Comparing Gorilla Trekking in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo

Mountain gorilla tracking is a professionally organized and well-developed ecotourism experience. It is the number one tourist attraction in both Uganda and Rwanda. Wherever you stay, there is a good range of accommodation options available to you. Gorilla tracking in the DRC is now back on the bucket list, but offers fewer tracking and accommodation options. If you’re interested in mountain gorilla tracking in the Congo, safaris@epicugandavactions.com.

Ranger guides are professionally trained, will look after you well and are full of useful information. They know the gorilla populations intimately. Ranger guides speak good English. In Rwanda, many guides also speak French (in addition to Kinyarwanda of course!)

The advantages of tracking the gorillas in Uganda

I simply love the drive to see the gorillas in Uganda, even from Kampala, even though it takes a whole day. Whether you are tracking the gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park. Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, Nkulingo or Mgahinga gorilla national park, the last hour or two’s scenery en route is divine. However you opt for a short drive from Kigali-Rwanda to bwindi forest national park. Ask me for advice safaris@epicugandavacations.com

Gorilla tracking permits are cheaper in Uganda (although they have removed the off-peak season discounts). In my view, Uganda also has lots more to see and do before or after your gorilla tracking adventure than any other country. Uganda and Rwanda are right next door to each other however, so you could track the gorillas in Rwanda and then drive to Uganda for the rest of your East African holiday, or vice versa.

Since first writing this guide, Rwanda has doubled the cost of its gorilla tracking permits to $1,500 making the country unaffordable to most people. Interestingly, the popularity of gorilla tracking in the DRC is on the increase and is dirt cheap by comparison