Ultimate Guide to Mountain Gorilla Tracking [UPDATED]

Nov 21, 22

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What is the Ultimate Guide to Mountain Gorilla Tracking?

The Ultimate Guide to Mountain Gorilla Tracking (or Trekking) is designed to help you choose where to go mountain gorilla tracking, where to stay, what to pack, and explain how your tracking supports the Mountain Gorillas and the local (human!) population. I also share some ideas on other activities you can do in Uganda or Rwanda, as part of your gorilla tracking tour.

All information contained in this guide is based on my personal experience: tracking the gorillas, working with guides and conservationists, researching guidebooks and 15 years supporting conservation and tourism in Uganda and Rwanda. I can’t guarantee that every fact here is 100% accurate (but I’ve tried my very best!) Before confirming any travel plans, I’d always recommend contacting the Muzungu or one of the organisations listed in my Travel Directory. All feedback, suggestions (and corrections?) are gratefully received.

New for 2024: The East Africa Travel Podcast is inspired by my life on the edge of Kibale Forest: the pant hoots of chimpanzees, cicadas and the calls of tropical birds are the backdrop to life at Sunbird Hill. Great apes feature large in the podcast: fascinating conversations with Ian Redmond OBE, famous for his work with Dian Fossey and Sir David Attenborough; exciting firsthand accounts of gorilla tracking with the Nnaabagereka of Buganda in Bwindi; expert travel writer Philip Briggs’ comparison of gorilla and chimp tracking. (He first tracked gorillas in Uganda 30 years ago when a permit cost just one US dollar!)

According to the results of the latest census (finalised in 2022), there are just over 1,000 Mountain Gorillas living in the mountains that straddle Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC, formerly known as Zaire). A must for every eco-tourist’s travel bucket list, tracking the Mountain Gorillas truly is a unique wildlife experience. Every encounter with the gorillas is different.

No one who looks into a gorilla’s eyes — intelligent, gentle, vulnerable — can remain unchanged, for the gap between ape and human vanishes; we know that the gorilla still lives within us. Do gorillas also recognize this ancient connection?

George B. Schaller, “Gentle Gorillas, Turbulent Times,” National Geographic

There was very little activity when I first tracked the gorillas in Buhoma sector of Bwindi, Uganda. The highlight of the tracking was watching a baby gorilla hanging from one arm in the moss-covered trees above us, eyeballing us. The climb through a tea plantation and mist-covered slopes of the jungle-like forest were a magical part of the whole experience too.

My next gorilla tracking experience, in Rwanda, was altogether different: there was so much going on, the hour with the gorillas passed by very quickly. We watched twin baby gorillas playing with their mother. Huge adults sat munching in the bamboo above our heads. At one point, the whole gorilla family decided to walk through our nervous giggling group and we edged back in to the bush, as they brushed right past us. We even watched the Silverback having sex! (All of this action was accompanied by loud gorilla farts).

Gorilla tracking is not a cheap experience. However, receipts from gorilla permit sales have made a huge and sustainable impact on the ability of these beautiful creatures to survive. This guide focuses on gorilla tracking in Uganda and Rwanda but gorilla tracking in the DR Congo is sometimes available too. This is great news for us travellers – local people and the gorillas too. Tourist dollars contribute to conservation AND development.

Gorillas remain under constant watch, 365 days of the year. Their security and health are constantly monitored. The gorilla population numbers in Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo have increased from near-extinction levels of 254 individuals in the 1980s to a still ‘endangered’ level of 1000+ in 2023. By going to track the Mountain Gorillas, you are contributing to their survival – as long as you follow the Gorilla Tracking Rules listed in this Ultimate Guide to Mountain Gorilla Tracking.

For gorilla tracking stories and Uganda and Rwanda travel advice, click on the hyperlinks in the
 Ultimate Guide to Mountain Gorilla Tracking. 
Looking for more info? Check out my Travel Directory or Contact the Muzungu.

What do Mountain Gorillas look like? Are they dangerous? |>