Everything You Need to Know About Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

Gorilla trekking is easily one of the best, if not the best, animal encounters on the African continent. It’s no surprise that I received quite a few questions about my experience trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Read on to learn everything you need to know about gorilla trekking in Rwanda.

When is the Best Time for Gorilla Trekking?

Gorilla trekking occurs year-round in Rwanda, but the drier seasons are a bit easier for trekkers. The dry season extends from December to early March and occurs again between June and September. While it is warmer during the dry season, there is also significantly less mud and rain, making your hours of hiking more enjoyable.

We visited in late December and still encountered ankle-deep mud on parts of the volcano and a thunderstorm later in the day, but otherwise had wonderful weather for our trek. However, peak trekking season also means higher prices for everything from lodges to flights, so there is something to be said for braving the off-season.

Visa Requirements

Anyone visiting from the United States (and from most other countries) will require a visa to enter Rwanda. You can obtain your 30-day visa upon arrival at the airport. If you prefer to get your visa in advance to expedite your entry, you can apply and pay online on the government’s website. A single person in your group can apply for all visas by adding everyone as additional travelers.

As a tourist, you will want to get a T2 tourist visa, which costs $50 USD for Rwanda only and $100 for an East African Tourist Visa, which includes entrance to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Head to the Rwandan Immigration and Emigration IREMBO portal to apply for a visa online.

Required Vaccines

You’ll want to be up-to-date on your MMR, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, chickenpox, and polio vaccines – something recommended for any international travel. The CDC also recommends Hepatitis A and Typhoid vaccines, as well as taking malaria pills. Travelers who may come in close contact with bodily fluids (from a tattoo, piercing, medical procedure, sexual partner, etc.) should get a Hepatitis B vaccine.

***It is worth noting that the CDC does not recommend a yellow fever vaccine for travel to Rwanda, but the Rwandan government requires proof of a yellow fever vaccine if you are traveling from a country at risk or with an active yellow fever outbreak.***

How to Get to Volcanoes National Park

Fly into Kigali International Airport, which services Rwanda’s capital and largest city, Kigali. From there, you’ll drive about 2.5 hours to Musanze (previously known as Ruhengeri), which is where the entrance to Volcanoes National Park is located. This park in Northern Rwanda borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, sharing volcanoes and mountain gorillas with these countries.

You must be at the park entrance in Kinigi by 7:00 am, so plan to arrive in Kigali the day before your scheduled trek or wake up very early to make the drive that morning.

We hired a driver-guide through Primate Safaris, which I highly recommend. Our guide took us around Kigali and drove us to Musanze and back. He was incredibly kind, candid, and knowledgeable about everything from Rwandan history to how the gorilla trekking process works. Having the same person with us throughout our time in Rwanda gave us great peace of mind, especially with a company that specializes in this type of tourism.

If you’ve decided to drive on your own, you will need an international driver’s permit. Rwandans drive on the righthand side of the road and are not permitted to use cell phones while driving.

Getting a Park Permit & Hiring a Guide

If you travel with a guide, such as Primate Safaris, they will secure your permit for you. If you choose to get a permit on your own, you’ll want to do so several months before your visit by contacting The Rwanda Development Board (the country’s tourism body) or applying online at The Rwanda Development Board portal.

You can contact tourism with questions via email at reservation@rwandatourism.com or by phone at +252 576 514. They only issue 96 permits per day, so claim your spot as soon as you know your travel dates.

The gorilla trekking permit costs $1500 per person, but you can get a 30% discount if you plan to visit other Rwandan National Parks for 3 days or more on the same trip, such as Akagera National Park and Nyungwe National Park. Additional discounts are sometimes available during the low season between November and May. There are also more expensive permits available for private trekking tours or multi-day tours, where guests can trek several times to visit different gorilla families.

What to Expect on Your Trek

You should arrive by 7:00 am at the Kinigi Park Headquarters for a briefing before driving to the starting point of the trek. While waiting, enjoy the complimentary coffee and watch a brief informational video about Rwanda’s parks.

At headquarters, you’ll meet your guide and trackers and learn which gorilla family you’ll be visiting. Your guide will provide a briefing about the gorillas, the park, and how to behave while viewing the gorillas (including not staring at them or touching them). Groups range from 2 to 8 people, so if you’re traveling with fewer than 8 people, expect to be paired with other travelers.

After your briefing, use the restroom one last time and then load into vehicles for the approximately 15-minute drive to the trailhead. Trackers go ahead of your group to locate your assigned gorilla family, while your guide stays with you and leads you to the gorillas.

