Uganda Gorilla Trekking: permits, treks & combos

Peak months six to twelve months ahead. Send dates first - everything else follows permits.

Sell-out is family-specific, not park-wide: Bwindi's most-walked families and Volcanoes' Sabyinyo and Susa groups go first, while Mgahinga's single family can stay open weeks longer. Rwanda's premium lodges hold permit allocations they release only with room bookings - the real scarcity is lodge-plus-permit, not permit alone.

Timing decides everything: Dry Jun-Sep, Dec-Feb. Tell us your exact window and we confirm the wildlife logic before quoting camps.

3 trek only | 5+ with chimps | 7+ with savanna. Shorter formats move daily; longer formats add buffer days for weather, herds and rest - the days most travelers later call the best.

As a baseline, rates in this cluster start at $2,650, rising with season and camp tier - see the cards above. Final pricing depends on season, camp tier and group size - every proposal is line-itemed so you can trade choices up or down per night.

Primate-focused travelers - permits secured before lodges, fitness briefed honestly.

Private 4x4 and driver-guide, accommodation, park and concession fees, listed transfers and most meals. International flights, visas, insurance and tips are excluded.

On our quotes the from-price covers the private 4x4 and driver-guide, accommodation, park and concession fees, listed transfers and most meals; it excludes international flights, visas, insurance, tips and premium drinks. Balloon flights, night drives and gorilla permits appear as optional line items you switch on.

Yes - Zanzibar, Diani and Mozambique links are routine. Say the word and the flights slot into your proposal.

A deposit of 20 to 30 percent confirms camps, permits and flights; the balance is due 60 days before travel. We accept bank transfer and major cards (card fees disclosed upfront). Full terms arrive in writing before you pay anything.

We accept bank transfer and Visa or Mastercard; card payments add the processor's 2-4 percent, disclosed line by line. Splitting the balance across two cards is possible at proposal stage, and paying early in green season occasionally unlocks camp flexibility worth a few percent - always against a written schedule, never against an informal promise.

Our driver-guides average a decade in their parks, hold national guiding licenses plus first-aid certification, and are assigned by specialty - Migration positioning, photography, birding or family pacing.

Travel green season, bring four or more travelers to split the vehicle, choose tented camps over lodges, and drive where flying saves little. Never cut guide quality, Migration-zone positioning or insurance.

The four levers that actually work: green season (published rates 20-40 percent below high season with fewer vehicles at sightings), four or more travelers splitting the vehicle, tented camps over permanent lodges of the same operator, and road transfers under two hours instead of flight sectors. The three that do not: cutting guide quality, cutting Migration-zone positioning, and dropping insurance - the last one being a false economy at US$100-300 for a multi-thousand-dollar trip.