Gorilla trekking is one of those experiences where the “headline price” (the permit) is real, fixed, and easy to quote. The full trip cost is where people get surprised, because Uganda is big, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park sits far in the southwest, and the road time (or flights) dictates your whole itinerary.
For first-time travelers planning a single gorilla trek in 2026 (foreign non-resident pricing), the permit itself is US$800.
From there, most budgets rise or fall on three levers:
- How you get there: long road transfers versus flying into the nearby airstrips.
- Where you sleep: the same forest has community camps and high-end lodges, and the nightly spread is wide.
- How many travelers share the vehicle: a private 4×4 costs almost the same whether it carries 2 people or 4, so small groups pay more per person (a major reality for Uganda).
A practical way to interpret the sample budgets later in this report: the “low” column is built for four travelers sharing costs; “mid” and “high” are built around two travelers and higher lodge categories.
Permit fees in 2026 and what they include
Gorilla permit prices in Uganda are set in the conservation tariff of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). For the tariff period July 2024 to June 2026, the official gorilla tracking and habituation fees are:
Permit and habituation fees and booking notes
| Product | Foreign non-resident (USD) | Foreign resident (USD) | Rest of Africa (USD) | East African citizen (UGX) | Key notes |
| Gorilla trekking permit (1 trek) | 800 | 700 | 500 | 300,000 | UWA states the rate includes guide fee, park entrance fees for the day, and a community development contribution. [7] |
| Gorilla habituation experience permit | 1,500 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 750,000 | Same inclusion note in UWA tariff; differs in time allowed with gorillas (see later section). [8] |
Two details first-time travelers should know because they affect trip design:
- A normal gorilla trek is capped at one hour with the gorillas, and UWA rules limit group size to eight visitors per gorilla group.
- The tariff explicitly ties the permit to rules that protect gorillas (health, distance, no flash), and those rules are not optional.
Permit availability and booking timelines
What “limited permits” means on the ground
Availability is limited in two ways:
- By group size: UWA’s rule of eight visitors per gorilla group per day puts a hard ceiling on daily capacity.
- By sector/entry point: permits are booked against designated entry points (visitor information centers). UWA lists these as Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo, Rushaga, and also Ntebeko / Muhavura. In plain terms: you do not only pick a date, you pick a date and a starting sector.
Who can buy permits, and how far ahead
UWA’s 2024 permit-management guidelines are blunt about process:
- For foreign non-residents, tracking permits “have to be purchased through” tour operators licensed by Uganda Tourism Board
- Reservations can be done online (when applicable) or via UWA offices in Kampala, including the UWA headquarters reservations office and the Kampala Tourism Information Center at Sheraton Kampala Hotel
- Permits may be reserved and paid up to one year in advance (UWA’s stated window), and UWA requires 100% payment rather than deposits.
- A reservation can be held for 7 days without payment; after that, it can be released back to the market.
These rules shape the real-world booking timeline. If you want July–September or late December dates, you’re often aiming to lock permits as early as the one-year window allows, then build lodges and transport around them.
Getting to Bwindi and choosing a trekking sector
The logistically honest statement is: Bwindi is not a quick add-on. If your trip has one gorilla trek, you still have to position yourself close to the briefing point the night before.
Road access from Entebbe/Kampala
Driving is the budget-friendlier option, but it costs you time and endurance.
From UWA’s own route notes: one common approach from Kampala to Buhoma involves a long tarmac stretch (~390 km to Rukungiri) and then 82 km of winding murram (dirt) roads to reach the park headquarters; another common approach includes about 6 hours of tarmac to Kabale, then roughly 5 more hours of murram road to Buhoma. UWA repeatedly recommends a 4WD vehicle for these approaches.
UWA also provides sector-specific road guidance: Kabale to the Nkuringo sector is described as ~105 km and ~4 hours on mountainous murram roads, with an additional winding ~35 km from Kisoro that takes at least 1 to 1.5 hours.
Fly-in access from Entebbe
Flying doesn’t remove the murram roads, it shortens the long first leg.
UWA describes daily scheduled flights from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro for the southern sectors (Nkuringo and Rushaga), and to Kihihi for the park’s northern frontier, with scheduled/chartered flights lasting about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Independent schedule aggregators list typical nonstop flight times as about 1h10 from Entebbe to Kihihi and about 1h15 from Entebbe to Kisoro.
If you fly, domestic baggage rules matter: Aerolink Uganda states a 15 kg baggage allowance, prefers soft bags, and requires earlier check-in for scheduled flights.
