Gorilla safaris

Our gorilla safari holidays and tours bring you up close and personal with man’s closest cousin. On these breathtaking encounters you must trek, sometimes for hours, over mountainous, forested terrain, to spend just 60 minutes with a mountain gorilla family. And if that seems like a lot of effort for little reward, let us assure you that those are 60 minutes you will likely never forget, as you watch these gentle, intelligent and endangered creatures interact with each other from a short distance away. You can also combine our gorilla safari holidays with more traditional safaris in countries such as Kenya and Tanzania.

A typical gorilla safari holiday involves trekking out into the forest, often over challenging terrain, go find a family group. Rangers know where they were last observed and so have a good idea how long it will take to reach them. These are accessible trips. If you have limited mobility or require the use of a wheelchair, it’s no obstacle – porters can be contracted to carry you in a throne chair all the way.

Once you locate the gorillas, you will usually spend no more than one hour with them. This is to avoid causing them too much disturbance and to reduce the risk of them catching an illness from their human visitors. The gorillas of Uganda and Rwanda are habituated to humans, but guides will ensure that you always keep your distance. There shouldn’t be any issues with noise, however. You’ll be in awed silence throughout.

Endangered mountain gorillas inhabit the Virunga Mountains, where Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) meet. In Rwanda, our gorilla safari holidays take you into Volcanoes National Park, which is also home to golden monkeys. In Uganda, tours explore Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is close to the Virunga Mountains. Few tours go to the DRC but those that do make for Virunga National Park. You can also see western lowland gorillas in Gabon.

Permits are required for gorilla safaris; they are expensive because they cover your park entrance fees and the cost of guiding and tracking fees (note that porterage services if required are extra). Part of the permit cost also contributes to gorilla conservation efforts. Note that permits tend to cost double in Rwanda what they do in Uganda.

It is vital to book your gorilla safari tour well in advance, as the system is strictly enforced, and only a limited number of permits are issued each day. If you’re booking one of our gorilla safari tours then we will often recommend you look at booking two permits for two separate visits – after all, you’re going all that way, just an hour spent with these marvellous animals is rarely enough.

Much smaller, but no less fascinating, than their (and our) cousins, chimpanzees also live in Rwanda and Uganda. Our gorilla safari holidays are often combined with chimpanzee tracking in places like Uganda’s Kalinzu Forest, or Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda. Expert local guides will explain the complex societal hierarchies in sometimes huge groups of chimpanzees and interpret their behaviours. These playful and curious apes are a joy to spend with. Nyungwe Forest in particular is renowned for its biodiversity. As well as chimpanzees you may well see several other species of primate here, along with elephants, leopards and servals.