Wildlife guide
This wildlife travel guide is meant to be like a trailer for the new Attenborough series. Because we also have individual travel guides for more specific wildlife holidays, such as our safaris, bear watching and whale watching.
Combining gorillas with an African safari
For many of us, an African safari is a proper bucket list holiday. The chance to see plains game sweeping across huge savannahs, rivers full of hippo and crocs, big night skies studded with stars, lions snoozing in the long grass and leopards lolling in trees is the ultimate wildlife experience. But what if you could have all this classic and delicious safari cake, and top it off with a unique and magical wildlife cherry: seeing mountain gorillas, up close and very personal. Too much to ask? Not at all. In fact, you can binge on all this wildlife in a single, week-long break. You just have to know where to go…
Our Gorilla safari Holidays
Gorilla Safari & the Masai Mara
Superb safari and trip to see gorillas
From
£3999
18 days
inc UK flights
Uganda gorilla tracking and wildlife safari holiday
A wonderful gorilla and wild life experience in Uganda
From
£1700
10 days
ex flights
Best of Uganda wildlife tour
Chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, tree-climbing lions & more
From
£5250
7 days
ex flights
Gorilla safari in Uganda
Track the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda
From
£4200
10 days
ex flights
Classic Uganda safari and gorilla trekking
Gorilla and Wildlife Safari in South West Uganda.
From
£3995
10 days
ex flights
Tailor made Uganda holiday, culture and wildlife
Highlights of culture and wildlife in beautiful Uganda
From
US $3950 to US $5696
9 days
ex flights
3 Day Gorilla trekking holiday in Rwanda
A short but impactful gorilla safari in Rwanda
From
US $3270 to US $5985
3 days
ex flights
Lake Mutanda gorilla safari in Uganda
Gorilla trekking with lakeside lodge accommodation
From
US $2100
5 days
ex flights
Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya camping safari, gorillas & the Mara
See gorillas in Rwanda and the big five on the Masia Mara
From
£3899 to £4299
18 days
inc UK flights
Rwanda and Tanzania tailor made holiday
No need to look further for a safari of lifetime memories.
From
US $6335 to US $9000
10 days
ex flights
Tailor made safari, gorillas, Masai Mara & Zanzibar
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda, safari in Kenya, plus Zanzibar
From
£5950 to £7800
11 days
ex flights
Rwanda tour and luxury gorilla safari
Hike, bike and canoe through Rwanda's incredible parks
From
US $4000 to US $8000
4 days
ex flights
Safaris & gorillas in Uganda
Uganda is the simple answer; it’s the one destination in East Africa that can serve up both a safari and gorillas. And chimps. And white water rafting down the Nile… This compact country contains a huge range of landscapes, from open plains to mountain forests, supporting amazing biodiversity. Conveniently, many of the country’s wildlife highlights lie quite close to one another. Queen Elizabeth, Uganda’s second largest national park, is home to lions, gazelle and huge numbers of hippos and elephants. From here it’s a short hop to Kibale Forest to track chimpanzees (around 1,500 live here) and the other primates living here, and then you can travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for a true wildlife spectacle – trekking to see one of the 11 habituated groups of mountain gorillas that live here, and spending a precious hour in their company.Combining countries
If you have more time, you can get your safari and gorilla fix by combining countries. You might start by enjoying the rich game life of Kenya, taking in the famous Masai Mara and potentially even catching the Great Migration of wildebeest as it thunders past, before travelling to one of Kenya’s lesser visited parks, such as Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for its population of black and white rhino. Then most trips head west into Uganda, where more game awaits, and gorillas inhabit the mountainous forests on the border with Rwanda and DRC. Another possibility is to combine safari in Kenya with gorilla tracking in Rwanda, at the Parc National des Volcans, which is a two and a half hour drive from the capital Kigali. Rwanda doubled its fee for gorilla trekking permits from US $750 to US $1,500 in 2017, and since then most safari and gorilla trips head into Uganda.“I came on the trip expecting to be excited about seeing the Gorillas at the end, but there was so much other stuff to marvel at that I didn't even think about the Gorillas until the day before we saw them. The nature was incredible, seeing lions chase cheetah, groups of hippos on the bank of the lake beside our campsite, a family of rhinos getting close to us, and not to mention the incredible natural landscape. We then got to walk through towns and villages, go white water rafting on the Nile, go swimming in a beautiful lake, learn about local projects etc. This was an African adventure that fully surpassed my expectations.” - Adam Southorn, in a review of his gorilla safari and Masai Mara holiday
What does combining gorillas with an African safari entail?
A holiday that includes trekking to see gorillas with an African safari can be either a tailor made or small group trip. With a tailor made trip, you’ll pay a little more for the chance to fine tune your itinerary depending on your interests, and to pick your accommodation from a range of lodges and safari camps. On trips that stick to Uganda only, travel is by road, but on tailor made itineraries that take in Kenya, short flights are often included, to help you cover the ground swiftly, with the option to relax on the beaches of, say, Zanzibar in Tanzania at the end of the trip.
Small group holidays are a more purse friendly option (although this is never a budget trip; a single gorilla permit in Uganda costs US $600) and bring the camaraderie of travelling with a group of likeminded travellers – usually, a maximum of 18 people. Some small group trips use lodges and hotels for accommodation, others offer full service camping, which is a less luxurious, but more immersive experience – we’re talking hyenas, hippos and warthogs nosing around your tent at night levels of immersion!
