My experience trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda was fabulous. This is a must-do activity when visiting Rwanda or Uganda. I went to Rwanda for work in early March 2020, and I knew this was something I had to do.
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Trekking Options
Mountain gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Uganda is a pricey experience. In Rwanda you will pay $1,500 for a permit, and in Uganda you will pay $700 for a permit. Then you have to pay for transportation, guides, entrance fees, etc. See my related post on Tips for a Fabulous Gorilla Trek. I chose Uganda for my experience trekking mountain gorillas for two reasons. First, it was the cheapest. Second, I’m always looking for a reason to explore another country!
Finding a Outfitter
My experience trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda began with finding an outfitter. I identified the cheapest outfitter with good Trip Advisor reviews I could find, which was Katona Tours & Travel. I worried a bit about that since I had to pay 100% up front. But I booked with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card that has travel insurance, and I hoped for the best!
The Long Drive to the Mountain Gorillas
On the day of the trek, our driver showed up at my Kigali hotel at 3:45 a.m. We drove out of Kigali and traveled about three hours to the Uganda border. Despite the hour, I was surprised to see a lot of people walking around with huge loads of stuff on their heads or tied to their bicycles. The driver told me they were going to market. And I think my morning commute is hard!
This was my first taste of Rwandan highway driving. It’s all two lane roads with no passing lanes, and the highways are filled with huge trucks going about 35 miles per hour. It’s also hilly, so there are bends/turns that make passing difficult. I hate passing cars on a two lane road, and I would never get anywhere in Rwanda!
Uganda Immigration
We arrived at the Uganda immigration about 7 a.m. and passed through immigration on foot. I got out of the car and walked over to some tents for health screening. They took my temperature, asked me a few questions, made me wash my hands in bleach water, and also dip my shoe soles in bleach water. I went into one building and had my passport stamped out of Rwanda. Then I went to the building next door, filled out a form and had my passports stamped into Uganda. Then I had to register for the Ugandan police, in a third building in the area.
Mgahinda Gorilla Park
We got back into the car and drove about 45 minutes to Mgahinga Gorilla Park, a small national park on the border of Uganda and Rwanda.
After a brief orientation, we started our trek. It wasn’t terribly difficult, though it was steep from time to time. The terrain was uneven, and there were many prickly plants and branches. I was grateful for my decision to wear jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. It was definitely a path, but primitive.
One guide walked far ahead of us with a machete, presumably clearing brush that would get in our way and watching out for animals that might be harmful. Another guide walked just ahead of us. Then it was usually me, my travel companion Sonia, and then another guide far behind us. All three guides were armed with rifles. The guide nearest us had a dinky rifle – the other two had more powerful rifles.
Are We There Yet?
We walked and walked and walked. We stopped for a few breaks for water and to rest, but generally we just trudged on. I didn’t want to be wimpy and whiny and ask if we were there yet, but the thought definitely crossed my mind more than once!
We passed a ton of water buffalo and elephant poop – the guide directly in front of us would say “poop” and we would pass the message down the line. But we didn’t see any animals except for HUGE earthworms. They were crazy big. We heard a lot of birds but didn’t really see them.
Gorilla Minders
Finally, after 5.5 miles and 4 hours, we were told we were about to enter the area with the gorillas. We couldn’t have water or eat anything while with the gorillas, so we had a quick snack and then met our gorilla minders.
There were about six gorilla minders. They go to the gorillas at 6 a.m. and stay with them all day while the gorillas move around. Gorillas sleep in a different place each night. So the minders stay with them until they go to bed is so that they know where to find them the next morning. Can you imagine spending 12 hours a day every day with a gorilla family? Talk about a unique experience trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda!
We were told that we couldn’t go within 6 feet of the gorillas. They said that the gorillas might come up and touch us. If that happened or they got close to us at all, we were to slowly back away.
Meeting the Nyakagezi Family
The gorilla family we visited are the Nyaykagezi Gorilla Group. The family had two fully grown males (silverbacks), one adolescent male, two females, and three babies (2-3 years old). The youngest fully grown male was the largest. We ended up seeing all of them except for one of the females.
We walked into the area, and suddenly there were two gorillas right in front of us. One walked right by us, brushing our pants. The first gorillas we saw were the adult males, and the adolescent male walked by us. We went further in and saw one of the females. The babies came out, rolling around and being playful.
We got to watch them for about an hour. The gorillas mainly just hung out, eating plants, laying around, the babies turning somersaults. We were definitely no further than 6 feet away, and often we were only 3-4 feet way from them. But they didn’t seem threatening at all. They would look right at us, make eye contact, and then just look away like we were boring. Our minders would make weird throat noises to get their attention, trying to help us get better pictures. The one issue we had was arriving at high noon – the gorillas were retreating into the brush for cover from the sun. But the gorilla minders cleared the way for us to follow them.
A Glimpse of Ugandan Daily Life
After our hour was up, we jumped the fence where the gorillas were and hiked back toward the Visitor’s Center on easier terrain. We were asked if we had lunches, but we only had snacks, so we stopped briefly to have those. We walked about 2 more hours and were grateful for easier terrain.
This walk was more interesting than the hike in the National Park, at least until we got to the gorillas. We were walking along the edges of fields and houses. We got to see people working in the fields and doing chores outside the house. There were also cows alone, boys leading cows, and goats with their kids. The mother goat was always tied up, but her babies weren’t – I guess they stick close to their mom! We also saw a lot of human kids. They would race towards us yelling “hallo! hallo!” and waving.
Gorilla Trekking Graduates!
Finally, we reached a dirt road where our driver could meet us. Our driver had certificates for us – it seems they usually do a “graduation” ceremony once hikers get back to the visitor’s center. I guess we were just really slow, and they decided we couldn’t manage the rest of the hike!
We drove back to the border crossing and repeated the walk-through immigration process in reverse. We got back in the car and drove to a café for lunch. It was 4 p.m. and definitely time for our first meal of the day! We arrived back at our hotel several hours later exhausted but so glad we went. Trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda was definitely a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Interested in booking your own gorilla trek?
You can get a variety of tours based out of Kigali. If you go, tell us about it in the comments section below. Also let us know what amazing animal experiences you have had! We want to connect with you!
