Gorilla Safaris in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo
We offer discounted gorilla safaris in Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo at Gorilla Trek Africa Ltd. Join our guided tours deep into the jungle forests of Bwindi forest, Mgahinga and Volcanoes National parks at reasonable prices. Do not miss Congo gorilla safaris to Virunga national park and low land gorillas in Kahuzi Biega National Park for off beaten gorilla encounters. We offer a wide selection of gorilla safari packages ranging from a 1 day Rwanda gorilla tour to 20 days Uganda Safari . Our trips are complemented with other experiences including game viewing, bird watching and cultural encounters among others all tailored to meet and exceed your travel expectations.
Featured Gorilla Safaris in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo
2 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trek
Trek Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes Gorilla park home to the highest number of mountain gorillas. Rwanda has 10 gorilla families habituated for trekking and is widely known for offering memorable gorilla tour experiences. A Rwandan gorilla permit costs $1500 hence the best luxury gorilla tour destination in East and Central Africa. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is a must do activity in Africa. Read More
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3 Days Bwindi Gorilla Tour
Enjoy a 3 Days Bwindi gorilla tour home to half of the world’s mountain gorillas. Penetrate the impenetrable rainforest to meet face to face with these gentle giants in their natural habitat. Bwindi is a home to 17 gorilla families which guarantee a high number of visitors availability of gorilla permits compared to Rwanda and Congo. Also, take a walk to meet the Batwa people (Pygmies) and learn about their Culture.Read More
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5 Days Rwanda Gorillas & Chimpanzees
Visit wild mountain gorillas and Chimpanzees in Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park and Nyungwe Forest national park respectively. Our 6 Days gorilla and Chimpanzee safari reward you with a close encounter with the endangered primates in their natural habitats. Do not miss out a canopy walk for an aerial view of the park, Virunga Volcanoes, and other attractions. Read More
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8 Days Uganda Wildlife Safari
The 8 Days Uganda safari is an exclusive package to Uganda’s popular Savannah park. Enjoy game viewing and boat cruising in Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth national park with high concentration Also, trek chimpanzees in Kibale Forest national park before proceeding to L.Mburo national park with Gorilla Trek Africa. Read More
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9 Day Uganda Rwanda Congo
The 9 Days Uganda Rwanda and Congo safari is a combined safari to East and Central Africa. Trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi forest, Golden monkeys in Volcanoes national park and Nyiragongo volcano climbing. This travel package helps you explore the hidden gem in Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo with Gorilla Trek Africa at negotiable prices. Read More
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14 days Uganda-Rwanda safari
Experience the fascinating beauty of Uganda and Rwanda on this 14 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari rewarding you with a memorable gorilla and wildlife experience. The Safari entail white water rafting on R. Nile, gorilla tracking in Bwindi/Volcanoes national park, game viewing and cultural tours among others. Gorilla Trek Africa is the best agent to serve you.Read More
10 days Rwanda safari
The 13 days Gorilla Safari in Uganda and Rwanda offers a great opportunity of Double gorilla tracking in Volcanoes national park and Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park in Rwanda and Uganda respectively. Do not miss out visiting the Batwa pygmies the initial dwellers of these forests for cultural experiences. Read More
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3 Day Rwanda Gorilla Tour
This 3 Days gorilla trek in Rwanda takes you deep into the bamboo forest of Volcanoes national park. Meet face to face with the dominant silverback, take as many pics as possible and enjoy this thrilling experience with the mountain gorillas. Expect to meet other wild animals like golden monkeys, colobus monkeys in the park and lots of bird species making your safari more enjoyable. Read More
5 Days Uganda primates Safari
Visit chimpanzees in Kibale Forest national park on your 5 Days Uganda primate trekking safari with Gorilla Trek Africa. Also, enjoy gorilla trekking tours to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park in southwestern Uganda for memorable trekking experience at affordable rates with Gorilla Trek Africa. Read More
7 Days Uganda Gorillas & Wildlife Adventure
Be part of the 7 Days Uganda safari for mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park and game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National park. Expect to meet face to face with mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, have spectacular views of wildlife browsing in open grasses not missing out a boat cruise at Kazinga channel. Read More
10 days Rwanda safari
The 13 days Gorilla Safari in Uganda and Rwanda offers a great opportunity of Double gorilla tracking in Volcanoes national park and Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park in Rwanda and Uganda respectively. Do not miss out visiting the Batwa pygmies the initial dwellers of these forests for cultural experiences. Read More
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For travel inquiries and bookings, contact our travel consultants through +256-705487517 or +256-776107004. Alternatively, send us an email at
All you need to know about gorilla safaris
Gorilla safaris are the most popular tourist attractions in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo. The 3 countries are the only destinations in the world where travellers can find the endangered mountain gorillas. They are found in two close locations of the Virunga Mountains which straddle the borders of the 3 countries and in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda. There are about 1,063 moiuntain gorillas in these forests with majority of them found in Bwindi.
The population of mountain gorillas has seen a rapid increase in the past four decades having been at the brink of extinction in the 1970s thanks to the intensive gorilla protection efforts undertaken by different conservation stakeholders. These efforts have seen the population multiply from around 250 animals that were estimated to be in the wild in the 1970s to 0ver 1000 today. Conservationists had predicted that mountain gorillas would be extinct by the turn of the millennium but this was turned around by the intervention of governments and other conservation agents that stepped up to protect and save mountain gorillas. The 3 governments of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo collaborate well to protect the gorillas within the Virunga Mountains, a conservation area shared by all the 3 countries across their borders.
