Mountain gorillas live in just three countries: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For most travellers the choice is between the first two. Both deliver the same core experience, one hour with a habituated gorilla family, but the logistics and the price are very different.
Permit cost
This is the headline difference. A Rwanda gorilla permit costs 1,500 US dollars. A Uganda permit costs 800 US dollars, with a discounted low-season rate at some times of year. Both prices include park entry, guides, trackers and an armed ranger, and a portion goes directly to conservation and to communities around the parks.
Getting there
Rwanda wins on convenience. Volcanoes National Park is a two to three hour drive from Kigali airport on smooth tarmac, so you can fly in, trek the next morning and fly out in as little as three or four days. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda is a long day of driving from Entebbe, or a short scheduled flight to a bush airstrip. It takes more time to reach, which is part of why the trip feels wilder.
The trek itself
The terrain in Rwanda is steep but generally shorter, often two to four hours each way through bamboo and farmland on the volcano slopes. Bwindi is true rainforest, dense and muddy, and a trek can run anywhere from one to eight hours. Neither is technical, but both are genuinely hard walking at altitude. A porter, which costs around 20 dollars, carries your bag, gives you a hand on the climbs and puts money into the local economy. Take one.
Which should you pick?
Choose Rwanda if your time is short, you want the easiest possible logistics, or you plan to combine the gorillas with Kigali and a stylish lodge. Choose Uganda if budget matters, you want a wilder and less polished trip, or you would like to add chimpanzee tracking, tree-climbing lions or the source of the Nile.
Practical notes
The minimum age is 15 in both countries. Permits sell out months ahead for the June to September and December to February dry seasons, so book early. Bring long sleeves, gardening gloves, gaiters and waterproof boots, and a rain jacket whatever the forecast.
