On the actual morning of gorilla trekking, park rangers will provide briefing about the guidelines of trekking mountain gorillas. These guidelines include keeping voices low when trekking mountain gorillas, not visiting gorillas when sick with cough and flue, maintaining a minimum distance of 7 meters when watching mountain gorillas, not staring directly into the eyes of mountain gorillas, remaining with your group when trekking for mountain gorillas and spending a maximum of one hour in the presence of mountain gorillas.

In the company of park rangers, guides, porters and fellow trekkers walk through the forest to find the location of the allocated gorilla group. Your guides will follow information provided by trackers and after several hours of trekking, you will find the mountain gorillas going about their daily routines. You will need services of a porter to carry your backpack through the rough terrains, dense forest and muddy trails. It takes 1-6 hours to find them and this pursuit is part of the thrill of gorilla trekking adventures.

The group guides will make sure you have the best experience and when you finally find them, you will spend one hour watching them foraging, grooming each other, playing and just walking around you.

Gorilla Permits for Rwanda are the most expensive with each permit going for $1500 per person per trek. This applies to all categories of visitors-Rwandan Citizens, foreign residents and non-residents.

This is followed by Uganda where permits cost $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents and Shs. 300,000 for East African Community Citizens. For travelers hoping to take part in the Gorilla Habituation Experience are required to pay $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents and Shs. 750,000 for East African Community residents.

The Democratic Republic of Congo gorilla permits are the cheapest, costing $400 per person per trek. For all the countries, gorilla permits include services of ranger / guide, Park entrance fees and the one-hour encounter with a gorilla family.

Gorilla trekking permits are booked directly through the credible and trusted tour operator, like Monteero Safaris Ltd. For Uganda, the official issuing Authority is the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and you can engage us directly and we will book your gorilla permit seamlessly.

We are fully licensed and accredited by Uganda Tourism Board to book gorilla permits on behalf of client. A gorilla trekking permit allows persons of 15 years and above to enter the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and spend quality time with mountain gorillas at any of the gorilla trekking sectors like Ruhija, Buhoma, Nkuringo and Rushaga as well as Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Gorilla Permits for Volcanoes National Park are issued by Rwanda Development Board, through licensed tour operators as well. The demand of gorilla permits is high, hence visitors are advised to book at least 6 months before the intended trekking date.

Congo Gorilla Permits can be booked directly from Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) or the Virunga Tourism Offices at the border points. You can also book indirectly through local tour operators like Monteero safaris. Availability of gorilla permits for Uganda, Rwanda & Congo depends on the time of the year (peak or low season).

Gorilla Trekking tours in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo are conducted throughout the year but due to the changes in climatic conditions, drier months - June to September as well as December to February are more popular for these tours. During these months, there is less or no rain hence making trekking more comfortable and favorable.

The wet months-March to May and October to early December are the low seasons because of heavy rains that make trails muddy and slippery, thus more challenging. Park roads become impassable but 4WD Vehicles can maneuver through and connect to the Park. However, the rains are not very heavy to halt gorilla treks/or hikes but visitors are advised to be prepared for muddy and slippery surfaces. The positive side of trekking during the wet season is that the Parks are less busy and some Safari Lodges offer discounted rates during the low seasons.

For Gorilla Trekking Tours in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo, travelers are advised to pack;

Travel documents.

Travel documents should be the first essentials in your packing list and they include valid passport and tourist Visa, as requirements for accessing Uganda, Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gorilla Permits.

A gorilla permit is the most important requirement of trekking mountain gorillas in Congo, Uganda or Rwanda. You can forget your phone or any other gadgets but not the gorilla permit.

Sturdy hiking boots.

The trails through the jungles leading to the mountain gorillas are steep, densely forested and have rugged terrains, and hiking boots and handy for maneuvering through.

Appropriate clothing.