Sectors, airstrips, and what each is “good for”
UWA’s designated entry/briefing points include: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringa. Your permit is booked against one of these.
Air access matches this pattern:
- Kihihi Airstrip is commonly used for the northern side (often easiest for Buhoma).
- Kisoro Airstrip is used for the southern sectors; one published lodge document notes it can be roughly a 2-hour drive from Kisoro airstrip to a lodge area in Nkuringo.
Cost scenarios with sample itineraries
All sample costs below are estimates per person in USD designed for first-time travelers to “see the whole bill,” not just the permit. They include the specific line items you requested. Assumptions are stated and can be swapped based on your origin, travel month, and how many people share costs.
Shared assumptions and notes
- Permit price is official (UWA).
- International airfare is an assumption (varies heavily by origin and booking window). No airline-specific pricing is required here.
- Road-safari vehicle/driver costs are assumptions (market rates vary by operator, vehicle type, route, and fuel).
- Park entrance fees for most savanna parks used in the combined safari example are taken from UWA’s tariff (Category A = $40 adults; Murchison Falls category A+ = $45 adults).
- Where lodge rates are used to anchor ranges, they are from publicly posted lodge pages (see lodging table later).
Gorilla-only trip with one trekking day by road
“Single-day gorilla-only” is really one gorilla trekking day, plus positioning nights. The leanest realistic structure is:
- Day 1: Drive from Entebbe/Kampala to Bwindi area (long road day; 4WD recommended).
- Day 2: Gorilla trek day (briefing and trek; one hour with gorillas; rules enforced).
- Day 3: Drive back to Entebbe/Kampala.
Sample cost breakdown (per person, USD)
| Cost item | Low | Mid | High |
| International flights (assumption) | 800 | 1,200 | 2,000 |
| Gorilla permit | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Domestic flights | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ground transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Park fees | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guide/driver | 60 | 120 | 120 |
| Vehicle/fuel | 165 | 330 | 330 |
| Accommodation (2 nights) | 240 | 700 | 1,300 |
| Meals (en-route / not in lodge plan) | 60 | 60 | 80 |
| Tips (assumption) | 80 | 120 | 200 |
| Contingency | 84 | 149 | 283 |
| Total estimated cost | 2,289 | 3,479 | 5,113 |
Assumptions behind columns: Low assumes 4 travelers sharing the road vehicle and budget lodging; Mid/High assume 2 travelers and higher lodge categories.
Gorilla-focused road trip with breathing room
This is the version I like for first-time travelers because it gives you room for weather, road delays, and that post-trek decompression. A simple structure:
- Day 1: Drive into southwest Uganda and overnight.
- Day 2: Continue to Bwindi sector and settle in.
- Day 3: Gorilla trek day.
- Day 4: Buffer day (community walk, forest walk, rest, photography).
- Day 5: Return to Entebbe/Kampala.
Sample cost breakdown (per person, USD)
| Cost item | Low | Mid | High |
| International flights (assumption) | 800 | 1,200 | 2,000 |
| Gorilla permit | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Domestic flights | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ground transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Park fees | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guide/driver | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| Vehicle/fuel | 275 | 550 | 550 |
| Accommodation (4 nights) | 450 | 1,250 | 2,300 |
| Meals (extras / not in lodge plan) | 120 | 120 | 160 |
| Tips (assumption) | 120 | 200 | 350 |
| Contingency | 112 | 318 | 636 |
| Total estimated cost | 2,777 | 4,538 | 6,796 |
Fly-in gorilla safari
This is the time-saver. It’s also the cleanest way to make a short trip feel un-rushed: you trade road hours for flight cost.
A standard structure:
- Day 1: Arrive in Entebbe, connect to the airstrip, transfer to lodge.
- Day 2: Gorilla trek day.
- Day 3: Transfer back to airstrip, fly back to Entebbe, connect onward.
Domestic flight fares fluctuate with inventory and date, and Aerolink notes fares are subject to availability and change. (Indicative third-party snapshots commonly show roughly a few hundred dollars one-way, but treat that as directional rather than guaranteed.)
Sample cost breakdown (per person, USD)
| Cost item | Short | Mid | Luxury |
| International flights (assumption) | 800 | 1,200 | 2,000 |
| Gorilla permit | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Domestic flights (round trip, assumption) | 600 | 800 | 900 |
| Ground transfers (airstrip transfers) | 120 | 160 | 240 |
| Park fees | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guide/driver | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle/fuel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Accommodation (2 nights) | 500 | 900 | 2,940 |
| Meals (extras / not in lodge plan) | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Tips (assumption) | 80 | 120 | 250 |
| Contingency | 129 | 197 | 557 |
| Total estimated cost | 3,068 | 4,217 | 7,687 |
Luxury lodging anchor: published rack rates at a high-end Nkuringo lodge indicate adult-sharing rates of $880 (green season) to $1,470 (high season) per person per night.
