Normal gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation tours stand as some of the best wildlife experiences in Uganda. Each adventure offers uniquely superior encounters with the critically endangered mountain gorillas in the wild. Gorilla trekking involves a park guide and armed rangers leading and protecting the visitor to locate and observe a gorilla family. Unlike a gorilla trek, gorilla habituation experiences involve tracking and observing a gorilla group in the process of familiarizing with humans.

Now, visitors on Uganda gorilla tours often wonder, which option offers a far superior adventure. These are some of the aspects that a visitor should consider while planning either a gorilla trek or a gorilla habituation,

Destinations in Uganda

Visitors can do gorilla trekking tours in either Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks, both situated in southwest Uganda. Bwindi National Park offers gorilla trekking tours in 4 gorilla sectors, Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Buhoma. Meanwhile gorilla habituation experiences are only done in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Also, in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, it is only in the Rushaga sector where gorilla habituation tours are done.

Tour schedule

In both Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks gorilla trekking tours start at 8:00 a.m., right after a short briefing. Therefore, all visitors on a gorilla trekking tour should be at the trailhead some minutes before the scheduled starting time. Any delays might result into a lot of inconveniences. In contrast gorilla habituation experiences start at around 6:30 a.m. therefore you should be at the starting point minutes earlier. In both tours, arriving before the scheduled time gives you time to attend a short briefing coordinated by the park authorities.

Group size

A maximum of 8 visitors is permitted to do gorilla trekking tours in both Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. This is aimed at reducing the risk of disease transmission from humans to the mountain gorillas. Also, this group size is sufficient enough to ensure that a lot of people get a chance to see the primates in their natural homes. Meanwhile, a maximum of 4 visitors is permitted to do gorilla habituation experiences in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. A much smaller group size is desired for more intimate gorilla encounters.

Gorilla viewing time

Each visitor is allocated an hour to view a habituated gorilla family during a gorilla trek in both Mgahinga and Bwindi. This time is sufficient especially because the gorillas might become stressed by human presence after a prolonged exposure. However, they can display their behavior even with humans present since they are used to them. In contrast, a visitor on a gorilla habituation tour is offered 4 hours to view the semi-habituated gorilla family. This extra time allows you to witness fascinating behaviors that might not be revealed in a single hour.

Spending time in the presence of a fully wild group of mountain gorillas makes the experience much more authentic. Also, since they are still becoming familiar to human presence, they tend to display the raw wild behaviors unlike habituated families. Additionally, you will spend the moments with researchers during their survey on the gorilla family. This exposes you to some of the deeper scientific insight about the behaviors of the primates.

Gorilla family to view

In both Mgahinga and Bwindi, there are at least 22 habituated gorilla families combined. Majority of them are offered for gorilla trekking tours. This implies that gorilla trekking tours offer a variety of adventures on the same day. In fact, most of these families are found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (at least 22 of them). Only 1 habituated gorilla family lives in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Regarding gorilla habituation experiences, visitors track and view a semi habituated gorilla family in the Rushaga sector.

Gorilla safari rates

The rates of gorilla habituation are different from gorilla trekking, reflecting differences in duration, experience and overall opportunity for visitors. Each rate is for buying a permit, that will be presented at the park entrance. This permit covers park entrance, guiding and development of the local community adjacent to the forests. The rates are structured according to visitor’s residence status to ensure fair categorization as shown below,

Gorilla trekking rates

• Foreign non-resident: US dollars 800 per person
• Foreign resident: US dollars 700 per person
• Rest of Africa: US dollars 500 per person
• East Africa Community: UG shillings 300,000 per person

Gorilla habituation rates

• Foreign non-resident: US dollars 1,500 per person
• Foreign resident: US dollars 1,000 per person
• Rest of Africa: US dollars 1,000 per person
• East Africa Community: UG shillings 750,000 per person

Recommendation from us

From above you will notice how different gorilla trekking is from gorilla habituation tours. As implied, they are both exciting tours in some of the best places to see gorillas in the wild. So, you can opt for either tour depending on your preference, duration, budget or overall experience. Choose a gorilla habituation tour if you want an extended period in the presence gorillas. Opt for a gorilla trek for a much better opportunity of getting a permit since habituated families are quite many. Also, gorilla trekking is relatively cheaper than gorilla habituation.