The Appropriate gorilla trekking clothing is long sleeved shirt/blouse and safari pants to protect your hands/legs from stinging nettles and biting ants found in the dense forests. Wearing shorts, skimpy skirts (for females) and short-sleeved shirts expose your hand and legs from the unpleasant things in the environment.

Gardening gloves.

Trekking mountain gorillas sometimes require grasping tree branches and vegetation, especially during steep ascents thus you will need gardening gloves to protect your hands from scratches and cuts.

Insect repellants.

There are many insects in the forest including mosquitoes and ants, which will affect the skin when they come in close contact.

Rain jacket.

Rain jacket is important at all times because of the unpredictable weather associated with gorilla trekking National Parks.

Good camera with enough memory space and extra batteries.

Photography during gorilla trekking requires non-flash cameras because flashes startle these Great Apes.

Other essentials for gorilla trekking tours in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo include waterproof backpack, first aid kit, toiletries, and pair of binoculars, wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen, water bottle, sunglasses, warm sweater and many others.

Chimpanzee trekking safaris in Rwanda and Uganda.

Chimpanzees can be trekked seamlessly from Kibale National Park in western Uganda, Nyungwe forest national park in south western Rwanda and Gombe stream national park in western Tanzania.

Chimpanzee trekking involves moving through lush forests in search of endangered chimpanzees and when you finally find them, you are allowed to spend one hour in their presence. Watch them as they go over their daily activities, have fun with their young ones, enjoy their acrobatics, and so much more.

Culture encounters.

During a cultural encounter through these East African countries, one is able to explore how these people used and still do their things. Uganda alone is a country with more than 50 different cultures but the interesting ones are still Batwa in the southwestern part of Uganda, Batwa were the first people to live in the forest together with mountain gorillas and are one of the shortest people in the world. Other incredible people are Karimojong in the Northern region of Uganda who are still living in grass-thatched houses nick named “the Manyattas” despite modern houses.

Other amazing cultures include Baganda which have one of the famous kingdoms in the country, the Banyankole, Batooro, Luo and more. In Kenya, the most popular cultural encounter is that of the Masai people who live close to the world-renowned wildlife capital – Masai Mara National Reserve in southern Kenya. The Masai people are predominantly nomadic pastoralists who are known for their energetic dances, beautiful dress cord, crafts and more. You can as well visit the Kikuyu and Samburu tribes in central and central-northern regions respectively.

In Rwanda, Rwandan people present one of the most beautiful cultures in the continent and visitors are able to enjoy some of the Rwandan cultural dances, crafts, local markets, norms and rituals.

Tanzania teems with over 130 languages spoken across the second largest country in east Africa and you will visit a few communities like the Masai, Chagga, Nyamwezi, Sukuma and several more.

Birding safaris in East Africa.

Birding in East Africa takes place in many traditional national parks including Kibale, Lake Mburo, Queen Elizabeth National Parks of Uganda, Akagera, Nyungwe and

Volcanoes national Parks of Rwanda, Serengeti National Park of Tanzania and Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya. Both endemic and rare birds to look out for include; Great blue turacos, hornbills, doves, starlings, bee-eaters, herons, fish eagles, eaglets, shoebills, broadbills, pelicans, weavers and so much more.

The award-winning great wildebeest migration safaris.

Wildebeest migration is one of the 7 world wonders, where wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, and other animals migrate in millions from Serengeti national park of Tanzania crossing the Mara River to Masai mara in southern Kenya. This is one of the experiences one should not miss while in East Africa where you watch zebras and wildebeests getting attacked by crocodiles as they cross over. During a wildebeest migration adventure, travelers are able to look at the big five animals, including rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards and buffaloes scattered across all of the world-class savannah national parks in East Africa.

Leisurely Game drives and Boat cruises.

Game drives happen seamlessly in almost all savanna parks in east Africa, in addition to boat cruises on water bodies like Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo in western Uganda, Lake Ihema in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, Lake Kivu and Lake Naivasha in western Kenya.

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