Trekking typically occurs between 8:30 am and 7:00 pm, depending on how far into the park your assigned gorilla family is located. Treks can last anywhere from one hour to 6 hours roundtrip, which is something to consider when planning evening activities after your trek. We were assigned one of the closer families in the park and hiked about 1.5 hours each way, returning to our lodging by 1:30 pm.

If someone in your group has limited mobility, inform your guide as far in advance as possible. The park tries to assign closer families to visitors who cannot manage longer treks.

***For anyone traveling with children, it’s important to note that visitors under the age of 15 are not permitted to trek to see the mountain gorillas.***

While the difficulty of the hike depends on its length, it’s worth mentioning that you’re hiking up a volcano into a cloud forest, so expect uphill terrain. The forest can be quite dense, occasionally requiring you to squeeze through small openings in the vegetation. The elevation change can contribute to shortness of breath, and limited sunlight in some areas means the ground remains muddy and challenging to traverse. Your guide will offer you a walking stick at the base of the hike – I strongly recommend taking it. Though it may seem unnecessary at first, it quickly becomes helpful for balance and stability, especially for testing the depth of muddy patches before stepping in.

As you approach the gorilla family, your guide will begin calling to them and listening for responses. You’ll be asked to whisper and leave behind any non-essential items. Approach slowly and quietly, following your guide, and then settle into an area a few dozen feet away from the gorillas to spend a memorable hour watching them eat, play, sleep, and interact.

We were fortunate to encounter a large family with over a dozen individuals and several babies, including a two-week-old. It was truly an otherworldly experience. The babies showed curiosity about us, but our guide warned them off with verbal commands. The adults, including the massive Silverback male, were completely unbothered by our presence – the Silverback even fell asleep while we observed!

Wildlife You’ll Encounter

On this adventure, you’re primarily searching for mountain gorillas, which cannot survive in captivity at low altitudes, making them extremely difficult to view outside their natural habitat. Male gorillas can weigh over 400 lbs (181 kg) and aren’t considered “Silverbacks” until they reach their teens and develop the characteristic silver patch on their mid-back.

In addition to mountain gorillas, the park is home to golden monkeys, buffalo, elephants, hyenas, numerous bird species, and bushbucks. We spotted adorable, puffy-cheeked golden monkeys just minutes into our trek, in the bamboo forest at the base of the volcano.

Visitors who prefer not to make the full journey to the mountain gorillas can also trek to see golden monkey families, which live at much lower altitudes and are usually found near the park entrance.

What to Wear for Gorilla Trekking

Gorilla trekking can involve a strenuous hike, especially for those who aren’t regular hikers, as it could be several hours uphill. I recommend:

• Footwear: Waterproof hiking boots with ankle support or galoshes (what most guides wear). If you don’t have appropriate footwear, you can rent galoshes/rain boots at the park headquarters during your initial briefing for just a few dollars.
• Leg protection: Some trekkers wear waterproof ankle covers, available at outdoor sports stores. Some lodges in the area, such as Bisate, provide these to guests. I was comfortable in hiking boots but did get considerable mud on my socks and jeans.
• Clothing: Wear long socks and thick pants (like jeans) to prevent bug bites and scratches from sharp plants along the trails, such as stinging nettles. I highly recommend Danner’s Warm Weather Hiking Socks for moisture-wicking and blister prevention.
• Additional items: Pack gardening gloves to prevent accidentally grabbing stinging nettles, and bring a raincoat that can get muddy. Wear a thin long-sleeved shirt for coverage and a hat for sun and rain protection. I wore a wide-brimmed Brixton hat with a strap, while others in my group wore baseball caps, and we all fared well.
• Protection: Apply sunscreen and bug lotion (NOT spray) before dressing to ensure complete coverage. You’ll be surprised how sunny it gets in open areas and how buggy it can be in thicker vegetation.

Essential Items to Bring

The most important item is a small waterproof backpack. If your bag isn’t waterproof, consider using a plastic cover from an outdoor supply store. Some lodges, such as The Bishop’s House, provide day-use backpacks for guests.

Pack these essentials:
– About 30 ounces of water
– Snacks
– Sunscreen
– Bug repellant
– Chapstick
– Rain jacket
– Gardening gloves
– Camera gear
– Flip-flops for after the hike

I also packed an extra water bottle for my porter. Binoculars aren’t essential, but bring them if you have them on your trip.

