Destinations / Uganda

The pearl of Africa's gorillas

Uganda

Uganda is the more affordable of the two mountain gorilla destinations, with permits priced below Rwanda's and a landscape that ranges from Bwindi's dense rainforest to the open savannah of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Overview

Uganda is the more affordable of the two mountain gorilla destinations, with permits priced below Rwanda's and a landscape that ranges from Bwindi's dense rainforest to the open savannah of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

A trek to sit with a family of mountain gorillas — sharing roughly 98% of human DNA — is a genuinely different kind of wildlife encounter, and one that directly funds the conservation protecting them.

Travel Tips
1

Gorilla permits sell out — book at least 3 months ahead of your preferred trekking date.

2

Treks can run 2–8 hours depending on where the gorilla family is that day; a moderate fitness level helps.

3

The dry seasons (June–September, December–February) offer easier, less muddy trekking conditions.

4

Bwindi and Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park are only about 4 hours apart by road, so both are easy to combine.

Highlights

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Home to roughly half the world's remaining mountain gorilla population.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Tree-climbing lions, hippo-filled channels, and classic savannah game drives.

Kibale Forest

Some of the best chimpanzee tracking in East Africa.

Lake Bunyonyi

A quiet, terraced-hillside stop to unwind between treks.

Gallery

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