Small group holidays are a more purse friendly option (although this is never a budget trip; a single gorilla permit in Uganda costs US $600) and bring the camaraderie of travelling with a group of likeminded travellers – usually, a maximum of 18 people. Some small group trips use lodges and hotels for accommodation, others offer full service camping, which is a less luxurious, but more immersive experience – we’re talking hyenas, hippos and warthogs nosing around your tent at night levels of immersion!
Most safari and gorilla holidays also offer chimp tracking. This is a fun experience, quite different to seeing gorillas. Chimps tend to move around more and frequently climb between the forest floor and the trees. They live in fluid, often fractious communities rather than families, and observing them interacting is really entertaining. In Uganda, you may also take a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, to see the huge concentrations of hippo wallowing there (reported to be about 30,000), plus there might be optional white water rafting on the Nile, and village and community project visits.
You should expect a few long days of driving, especially on those trips that cover two or three countries, and also poor, bumpy roads that make even the shortest journeys a bone-jangling experience (this is the famous ‘African massage’). The trick is to go with the flow and just soak up the scenery and glimpses of village life, which won’t disappoint. There will be lots of chances to stop to shop at roadside stalls, stretch your legs or take photos.
While the game drive component of these trips is classed as leisurely, you’ll need to be fit enough to cope with a trek to see the gorillas. They’re not called mountain gorillas for nothing, so expect to be hiking uphill and also veering off into dense forest, since gorillas rarely oblige by sitting right on the path in front of you. So, expect a minimum of three hours walking on irregular terrain to find the gorillas, sometimes hiking up to around 2,600m, tackling steep ascents and descents over muddy slopes. It’s a good idea to hire a porter for gorilla tracking, who will help carry your bag and camera kit and offer a steady hand on slippery sections. Porters can be hired on the day, and you’ll be providing a valuable wage for local people by employing one.
Organised tours that include a safari and gorilla tracking will secure the gorilla tracking permit (and chimp tracking permit, if on the itinerary). These permits sell out extremely quickly and far in advance, but specialist tour operators will buy up permits, so you don’t need to. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), which manages the national parks, issues only 88 permits a day for gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, so competition is fierce.
Some trips include one gorilla tracking experience, with the option of choosing to do a second. Be aware, though, that if you do want that second tracking trip, you need to secure it at the time of booking, and you also need to book early, too, since your tour operator will not have secured any tracking permits additional to what’s set out in the itinerary.
Our top Gorilla safari Holiday
Gorilla Safari & the Masai Mara
Superb safari and trip to see gorillas
From
£3999
18 days
inc UK flights
Small group travel:
2021: 26 Jun, 11 Sep
2021: 26 Jun, 11 Sep
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Gorilla safari or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
Best time to combine gorillas with an African safari
Tailor made trips that include a classic safari and gorillas run throughout the year. Uganda sits on the equator but its higher elevation means that it enjoys a pleasant climate with average temperatures of 25°C and cool nights. It is rainiest in March, April and May, with shorter rains in October and November. You can still find gorillas; just expect trekking to see them to be more slippery. Since the game is not migratory you’ll also be able to take game drives in the national parks now, but thicker vegetation does make game spotting harder.
Trips that include Kenya don’t tend to run during March, April and May, since this is the rainy season. Roads are often impassable, and the lush vegetation and falling rain make wildlife watching difficult. If you’re combining Kenya and Uganda, and want to catch the Great Migration in the Masai Mara, travel in July and August for the best chance of seeing it.
Trips that include Kenya don’t tend to run during March, April and May, since this is the rainy season. Roads are often impassable, and the lush vegetation and falling rain make wildlife watching difficult. If you’re combining Kenya and Uganda, and want to catch the Great Migration in the Masai Mara, travel in July and August for the best chance of seeing it.
More about Gorilla safari
In East Africa, the rainiest months are March, May and November. Tourists tend to stay away during those times, but mountain gorillas are always there.
Considered by many to be one of the most magnificent wildlife encounters in the world, our gorilla safaris travel guide attempts to capture why.
Mountain and lowland gorillas exist across East and Central Africa. Rwanda and Uganda provide the best set ups in terms of permits, highly trained guides and accommodation.
Seeing gorillas in the mist may be the headline attraction, but with so many other safari activities to get involved in, it’s more like a festival.
It's not just gorillas... Other species to track include golden monkeys and chimpanzees, and of course you can also attach other safaris for a complete African wildlife holiday.
Gorilla tracking in Uganda is the highlight of any trip to this equatorial nation, whose densely forested mountainsides shelter over half the world's mountain gorillas.
Gorilla trekking through Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park and Virunga Mountains is one of the world’s most sought after wildlife experiences, and one of the greatest.
Track gorillas in CAR with indigenous Ba'aka guides, whose ancestral knowledge offers unsurpassed insights into the rainforest, its ecosystems, and what life is like here.
Gorilla safaris in DRC are particularly special. This is the only country in the world inhabited by both mountain and lowland gorillas, and you can track both while on holiday here.
Gorilla safaris in Congo take you into the habitat of the critically endangered western lowland gorilla - a world of primary rainforest, swampy bais and narrow rivers.
Take a walk on the wild side with man's closest cousin on gorilla photography holidays. Getting up close with these powerful yet gentle apes is an unforgettable experience.
Seeing chimpanzees in the wild is an exciting experience. We explain all you need to know about seeing chimps in Uganda, from permit fees to packing tips.
We represent some of the world's top gorilla safari experts. They have done these treks over and over and are totally committed to conservation and responsible tourism.
As with all the most successful conservation movements, the protection of people, their lands, rights and lifestyles plays a vital role in the protection of gorillas.
More relevant guides
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