Photography Equipment Recommendations

While my family members used only iPhones to capture their experience, as a photography enthusiast, I went all-in on camera gear. I brought my Fujifilm XT2, 18-55mm lens, 35mm prime lens, and 10-24mm wide-angle lens. I also rented a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 zoom lens specifically for wildlife photography.

Though a 100-400mm zoom lens might seem excessive for photographing gorillas that are relatively close, I found it valuable for capturing family members who were further away and for detailed shots of their faces and hands. For the trek, I recommend packing an 18-55mm zoom lens plus either a 50-140mm zoom lens with a teleconverter or a 100-400mm zoom lens.

Hiring a Porter

Porters assist by carrying your gear or backpack during gorilla trekking. While not mandatory, both your local guide and the park recommend hiring one. Porters don’t receive salaries from the park, so hiring them provides them with daily work.

I purposely packed light to make it easier for our porters and included extra water for them. We paid $10 per porter plus a tip. Another advantage of hiring a porter is their assistance to group members who struggle with steeper, muddier sections of the trail.

I’ve even heard stories of someone who broke their leg before arriving in Rwanda being carried on a stretcher by several determined porters!

Your guide will arrange porter services at the park entrance before you begin the hike, along with providing walking sticks.

Tipping Guidelines

While tipping isn’t a widespread practice in most African cultures, it’s common in the tourism sector and an important part of the livelihood for industry professionals. Though not mandatory, tipping is appreciated. You can tip in any currency, but local currency (Rwandan Francs) is most convenient for recipients.

Recommended tipping amounts:
– Driver and guide: equivalent to $10 USD per person in your group, per day
– Gorilla trekking guide: equivalent to $15 USD per person in your group, per day
– Gorilla tracker: equivalent to $5 USD per person in your group, per tracker, per day
– Security personnel (who protect the group from other animals): equivalent to $5 USD per person in your group, per day
– Trekking porter: equivalent to $5 USD per bag

Other Gorilla Trekking Locations

There are only two mountain gorilla populations in the world, totaling around 1,000 individuals. One population inhabits the Virunga conservation area in central Africa, which includes Volcanoes National Park and bordering parks in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The other population lives in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda.

As of March 2025, tourists are not permitted to visit gorillas in the DRC due to ongoing political unrest. This means the available areas for gorilla trekking are Volcanoes National Forest in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.

Why Choose Rwanda for Gorilla Trekking?

Rwanda’s permits are more expensive than Uganda’s (which cost around $700 USD though Uganda also offers discounted low-season rates [typically April, May, and November] when permits may be available for $600 USD), but the permit fees fund park protection and improvement, gorilla conservation, and healthcare. When gorillas fall ill, specialized veterinarians must hike into the forest to treat them. When gorillas die, teams must retrieve and bury the bodies to prevent disease transmission to the rest of the population.

None of these procedures are inexpensive or simple, often requiring staff to hike hours into the forest for a single check-up. A portion of the proceeds also benefits villagers living near the park, ensuring they benefit from tourism and thus feel invested in protecting the gorillas and their habitat. ***The permit price directly contributes to a communal conservation system that has been instrumental in the park’s success.***

Volcanoes National Park hosts the largest mountain gorilla population in the conservation area, offering better chances of gorilla sightings and more available tourist permits. However, half of the gorilla families are visited only by researchers to facilitate ongoing study of these remarkable animals. In addition to mountain gorillas, the park is home to golden monkeys and numerous other wildlife species.

Furthermore, VNP is the most accessible gorilla habitat from a major international airport, making for an easier journey. Due to this proximity, we could complete a morning trek and still fly out of Kigali that evening. I would highly recommend scheduling time to rest after your hike if possible, but same-day departure is feasible if necessary.

Lastly, while I haven’t visited Uganda and tourists currently cannot visit gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to unrest (as of March 2025), I felt a profound personal connection to Rwanda that will be difficult to match. The country has emerged from a horrific genocide to become one of Africa’s cleanest countries, if not one of the cleanest worldwide.

Rwanda now has more women than men in government, emphasizes education, peace, and community, and has implemented some of the most innovative social and economic reform programs of our time. From employing former poachers as wildlife guides to organizing monthly community cleaning days, Rwanda has made incredible progress and exemplifies humanity’s capacity for positive change.

Connecting with the people, many of whom survived the genocide, was the most impactful experience of my entire trip and made the journey to visit the gorillas even more meaningful.

For additional questions or information, visit the Volcanoes National Park website, which provides comprehensive details about the experience for prospective visitors.

If you’re curious about other recommended animal encounters in Africa, check out my post on The Best Animal Encounters in Africa!

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