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Where to see gorillas

The quick answer to where to see gorillas is: Rwanda, Uganda, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But the only specialist gorillas trekking safari holidays out there are in the first three, with Rwanda and Uganda providing the best set ups in terms of permits, highly trained guides and accommodation. Famous spots include the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, all of which are packed with other primates too.

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Where to see gorillas

Map & highlights

As only one or two days of your gorilla tracking holiday will be taken up with actually gorilla watching, we have included a other highlights on our map of where to see gorillas. Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda are the prime gorilla tracking locations, but there are so many other national parks that give a monkeys. And indeed a lot of other wildlife to boot. After all, gorillas don’t exist in an exclusive club out there in the wilds. Such as chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park, tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, red-tailed monkeys in Kibale Forest National Park as well as endless hiking to be had in all the locations we have highlighted.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi is Uganda’s most famous gorilla trekking location. These Ugandan Highlands are more tropical than the Volcanoes NP and, consequently, the gorillas are considered by some experts to be like an intermediary between the eastern lowland populations from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the mountain gorillas of the Virungas. Some even consider this to be a very rare subspecies.

Jane Goodall Institute

A great stop on arrival in Entebbe, Uganda. Primatologist Dame Jane Goodall is the world authority on chimpanzees and founder of this Institute. Although most of her work is based in Tanzania, JGI Uganda this is one of the Institute’s many centres and home to the Chimpanzees Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust, co-founded in 1997 with Born Free Foundation and other international conservation organisations.

Kibale Forest National Park

Another panoply of primates, don’t miss this Ugandan addition to your holiday. The chimpanzee colonies here have been habituated over a period of two years, so that they are used to humans passing through. Guided tours will give you an opportunity to see L' Hoest’s, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, brown monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabey. Some tours also offer the chance to take part in a habituation experience.

Lobéké National Park

In Cameroon, the park is one part of the Congo Basin Sangha River Tri-national Protected area (STN), the two others being Dzanga Sangha Special Reserve in Central African Republic and Nouabal-Ndoki National Park in Republic of Congo. Combine a trip to Lobéké with Nouabalé-Ndoki, both home to western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. Gorilla trekking here is very remote, but with fewer ‘habituated’ gorillas and also very few tourists.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Along with Bwindi Impenetrable NP, this is Uganda’s other mountain gorilla trekking spot, although a little less reliable for sightings, as its resident Nyakagezi gorilla family sometimes wanders into Rwanda. However, there are populations of golden monkeys and other primates here. This park also endeavours to support its indigenous and displaced Batwa people who lead hikes through the forest and also run a guest lodge.

Nouabal-Ndoki National Park

In the Republic of the Congo, the Mbeli Bai area is home to western lowland gorillas. The park is one part of the Congo Basin Sangha River Tri-national Protected area (STN), the two others being Dzanga Sangha Special Reserve in Central African Republic and Lobéké National Park in Cameroon. Gorilla trekking here is extremely remote, and poaching still prolific. So it is important to support their preservation through tourism.

Nyungwe National Park

At over 1,000km², Rwanda’s Nyungwe is Africa’s largest protected mountain rainforest and a must on any primate itinerary as it is also home to a colossal collection of chimpanzees, as well as Ruwenzori colobus and L’Hoest’s monkeys. This is most definitely the land of monkeys in the mist. Similarly to the gorillas, when you find a family of chimps, you will get to spend an hour with them.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Although there are no gorillas here, Kyambura Gorge in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is known as Valley of the Apes, and is perfect for chimpanzee tracking. A 1km-wide tropical rain forest filled gorge, this is in great contrast to other savannah regions of the park, where you can take on a more traditional safari seeing elephants, hippos, crocodile and lions.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park

To combine gorilla trekking with serious mountain hiking in Uganda, the Kilembe Trail, cuts through the national park, linking the Rwenzori Mountain peaks. This range is one of Africa’s lesser known hiking experiences, upstaged by the likes of Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya. But you won’t meet any charity climbers in this rainforest. Just a plethora of primates and a bevvy of birdlife.

Volcanoes National Park

Situated in NW Rwanda, this is a landscape of six active and three extinct volcanoes, but thankfully home to the far from extinct mountain gorilla. They thrive in the cool temperate bamboo and evergreen, elevated forests. The national park is the Rwandan section of the Virunga Mountains that straddle the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, a massif that minds around 400 mountain gorillas.

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If you'd like to chat about gorilla safaris or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Where to see gorillas

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL'S SUPPLIERS RECOMMEND

Paul Callcutt at our leading supplier of gorilla trekking holidays, Natural World Safaris gives some good tips on where to see gorillas:

“Rwanda is generally viewed as easier trekking in order to see the gorillas. They tend to be out in the open a bit more and along easier hiking trails than in Uganda, where things can be a bit steeper and undergrowth is thicker. That is not to say that Rwanda is better than Uganda for gorilla trekking, Not at all. Uganda is great for people looking for a more adventurous trekking experience but the rewards are excellent. Such as getting to see the extraordinary Nkuringo gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In Uganda, the longest you could trek is eight hours, but even this is unlikely. However, it is not impossible. When I've done it, I haven’t walked for more than two or three hours in both Uganda and Rwanda. But if you have mobility issues, I'd probably recommend Rwanda first. ”

Photo credits: [Top box: Thomson Safaris Tanzania Safaris and Kili Treks] [Volcanoes National Park: John Cooke] [Queen Elizabeth National Park: Justin Norton] [Jane Goodall Institute: Radio Okapi] [Nyungwe National Park: François Terrier] [Kibale Forest National Park: Joe McKenna] [Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: Martijn.Munneke] [Rwenzori Mountains National Park: Jørn Eriksson] [Nouabal-Ndoki National Park : Lycaon] [Lobéké National Park : Amcaja] [Mgahinga Gorilla National Park: SuSanA Secretariat]

Written by Catherine Mack

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