Gorilla Trekking Costs

At the time of writing, the permit cost for a standard gorilla trek in Uganda is $700.

They’re competitive, so we recommend you get one at least 6 months before your trip. Your standard permit includes park entrance, fees for guides, and interacting with the gorillas for one hour.

A gorilla habituation experience will cost $1500 at the time of writing. This includes spending four hours with the gorillas, as well as receiving a detailed history from trackers and researchers.

A gorilla trekking permit is a significant piece of the cost of a trip to Uganda, but it's a relative bargain compared to the permit rates in neighbouring Rwanda. 

While some treks only take you 30 minutes, they can take up to 9 hours. You'll spend the full day trekking in the forest, and you'll typically take a day either side to prepare/recover, as well as explore what Bwindi National Park has to offer outside the gorillas.

Keep in mind that prices can vary considerably depending on whether you’re booking during the low season (March to May, October, and November), or the high season (January and February, June to September, and December).

Most budget lodges charge between $50 to $100 per night, and luxury lodges and hotels start from $300 per night. 

As an example, at the time of writing, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge charges $230 a night for two adults sharing a garden cottage, and $890 a night for a villa for four. In the high season, they charge $300 a night for two adults sharing the garden cottage, and $1050 for four adults sharing a villa. 

If you’re doing a gorilla-only trip (fly-in safari), you will need to catch a domestic flight from Kampala/Entebbe.

Or, if your gorilla trek is part of a wider itinerary in Uganda, the most common setup is to loop down Uganda's southwest, from Murchison Falls all the way down to the Lakes Mutanda and Bunyonyi. In this case, you'll likely arrive at Bwindi via road from Queen Elizabeth National Park (133 km).

Of course, if you're doing a longer trip across the country, then the gorillas will just be one piece of a longer adventure, and therefore just a fraction of the overall cost.