How Difficult Is Gorilla Trekking? What to Expect

How difficult Is gorilla trekking? Trekking to see mountain gorillas in the wild is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, it requires a reasonable level of physical fitness as it involves hiking at elevations between 2,600 and 4,500 meters through thick vegetation and unpredictable weather.

If visitors have heavy luggage, porters are available for hire at USD 10-20. To avoid challenges when hiking steep slopes, it is advisable to do some physical exercise before your trip to Uganda, Rwanda, or Congo for gorilla trekking.

Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are the top African countries for gorilla trekking. These countries are known for their mountain gorillas, which live in four national parks: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, Virunga National Park in DRC, and Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda.

DRC is also home to Eastern Lowland gorillas found in Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Maiko National Park.

Mountain gorillas and Eastern Lowland gorillas are subspecies of the Eastern gorilla. Africa is also home to other subspecies of gorillas, including the Cross-River gorillas and Western Lowland gorillas.

A gorilla trekking permit allows you to spend one hour observing gorillas in the wild. In Uganda, a permit costs USD 800 for foreign non-residents, USD 700 for foreign residents, and UGX 300,000 for East African citizens.

In Rwanda, the permit costs USD 1500, while in DRC, the permit costs USD 400 for trekking in either Kahuzi-Biega National Park or Virunga National Park.

Gorilla trekking is available all year, but the best time to go is during the dry months. These occur from June to August and December to February when the parks receive little to no rain, making the forest floor less slippery and easier to hike.

During the rainy seasons (March to April and October to November), the trails can be muddy and challenging due to heavy rains.

When packing for your gorilla trekking safari, essential items to bring include a camera without flash, gardening gloves, long pants, a rain jacket or poncho, bottled water, hiking boots, energy snacks, a daypack, sunglasses, insect repellent, a first aid kit, a long-sleeved shirt, and a sweater.

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