How mountain gorillas were saved from extinction
Governments in all the 3 countries declared all mountain gorilla habitats as protected areas and therefore stopped all human activities that were being carried out in such areas. In the process, gorillas were saved from atrocities like poaching and habitat loss that had threatened their existence for decades. Strict laws like punishing culprits of poaching with long sentences and huge fines were introduced which tremendously improved the safety of gorillas in these habitats. Resettling individuals who had encroached gorilla habitats was carried out as well as re-gazetting land around these areas that was used for human activities like farming and hunting.
Role of Dian Fossey
American primatologist Dian Fossey is hugely credited as the initiator of gorilla protection in the Virunga Mountains. Fossey settled within the Virunga Mountains in the 1960s and established the Karisoke Research Centre within Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda to specifically study and protect mountain gorillas. Fossey successfully did this work until 1985 when she was gruesomely murdered by poachers within the forests while still on her cause. It is unanimously believed that mountain gorillas would have been eliminated through poaching if it wasn’t for the early efforts of Fossey to protect them against their ruthless hunters. After her death, a conservation NGO known as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund was introduced to continue enhancing her work and it continues to work hand-in-hand with the governments of Rwanda and DR Congo to ensure the wellbeing of gorillas.
Gorilla habitats
Mountain gorillas are protected within 4 different national parks, 3 of which are found within the Virunga Mountains. These include Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda is the fourth gorilla habitat and it protects the highest number of mountain gorillas. Kahuzi-Biega National Park also in eastern DR Congo protects another subspecies of gorillas known as the Grauers gorilla or the eastern lowland gorilla.
Gorilla tourism
Following the success in gorilla conservation, gorilla tourism has been developed in all the countries, all offering safaris to travellers trek the gorillas in their natural habitats. All the 3 countries have similar policies regarding gorilla trekking including same rules and regulations to guide visitors on the activity. Physical factors associated with gorilla trekking like the terrain, weather and vegetation are almost the same in all the gorilla trekking destinations since they are all located in the same geographical area regardless of being in different counties. Only human factors like the quality of the transport network, accommodation and cost are different basing on which country you visit.
Uganda gorilla safaris
Uganda gorilla safaris take place in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park both located in the southwest of the country. The two habitats protect more than half of the global population of mountain gorillas with Bwindi harbouring majority of them. There are about 500 gorillas in Bwindi with over 15 habituated groups of gorillas which are visited by tourists regularly. A gorilla permit which allows trekkers to access the gorillas is sold at $700 per person by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Travellers can trek mountain gorillas in both Bwindi and Mgahinga via either Kigali International Airport in Rwanda or Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Many travellers prefer the Kigali route because it is shorter (about 5 hours) than the one from Entebbe (about 10 hours). Travellers are guaranteed a 100% chance of seeing gorillas in Bwindi due the availability of many habituated gorilla families in the park with each family having an average of 15-25 members. Bwindi also offers travellers an exclusive experience of gorilla habituation where they are invited to take part in the process of making gorillas get used to the presence of humans alongside trackers and rangers. This process lasts 4 hours each day and each traveller is charged $1,500 to take part.
Rwanda gorilla safaris
Volcanoes National Park in the northwest of Rwanda is the only gorilla trekking destination in the country. The park has over 350 mountain gorillas with about 12 gorilla groups habituated and available for trekking. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda goes for $1,500 per person which is the highest in the region though the unique gorilla trekking experience coupled with high standard lodges and hotels with a good transport network compensate for this high price. Volcanoes National Park is the also the most easily accessed gorilla trekking destination in the region with travellers driven for just about 3 hours from the capital Kigali before they reach the park.
Congo gorilla safaris
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has two gorilla trekking destinations albeit each protecting a different gorilla subspecies. Virunga National Park is the home to Congo’s mountain gorillas while Kahuzi-Biega National Park protects the Grauer’s gorilla or the eastern lowland gorilla. Congo offers the cheapest gorilla safaris in the region with travellers charged $400 per person for gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking in Congo is not as popular as the one in Rwanda and Uganda due to the insecurity in the area around the parks caused by rebel activity in the eastern part of Congo. This insecurity has always led to temporary closures of parks in the eastern part of DR Congo including gorilla trekking parks like Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega. Due to this, travellers who wish to trek gorillas in Congo are encouraged to first consult their tour agents about the security situation and the status of the parks in the area before confirming their trips.
Gorilla trekking rules and guidelines
Mountain gorillas are endangered species which survived extinction a few decades ago thanks to the intensified conservation efforts undertaken by both governments and organisations. In order to ensure that gorillas continue to to multiply and thrive in their natural habitat, several rules were introduced to guide tourists while on their gorilla trekking exercise. These include limiting the number of trekkers visiting each group of gorillas to 8 per day. Visitors are also restricted to spending only an hour in the presence of gorillas while eating, littering and spitting in their habitat is also not allowed. Visitors are always reminded that although gorillas are gentle and friendly animals, they are still wild animals and can cause harm anytime. Therefore visitors are prohibited from touching or even getting so close to the gorillas. This regulation is also used to control the spread of human viruses to gorillas since the two species have a very closely related DNA.