Home / The Best Gorilla Tours in Uganda

Welcome to Uganda, the best place in Africa to see gorillas up close! Uganda gorilla tours & safari adventures take you to the remote southwestern region in the misty mornings, where you can visit the incredible mountain gorillas. The rural landscape boasts world-class forest lodges that offer idyllic settings, giving you priceless moments with the enchanting gorilla families. With two national parks available for gorilla trekking, five visitor centers, and over half of the last endangered mountain gorilla population, Uganda is the best destination for your once-in-a-lifetime experience with Africa's gorillas. Let our local specialists help you plan your gorilla tour.

Tailor-made Uganda Gorilla Tours

If you're an animal lover or avid safari-goer, you simply can't miss the unmatched up-close encounters with Africa's gorillas on these treks. To help you plan your expedition, we've compiled a list of our best gorilla safaris in Africa. Take a look!

Customer Reviews

By Karen - USA | Age: 50-65 | Experience: 2-5 safaris

Very knowledgeable and dependable.

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We just returned from Rwanda and Uganda. Nkuringo made all our arrangements. They had our guide, Patrick, waiting for at the airport. He stayed with us for our whole trip until he dropped us off at the airport in Uganda. He was always on time, knowledgeable and fun. He was totally fluent in English. We booked 2 other times but had to cancel due to the pandemic. The company worked with us on all the re-bookings. The excursions were good. We especially liked the boat tour in Queen Elizabeth National Park. We were able to see elephants, rhinos etc at at the lake's shore. We also really liked the Gorrilla and Chimpanzee tracking tours. The guides at the park are very good. I would say to avoid the Dian Fossy hike in Rwanda. The hike was rigorous and muddy. Most of the way we were in mud up to our knees. Thank goodness for the porters. Her camp and grave were anti climatic. It was not worth the effort. However, we signed up for this tour and were told is was rigorous. We recommend Nkuringo Safaris Uganda (esp. Patrick).

By Ashley Anderson - AU | Age: 50-65 | Experience: 2-5 safaris

The BEST Experience Ever!

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Nkuringo Safaris took such great care of us in Uganda, from transporting us to the airport for our light aircraft flight to Kisoro to our entire stay at Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge to our return in Entebbe. They communicated with us throughout the entire trip and all of the staff and crew were very friendly and hospitable. Getting to see the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat was the bes t experience ever, and we were provided with hand carved walking sticks with our names on them, which was such a nice touch! It's not a trip I will be able to do all the time but I hope to be back one day and I would definitely book with Nkuringo Safaris again in the future.

By Rui Arco - PT | Age: 50-65 | Experience: 2-5 safaris

Extremely professional, knowledgeable and great value service.

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We had previously travelled in Uganda, with Nkuringo Walking Safaris, which is part of Nkuringo Safaris, and we had a great and unique experience. Nkuringo Lodge is great and is located in one of the most amazing and beautiful places in Africa. Due to our previous experience, we contacted Nkuringo Safaris to do a short trip to Rwanda (Lake Kivu and Nyungwe National Park) and DRC (Kahuzi-Biega Nati onal Park), for 10 nights and it was the right decision. Our driver/guide Julius in Rwanda was extremely professional and always taking care of us, and our driver/guide in DRC, Martin, was an asset, extremely professional and experienced, and took really good care of us. The accomodation was great value, well chosen - Paradise Malahide in Lake Kivu, to be close to a fishing village and be able to witness the movement of the fisherman, the market and the singing, also close to one of the trails which is part of the Congo-Nile trail; Orchids Safari Club in Bukavu, DRC, a charming, safe and absolutely lovely hotel; Nyungwe Top View Hotel, with great views, great staff and lovely accomodation. The food was always delicious, all personnel was very professional and friendly. For DRC, the visa was arranged prior to our arrival and finalized while crossing the border, quite stress free.
Overall, a great experience, great value for money and for sure, the right decision to have chosen Nkuringo Safaris Uganda! We definetely recommend it!

By Laura - GB | Age: 50-65 | Experience: First safari

Incredible experience thanks to Nkuringo Safaris!

