Uganda Wildlife Authority has introduced new prices for gorilla habituation experiences. From the first day of January, 2027, foreign nonresidents and foreign residents will pay $1,800 and $1,600 per person respectively. Rest of Africa and East African Community will continue to pay the stated prices mentioned.
Where to do Gorilla tour?
You can plan are gorilla tour in either Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park or both. They are both situated in southwest Uganda, with Bwindi covering a total area of 321sq.km and Mgahinga 33.7sp.km. In the whole world these national parks have a half of the wild mountain gorillas in existence. Bwindi in particular has 459 gorillas, and 23 habituated gorilla families, more than any other gorilla destination. Mgahinga has only one habituated gorilla family, known as Nyakagezi. In Bwindi, you can meet habituated gorilla groups like Kutu, Mucunguzi, Oruzogo, Christmas, Posho, Mubare, Nshongi, Tindatine and Nkuringo etc.
How to do Gorilla Tour?
Either Mgahinga or Bwindi follow a similar procedure when doing gorilla tours. It is standard that you do not miss a briefing by 8:00a.m. for gorilla trekking and 6:30a.m. for gorilla habituation. In fact, all Uganda gorilla tours are done in the morning hours. During either, the park ranger highlights the importance of abiding by the stipulated park rules. These will prove to be important for a successful and harmless gorilla tour. Thereafter, enter deeper into the jungle to look for a gorilla family—habituated for gorilla tour or semi-habituated for gorilla habituation.
In the forest or even at park boundaries, you can finally meet the group of gorillas, face-to-face. The clock starts ticking as you are granted an hour (gorilla trek) and 4 hours (gorilla habituation) to spend with them. All this much time offers an opportunity to learn a lot more about their characters. Once your time is up, you can now return to where you started. It is an opportunity to be debriefed, and also get a certificate for completing the tour. Duration of a gorilla trekking tour normally takes 2 to 6 hours. Gorillas are quite mobile and never spend the night in the same place.
How to Travel for Gorilla Tours?
There are no other ways to travel to the gorilla destinations apart from road or air transport. On the road, drive for 477km from Kampala if heading to Rushaga in Bwindi. From Kampala to Mgahinga, the distance to cover on the road is 498km. If you do the math, you will notice that driving to either national park takes between 9-10 hours. For the visitors who find this to be long journeys, use air transportation because either park is close to at least an airport. With AeroLink Uganda, flights from Entebbe Airport take 1 hour and 15 minutes to arrive at either Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip.
Since the airstrips are not your final destinations, you will need ground transportation to reach the gorilla forest. Either trip lasts for less than 2 hours. We generally have our drivers or representatives at the airstrips waiting for you to arrive. They are responsible for taking you to the forests or your accommodation. Note that we offer the best drivers and car hire services. Contact us for this and more. While road transport is recommended for the scenic views that are difficult to ignore, air transport offers aerial views.
Best Time to Travel for Gorilla Tours?
Most importantly, gorilla tours are available to visitors throughout the year, though the dry season is the most preferred. So, as you plan your tour, bear in mind that this period offers some of the most favorable conditions for outdoor activities. This implies that you can walk on drier gorilla trails thanks to low rainfall patterns in the dry season. When it is dry almost every day, chances of interruptions due to rainfall is minimal, thus a nonstop gorilla tour. Therefore, plan your gorilla tour from June to August and alternatively from December to February.
Why do a Gorilla Tour with us?
Your choice to book a gorilla tour with Standard Safaris ensures seamless permit handling and expert ground logistics across the destinations. Among the all-inclusive things we offer are those that combine trekking permits, accommodations, meals, transportation, all in one itinerary. On TripAdvisor, we have an exceptional reputation that shines through as visitors consistently shower us with 5-star reviews. This is because of our flawless execution, which starts from booking to the actual delivery on ground. Every single detail is managed by our team of experts to guarantee a perfect gorilla safari without a slight inconvenience.
