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.
Gorilla photography holidays
For passionate wildlife photographers, Uganda is about as close to paradise as you can get. Not only is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park home to one of the only populations of mountain gorillas in the world, but elsewhere in the country you can seek out a host of other magnificent wildlife, from tree climbing lions to elephants and hippos, and perhaps even leopards. Add to this colourful cast of characters the services of an accomplished wildlife photographer to help you improve your skills, through theory and individual tuition in the field, exploring the creative process in a fun and supportive way, and you’ve got yourself the trip of a lifetime.
There are around 1,000 mountain gorillas in the world – thankfully their numbers are slowly growing through heroic conservation efforts – and half of them live in Bwindi. Park rangers escort you to find a group of gorillas – they change their nesting sites every day – and also ensure that you’re a respectful, safe distance of at least seven metres from the gorillas at all times. Being habituated, the gorillas are generally comfortable in human company, providing the perfect subjects while you sit and snap away. Some trips may also be accompanied by a vet, able to offer an even deeper insight into caring for these rare and immensely powerful animals.
There are around 1,000 mountain gorillas in the world – thankfully their numbers are slowly growing through heroic conservation efforts – and half of them live in Bwindi. Park rangers escort you to find a group of gorillas – they change their nesting sites every day – and also ensure that you’re a respectful, safe distance of at least seven metres from the gorillas at all times. Being habituated, the gorillas are generally comfortable in human company, providing the perfect subjects while you sit and snap away. Some trips may also be accompanied by a vet, able to offer an even deeper insight into caring for these rare and immensely powerful animals.
Our Gorilla safari Holidays
Gorilla photography holiday in Uganda
Uganda mountain gorilla and chimpanzee photography holiday
From
£3400 to £3780
10 days
ex flights
How long will I be with the gorillas for?
Each gorilla permit entitles you to one hour maximum with the gorillas, to minimise disturbance. The cost of a daily permit is roughly double for Rwanda as it is for Uganda, which is why many trips now focus on the latter. A trip may include either one or two trips to see the gorillas and this will usually come towards the end so everyone is ready to get the most from it. An hour may not seem like long, but in the gorillas’ company, you quickly lose all track of time.
Do I need to be fit?
Put it this way – they don’t call it Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for nothing. You will be trekking over steep, rough terrain through dense and misty forest at high altitude, often for several hours depending on the gorillas’ location. The pace is kept nice and slow though as you have a whole day set aside. Porters carry your equipment for you, but it can still be difficult going. Yet the sense of anticipation is palpable throughout; spending even an hour in the company of these huge, perhaps surprisingly gentle and curious apes, is truly a breathtaking, never to be forgotten experience.Note that if you have mobility issues, porters can also be hired to carry you out to the gorillas in a throne chair or stretcher, bringing your wheelchair along too.
Our top Gorilla safari Holiday
Gorilla photography holiday in Uganda
Uganda mountain gorilla and chimpanzee photography holiday
From
£3400 to £3780
10 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
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.
What will I see?
What won’t you see is more like it. The mountain gorillas of Bwindi are sure to be the crowning highlight of your trip, but packed itineraries thoroughly immerse you in far more of Uganda’s staggering biodiversity. In Kibale Forest National Park you might see chimpanzees and baboons at play and in the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary you can capture images of some of Uganda’s 1,000+ species of birds and butterflies. Crocodiles and elephants are a few of the big-ticket residents in Queen Elizabeth National Park, while cruising the Kazinga Channel you will see huge numbers of hippos (also huge). Then there is Lake Mburo National Park, where zebras and impalas keep a watchful eye out for sly leopards. Ishasha is home to Uganda’s famous tree-climbing lions. Wow, right?
Some photography holidays in Uganda also see you visiting local communities and NGOs, and may have opportunities to practice your portrait photography. You don’t have to be an expert photographer, or to have specialist equipment, to find much to savour a trip of this kind. Advice on everything from technical issues to composition techniques and post-production is in good supply.
Some photography holidays in Uganda also see you visiting local communities and NGOs, and may have opportunities to practice your portrait photography. You don’t have to be an expert photographer, or to have specialist equipment, to find much to savour a trip of this kind. Advice on everything from technical issues to composition techniques and post-production is in good supply.
More about Gorilla safari
Considered by many to be one of the most magnificent wildlife encounters in the world, our gorilla safaris travel guide attempts to capture why.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Travel to East Africa and you can squeeze the maximum wildlife watching from a single holiday, combining a classic safari with tracking gorillas.
We’ve updated our guidelines on gorilla watching and Covid-19, so we can continue to support the gorillas and the communities who rely on the visitors they bring.
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.
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.
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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