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We were in Uganda early Dec 2022 and had a fabulous time. Our trip was fully organized by a travel agency in France, Luxethika, and a travel agency in Uganda, Nkuringo Safaris with limited input from us except that we wanted to see the mountain gorillas. Once we landed we were immediately taken care of by the team at Nkuringo and we could not have dreamt of better. Our trip was tailored perfectly to our wishes with the perfect balance between adventure and rest. Uganda is a beautiful country and offers so much much than the gorillas that represent already an experience of a lifetime. We had completely underestimated the variety and richness of what the country has to offer in terms of fauna, flora, landscapes, services, gorgeous hotels and cuisine. Absolutely everyone we met during our trip was of utmost kindness and attention. We felt safe and cared for at anytime whether it be in hotels or during walks or safaris with rangers. But our experience wouldn’t have been the same without our guide at Nkuringo: Jack. Jack was truly amazing and more than a guide, he has become a friend. In addition to being the kindest and most knowledgeable person (it was impressive the amount of bird species he knew!), he always went the extra mile so we could have the best experience in every activity we would be doing (and even managed to find TVs so we could watch the worldcup!). As a result, we were able to be alone with my husband (and the rangers of course) with the gorillas. Throughout our trip we traveled through Uganda and Jack was always teaching us something specific about the area we were visiting. Uganda is a beautiful country indeed but Jack made our trip absolutely unforgettable. We now have to come back to visit the northern part of the country!

The Gorilla Safari Experience

In Uganda, visitors on tour can experience gorillas in two different ways. The first is the regular gorilla trekking, which allows visitors to spend an hour with a fully human-habituated troop. Alternatively, visitors can opt for the Gorilla Habituation Experience, which allows them to spend at least four hours with a semi-habituated (wild) group accompanied by researchers and rangers. Both gorilla expeditions are truly immersive.

The great apes of tropical Africa are undeniably fascinating. Their sheer size is impressive and captivating, even to someone who may be tired or overwhelmed. Watching mountain gorillas is a truly emotional experience.

The combination of immense strength and gentle nature, along with strong social bonds, connection to the environment, vulnerability, and struggle for survival, leaves visitors feeling humbled. It's amazing to see how similar these basic primates are to humans, both in appearance and behavior.

In fact, the DNA difference between humans and gorillas is only about 1.6%. In the past, we didn't fully appreciate the fascinating lives of these great apes, and popular media only fueled fear and misunderstanding. Now, more and more people are seeking an authentic experience in the tropical forests of East-Central Africa, on unforgetable gorilla expeditions, rather than settling for a behind-the-cage exhibition at the zoo.

Tourists can now experience unforgettable moments with Africa's giant primates by booking tours to see gorillas in East Africa's Uganda, Rwanda, or DRC. This is made possible by the success of the gorilla conservation program, which is supported by gorilla tourism and sustainable community programs.

Tours to see gorillas in Uganda start from any of UWA's five visitor centers or park management quarters in the early misty-morning hours. Since the national parks are far from the International Airport (about 310 mi/500 km), you must spend a night near the park entrance to join the early morning forest experience. Fortunately, several idyllic safari lodges surround the visitor centers.

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    Where To See Gorillas in Uganda

    Uganda offers exceptional opportunities to see gorillas in their natural habitat, with renowned locations, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, providing unforgettable gorilla trekking tours.

    Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

    Bwindi is a 25,000-year-old oasis of 331 square kilometres (128 sq mi) pristine rainforest with a vibrant ecosystem. It has 19 gorilla groups available for tourism in four sections (Nkuringo, Buhoma, Rushaga, and Ruhija Sectors) spread over the park's four corners. Visitors can access the park by domestic flights from Entebbe or by a 10-hour scenic drive.

    Mgahinga National Park

    Mgahinga National Park is on Uganda's side of the Virunga Mountains, shared with Rwanda and DRC. The 33.9-square-kilometer (13.1 sq mi) park conserving the slopes of Muhavura, Gahinga, and Sabinyo dormant volcanoes, is Uganda's smallest reserve. Apart from trekking gorillas, the park offers golden monkey tracking, hiking, and birding adventures.

    Gorilla Tours Planning & Logistics

    The best accommodation for gorilla trekking

    Conservation & Community

    Frequently Asked Questions.