Combined gorilla plus classic Uganda safari loop
A 10–14 day trip is where Uganda starts to make sense as a complete story: primates, savanna, boat, big skies. Here’s a 12-day example used for cost anchoring:
- Day 1: Entebbe arrival, recover and brief.
- Day 2–4: Murchison Falls National Park(game drives and a river segment). Entrance fees in UWA tariff.
- Day 5–6: Kibale National Park (chimp day; forest). Chimp tracking fee in UWA tariff is $250 for FNR.
- Day 7–8: Queen Elizabeth National Park (game drives, channel/boat day).
- Day 9–10: Bwindi for gorillas.
- Day 11: Lake Mburo National Park (shorter drive day, walking option).
- Day 12: Return to Entebbe, depart.
Sample cost breakdown (per person, USD)
| Cost item | Low | Mid | High |
| International flights (assumption) | 800 | 1,200 | 2,000 |
| Gorilla permit | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Domestic flights | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ground transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Park fees & activities (entrance + sample activities) | 600 | 600 | 600 |
| Guide/driver | 270 | 540 | 540 |
| Vehicle/fuel | 780 | 1,560 | 1,560 |
| Accommodation (11 nights) | 1,650 | 3,300 | 7,150 |
| Meals (extras / drinks) | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| Tips (assumption) | 300 | 500 | 800 |
| Contingency | 273 | 596 | 1,160 |
| Total estimated cost | 5,623 | 9,246 | 14,760 |
This is where Uganda rewards pacing. You’re paying for the vehicle and guide anyway; using the days to see more than one ecosystem improves value.
Trekking permit vs habituation permit
First, the shared foundation: both experiences live under UWA’s gorilla rules, including minimum age 15 years, a strong health screen (don’t trek when ill), distance rules, and no flash photography.
What you get with the standard trekking permit
- Time with gorillas: UWA’s guidelines set a maximum of one hour viewing time for normal gorilla tracking.
- Start time and rhythm: tracking is run from 8:00 am until you return for debriefing.
- Group size control: UWA’s gorilla tracking rules cap visitation at eight persons per gorilla group per day.
If it’s your first time, the standard trek is usually the right call: it’s simpler to plan, widely available across sectors, and the one-hour window feels short only because your brain is trying to record everything at once.
What you get with a habituation permit
- Time with gorillas: UWA’s guidelines allow a maximum of four hours for habituation experiences.
- Earlier start: habituation runs from 6:30 am until return to briefing location.
- What “habituation” means: UWA describes it as accompanying researchers and habituators into the forest to participate in the process of habituating gorillas to human presence.
Availability and ethics considerations
Uganda manages habituation as a more controlled, higher-contact product: more time, earlier starts, and the gorillas are in an earlier stage of tolerance-building. That can be deeply educational, but it also asks you to hold a slightly different posture as a visitor: you are closer to a process, not only observing the finished result. UWA’s rules around distance, illness, and behavior exist largely because gorillas can catch human respiratory illnesses, so the ethics of habituation begin with strict rule-following.
Practical ways to save money without compromising the experience
- Share the road vehicle with friends. In Uganda, the 4×4 and driver-guide cost is a major fixed expense. If you go from 2 travelers to 4 travelers, your per-person transport cost can drop sharply, while your permit experience remains the same. (This is why the “low” column in sample budgets is built around 4 travelers.) (Assumption; vehicle cost varies by operator.)
- Choose road-based travel when you have the days. UWA describes flights as short (about 1h10), but flying adds a domestic airfare layer. If you have time, road travel often keeps the cash cost lower, even if it costs you a long driving day.
- Spend on positioning, not perfection. A lodge that is close to your briefing point and fits your comfort needs is often a smarter spend than a top-tier lodge that forces longer transfers. UWA’s sector-based booking means you’re designing for a specific entry point.
- Use UWA’s booking rules to protect your money. UWA allows reservations within one year, holds unpaid reservations for 7 days, and requires full payment to secure permits. Build your internal decision-making so you can commit inside that window, rather than losing the dates you wanted.
To get a sense of what this really feels like, we invite you to browse two of our most beloved itineraries: Inspiring Uganda or Essential Uganda. Have other questions you’d like answered? You’re always welcome to send a message to our team here.
