The average cost of a gorilla trekking tour
What is the average cost of a gorilla trekking tour in Uganda & Rwanda?
After taking care of the tracking permit cost of $700 for Uganda and $1500 for Rwanda, the average cost of a gorilla trekking tour is about $560 per person per day, including transport, guide, meals, and accommodation in a mid-range lodge. But let's get an in-depth view of the costs involved in planning a vacation to Africa to see mountain gorillas.
A growing number of naturalists are spending their vacation in the tropical rainforest of East Africa to get a chance to meet the majestic mountain gorilla giants. If you are heading to Africa for safari, seeing mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda should be on your list. Here we help you conceptualize the costs of planning a gorilla trip.
By: Bert Baguma
PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2023 • 6 MIN READ
How much does it cost to go on a gorilla trekking vacation trip?
After taking care of the tracking permit cost of $700 for Uganda and $1500 for Rwanda, the average cost of a gorilla trekking tour is about $560 per person per day, including transport, meals, and accommodation in a mid-range lodge.
The gorilla permit, a ticket that allows you a guided entry into the gorilla park, takes the largest share of the trip budget. Unfortunately, you can't see the mountain gorillas without a permit.
Although you can organize the entire gorilla trekking trip yourself, you'll find it very challenging, especially if you must reschedule or cancel your booking and require a refund. Most travelers who want to see gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda book packaged tours through a licensed operator; it is the easiest way to eliminate local logistical nightmares and avoid travel planning stress.
A tour operator will first ask you to pay for the permit, book it, and send you a copy. They will then recommend and book your accommodation and meals, organize your transport, and manage your entire vacation journey. A driver will welcome you at the airport, check you into your lodge, escort you to the start of the gorilla trekking excursion, hand you over to the tracking guide, and be there when you return. All these services are covered in the cost of the gorilla trekking tour package.
Most travelers will extend their trip for several days to see other attractions like the chimpanzees in Kibale Forest, the big game animals on safari in Queen Elizabeth, or the Nile River at the source in Jinja. The same driver or guide will typically be your chauffeur, even on your trip extension.
Book your gorilla tour with an agent or ground operator.
Of course there are gratifying advantages with booking a vacation on your own but East Africa has gruesome logistics that are nothing like urban city tour planning. You need someone that understands the local challenges to buffer you from holiday planning stress.
Take the 8-Day Primates Galore
$4,031 Per Person (2 Pax) | See tour details
The cost of a gorilla trekking permit
A gorilla permit costs $700 in Uganda, $1500 in Rwanda, and $400 in DRC, and it allows each visitor guided entry into the park and a single hour of observing a habituated group of mountain gorillas.
The permits are discounted for foreign nationals with work permits ($600 in Uganda) and East African citizens with local IDs (UGX 250,000).
Government bodies that govern wildlife in each country issue gorilla permits at face value (at the advertised price). You can book your permit directly with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) or Rwanda Development Board (RDB) or through a licensed tour operator, who typically charges a logistical fee of about $30.
Most visitors prefer using a local operator, which may push the average cost of the gorilla trekking tour slightly but buffers them from the disadvantages of dealing with foreign travel logistics. After you make your permit reservation, the booker will share with you a copy of the permit via email, which you can print and present at the entry gate on the day of tracking.
To book the gorilla permit, you must be above 15 and share a copy of your passport with the booker to verify that. The license is non-transferable because it will have a serial number, your name, the trekking location, and the trekking date.
Availability of gorilla permits is limited to only eight tourists per gorilla group in a day. There are 20 gorilla groups habituated for tourism in Uganda and 12 in Rwanda, translating to 160 gorilla permits available in Uganda and less than 100 available in Rwanda on each particular day.
Apart from the one hour you spend observing the gorillas, the gorilla permit includes guide, ranger, conservation, and park entry fees. The porter fees are not included, but for just $20, we highly recommend getting one. Besides, you will be directly supporting the local communities through this mutual benefit.
At the end of the excursion, it's a good gesture to tip your rangers and guide for their services with about UGX 10,000 to 50,000 ($10-$20) per person.
A gorilla family with a Silverback male (right), Adult female (left) and young ones in the Bwindi forests of Uganda. Mountain gorillas live in troops led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.
Gorilla safari accommodation costs
Gorilla trekking tours happen every morning, daily, irrespective of the weather or public holiday. So, you'll need to have booked accommodation for at least two nights near your tracking location as indicated on your gorilla permit. Spend a night before tracking and another after tracking.
Accommodation for gorilla trekking typically costs;
- Shoestring - $50 - $99 per person
- Budget - $100 - $199 per person
- Mid-range - $100 - $299 per person
- Luxury - $300 - $2000 per person
- High-class - $2000 + (Rwanda forest resorts)
Rwanda positions itself as a high-end safari destination with some of the highest-priced lodges on the continent. Even average accommodation is overpriced. So trade with caution.
On the other hand, Uganda has a great selection of well-priced lodges concentrated in the five far-apart gorilla trekking sectors. Ensure that your accommodation matches the gorilla permit location; otherwise, you may miss your scheduled trek, and there's no refund for no-shows.
Most room prices include meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and high-end properties may include drinks (soft drinks, house wines, and bears).
Usually, airport transfers are not included in the room price, which may cost $150 - $250 per transfer in a six-seater 4x4 rover.
These are example adventure packages to see primates in Uganda.
They can be customized to your preferences. See more here.
Spend 3 nights in a forest cottage outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, go gorilla trekking and meet the Batwa Pygmy forest tribe on an immersive cultural trail.
