Private • Uganda
1 Day Gorilla Trekking Safari in Uganda
One dawn start, one hour with the mountain gorillas of Bwindi
Overview
About this journey
- Duration
- 1 days
- Departures
- All year round
A single day with the mountain gorillas, for travellers already staying in Kabale, Kisoro or Kigali. The start is early and the walking can be hard, but by mid-afternoon you have stood a few metres from a wild gorilla family, and that is not something a longer itinerary improves on.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has protected its rainforest since 1991 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nearly half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas live here, alongside chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus, forest elephants and more than 340 bird species, including turacos and hornbills. Habituated gorilla families are tracked from four sectors: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo.
This is a private trek. Your guide, the vehicle and the permit are yours, and it runs on any date of the year.
Highlights
What you'll experience
One hour with a gorilla family
Seven metres from a silverback and his group as they feed, groom and play. The rangers keep the hour calm and the distance safe; the encounter does the rest.
Walking in a 25,000-year-old forest
Bwindi's steep hills and mist are hard going, which is part of why the forest still stands. Colobus monkeys, turacos and hornbills are the usual company on the way in.
A trek that fits a tight schedule
Everything happens in one day from Kabale, Kisoro or Kigali: briefing at dawn, gorillas by midday, back at your hotel by evening.
Porters from the villages next door
Hiring a porter at headquarters supports the communities living around the park, and makes the climb noticeably easier.
Why choose us
Why choose a Private Journey?
Short trips are usually a compromise. This one is not: the gorillas take a day, and the day is built around them.
Private, on any date
No fixed departures and no shared vehicle. The trek runs all year round for your party alone, from wherever you are staying in Kabale or Kisoro.
Ranger-guided, by the rules
Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers lead every trek, brief you before it and explain gorilla behaviour when you arrive. The guidelines exist to protect the gorillas; we follow them without exception.
Money that stays in Bwindi
Permit fees fund the park and its communities, and the porters you hire live in the villages on its edge.
Itinerary
Your day-by-day journey
Day 1
Trek to the gorillas of Bwindi
Your guide collects you at about 6:00 am from your hotel in Kabale or Kisoro and drives to the park headquarters for registration and the ranger briefing: the rules of the forest, how the hour with the gorillas works, and what to expect underfoot. Trekkers are then divided into groups of no more than eight and each group is assigned a gorilla family, matched as far as possible to fitness.
The trek itself takes anywhere from three to seven hours, on steep, muddy, uneven ground through dense vegetation. Rain can arrive at any time of year, so bring a rain jacket, hiking boots, gardening gloves for the nettles and a walking stick, along with water and your packed lunch. Porters wait at headquarters; hiring one lightens your load and puts money directly into the villages around the park.
When the rangers find the family you have one hour with them, from about seven metres: a silverback watching over his group, youngsters wrestling in the undergrowth, adults feeding and grooming. Your rangers explain what you are seeing and keep everyone to the guidelines that protect the gorillas. Then you walk out, collect your trekking certificate, and drive back to Kabale or Kisoro.
Meals · Lunch
Inclusions
What is and isn't included
Included
- One mountain gorilla trekking permit per person
- Pick-up and return transfers in a 4x4 safari vehicle
- English-speaking driver-guide
- Park entrance and ranger fees
- Packed lunch and bottled drinking water
Not included
- Accommodation before and after the trek
- Flights or transfers to Kabale or Kisoro
- International flights to and from the region
- Entry visas and any transit visas
- Travel and medical insurance, which is mandatory
- Alcoholic drinks and premium beverages
- Laundry, telephone and other items of a personal nature
- Tips and gratuities for your guide, drivers and lodge staff
- Optional activities not listed in the day-by-day itinerary
Pricing
Available all year round
A private itinerary with no fixed departure dates. Rates are per person in USD.
Journey Details
Essential information
Minimum Age
15 years, the Uganda Wildlife Authority minimum for gorilla trekking
Safari Duffel
A light daypack: water, packed lunch, rain jacket and camera
First Group Event
Hotel pick-up in Kabale or Kisoro, about 6:00 am
Last Group Event
Return to your hotel in Kabale or Kisoro after the trek
Guaranteed Departures
Private and available on any date, for any number of guests