Uganda · Rwanda
3-Day Gorilla Express
The fastest real way to trek mountain gorillas in Rwanda: fly into Kigali, trek at Volcanoes National Park, fly home. From $2,478pp.
Price on requesttailored to your dates
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Our gorilla trekking safaris range from a three-day gorilla express to a two-week journey across four countries. Compare the options, see how long you need, and let us shape one around your dates.
The short answerGorilla trekking safaris combine a gorilla permit with the transport, lodges and guides around it. They run from three days in Rwanda to two weeks or more across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania, and every itinerary on this page can be tailored to your dates.
A gorilla trekking safari is built around one thing: your place on a morning trek with a gorilla family. Everything else is planning: the order of your days, the roads and flights, where you sleep and what you see before and after. The best gorilla trekking packages are designed backwards from the permit date, because that date cannot move easily and everything else must fit around it.
Each itinerary below has its own page with the day-by-day plan, what is included, and what is not, so you can compare like with like. Every one can be tailored: change the length, swap a lodge, add chimpanzees, subtract a park. If you want to understand what the trek itself is like, see our guides to gorilla trekking in Uganda and gorilla trekking in Rwanda.
Gorilla trekking safaris work at many lengths, so start with what you want around the trek. Three to five days is the right length if the gorillas are the whole point, particularly in Rwanda where the park is close to the airport. Six to eight days adds chimpanzee trekking or a first game park and makes the long Uganda drive worthwhile. Nine to twelve days lets you combine gorillas with the savannah parks, Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, or with a Rwanda and Uganda double trek. Fourteen days or more brings in Kenya and Tanzania, the Great Migration, or a beach finale in Zanzibar or the Seychelles.
If you are still deciding, tell us your dates and we will suggest the shape that suits them. A short route that is easy to enjoy is always better than a long one that is rushed.
Tell us what you have in mind. A destination specialist replies personally within 24 hours.
Uganda gorilla safaris offer the widest choice: more gorilla families, four sectors, and chimpanzees, big game and the Nile close by. Rwanda gorilla safaris are compact and comfortable, with the park a short drive from the airport. A double gorilla safari uses a permit in each country and gives you two different forests and two different gorilla families in a single week or two.
Some guests prefer gorilla trekking tours that stay in one country, others a route that links both. The permit prices differ between the two countries, and that is often what decides the choice. The details are on our gorilla permits page, and our comparison Uganda versus Rwanda helps you choose.
A gorilla and wildlife safari is easy to build, because gorillas pair well with almost every other East Africa experience. Add Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls for game, Kibale for chimpanzees, or fly on to Kenya and Tanzania for the Great Migration, with the gorillas first and the savannah last so the journey ends on a high. Our guides explain the common routes: gorillas and the Great Migration, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania and Rwanda and Kenya.
Finish with Zanzibar or the Seychelles if you want beach days after the trek, which turns a gorilla trip into a full gorilla holiday; several of our longer trips do exactly that.
Start with your dates and the number of people travelling, because the trekking permit is the scarcest part of any trip and the dates must be confirmed first. Then choose how much else you want to see, and how long you have. We check permit availability for your dates before you commit to anything, and then build the rest of the route around them.
Book as early as you can, especially for the dry months. Our guide to how far ahead to book explains the timing. When you are ready, use the form on this page or the WhatsApp button, and a destination specialist will reply within 24 hours.
Shortest to longest. Prices that are not yet filled in read "Price on request", and we quote for your exact dates.
The fastest real way to trek mountain gorillas in Rwanda: fly into Kigali, trek at Volcanoes National Park, fly home. From $2,478pp.
Two genuinely different primate treks at Volcanoes National Park: mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, plus the Dian Fossey Tomb hike. From $3,778pp.
The essential Uganda experience: a single, focused permit trek to a habituated mountain gorilla family in Bwindi.
Gorilla trekking paired with white-water rafting and a sunset Nile cruise at the river's source in Jinja.
Two of Africa's great ape encounters in one trip — mountain gorillas in Bwindi and chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest.
Two countries, two gorilla treks: Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) and Bwindi's Rushaga sector (Uganda), crossing the Cyanika border. From $7,047pp.
Experience the best of Uganda in 10 days, combining thrilling wildlife safaris, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee encounters, scenic landscapes, and authentic cultural experiences.
A ten-day Uganda and Kenya safari: a night at Entebbe, two nights in Bwindi for one gorilla trek, a Nairobi connection night, four nights in the Maasai Mara for the Great Migration and a final Nairobi night.
Twelve days across three countries: a gorilla trek in Uganda and another in Rwanda, then Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and three nights in the Serengeti.
Over 1,000 recorded bird species meet mountain gorilla trekking — Uganda's forests are one of Africa's premier birding destinations.
A private-guide safari through Uganda's forests and Kenya's plains, closing with a barefoot-luxury Zanzibar honeymoon week.
A flight-led two-week route through Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania: two gorilla treks, three nights in the Mara, three in the Serengeti and a morning in Ngorongoro Crater.
Straight answers to the questions travellers ask us most.
Send us your dates and group size. We check availability first, tell you exactly what is open, and only then ask you to commit. A specialist answers within 24 hours.