$2,910 per person
Stay 2 nights on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and go gorilla trekking on this 4-day Short trip to see mountain gorillas in Uganda.
$2,767 Per Person
Meet Uganda's iconic wildlife, including the mountain gorillas, the climbing lions of ishasha, chimp empire in Kibale, the wonders of the Nile & the big five in Murchison on this trip.
$4,834 Per Person
Transport costs
Kigali International Airport is the nearest international airport to the gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda. It takes two hours to drive to Volcanoes National Park from Kigali and three to drive to the border with Uganda. You can take another two hours from the border to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
In contrast, it takes about 11 hours to drive from Entebbe International Airport (Uganda's only international airport) to Bwindi or Mgahinga. The 500-kilometer stretch is mostly well-surfaced tarmac until you get to the park access roads, about 20 miles (32 km) in the mountains.
Alternatively, you can take a one-hour domestic flight between Entebbe and two small airports, a 1.5-hour drive from the gorilla trekking centers.
In theory, Rwanda's gorillas are more accessible from the airport than Uganda's. You would save more on transport costs and travel time if you traveled via Kigali.
In that case, the driving transport cost for gorilla trekking is $150 to $250 per day, including gas (fuel) and an English-speaking driver who doubles as the trip manager and guide.
It is possible to hire a self-drive from car companies in the city at $60 - $150 per day, depending on which type of car, and take care of the fuel for the vehicle yourself.
A return scheduled flight between Entebbe and Kihihi Airports or Entebbe and Kisoro Airports for gorilla trekking costs about $540 per person. This is a great option to avoid long hours driving across the country and have more time at the lodge.
Sitting in silence on the cold ground of a Ugandan forest for 60 minutes might be one of life’s greatest privileges.
What other costs are involved in trekking gorillas?
Other costs which make up the price of a gorilla trekking tour but may not show up on your trip quote include international airfare, visa fees, gifts and souvenirs, meals and drinks, language interpreter for non-English speaking visitors, tips and gratuities, exciting activities like visiting the Batwa forest people.
Internation Flights: Usually, visitors book their international flights themselves or through an outbound travel agent back home who can give them a competitive price of flight costs. Your flight should connect you to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda (EBB) or Kigali International Airport in Rwanda (KGL). There are connecting flights from major cities worldwide. Regional ones are the cheapest, including Kenya Airways through Nairobi, Rwandair through Kigali, Ethiopia Airlines through Addis Ababa, and South African Airways through Johannesburg.
Visa fees: You will need an entry visa to pass immigration at the airport, and for which you can process online at visas.immigration.go.ug for Uganda or irembo.gov.rw for Rwanda. The entry visa costs $50 per person, but if you are crossing borders between Uganda and Rwanda, We recommend you ask for an East African Visa, which costs $100. To help you process the visa fast, ask your tour operator to share a recommendation letter and itinerary with you.
Gifts and Souvenirs: the price of gifts and souvenirs is determined by the sellers in gift shops, and it's usually a negotiation performance. We recommend buying souvenirs in craft shops outside the gorilla parks, near your lodge, or at the lodge's gift shops. The crafts typically come from the poor local communities, and what better way to support their work than buy their stuff?
Other enjoyable activities: Visiting the Batwa forest tribe that used to live in the rainforest with gorillas is something most visitors enjoy. For $50 bucks, you get on a forest trail with a tribal elder and local guide who speaks English, leading you to a small village gathering and entertaining you with folklore, music, and dance. You can also visit a community with a walking safari guide or take a guided nature trail in the gorilla forest park for $130 per person. In Volcanoes National Park, you can take the trail to visit Dian Fossy's grave or go bird watching. Most travelers will also request traditional cultural performances at the lodge, which usually doesn't require paying any fees, but you can tip the performers.
Tipping: Tipping on the gorilla trekking tour is not mandatory but a good gesture to appreciate the locals. Most lodges have a general tip box where you can tip the general staff at the end of your stay. In most cases, you can tip the service person directly with cash of about $5-20 per person per day, depending on your level of appreciation. Carry local currency bills because it can be hard for staff working in remote places to access a forex exchange shop.
In short
In summery,
- Doing a one-day gorilla trek in Rwanda for around $1,800 per person is possible. It's impossible to pull off a 1-day gorilla trip in Uganda; you need at least three days.
- The price of a 2-day Rwanda gorilla tour package starts from $2,200.
- A three-day luxury Rwanda gorilla safari package could cost about $2,500 to $7,000 per person.
- Uganda's cheapest 3-day gorilla trekking tour package costs about $1,500 per person. However, you could spend about $3000 per person for a mid-range comfortable vacation.
Gorilla trekking tour packages include a gorilla tracking permit, private transport in a 4x4 Car, domestic flight transfers, an English-speaking guide, accommodation, and meals. Private charter planes and helicopter transfers are typically additional costs.
Get a free quote for a gorilla trekking tour package from our specialists today!
Are you planning to see primates in Africa during your summer vacation? Could you take a look at some of these packaged gorilla tours? You may find one you can customize with a local specialist. You can see more here.
Spend 3 nights in a forest cottage outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, go gorilla trekking and meet the Batwa Pygmy forest tribe on an immersive cultural trail.
$2,910 per person
The 8-day forest adventure takes you trekking the endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in Uganda on the misty Virunga Mountains.
$4,097 Per Person
The 6-day safari in Uganda features nature hiking, walking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, tracking mountain gorillas and cultural encounters.
$3,354 Per Person
