Gorilla Trekking Uganda Reviews, Thoughts, and Prices

We are here and wanted to share some thoughts and details from our Gorilla Trekking Uganda Reviews, Thoughts, and Prices, as I know it’s on many people’s lists, as it was on so many of our clients’ and mine!

Disclaimer: We are professional experts, and we are here to share our personal experiences, reviews, thoughts, and Prices. If you’d like to know more, please jump in!

Rwanda vs Uganda

These are the only two places you can do it. The third place, DR Congo, isn’t really an option because of political unrest.

Rwanda has the true FAT (Luxurious) lodges (Bisate, One&Only, and Singita), which cost many thousands of dollars per night.

When you learn and read up, Uganda’s gorilla permits are $800 per person, and Rwanda’s permits are $1,500 per person, so many choose Uganda for that reason alone.

Getting to the Park area in Uganda

Ok, so this turns out to be much more of an adventure than you anticipated. We had to fly a small Cessna that flies 1x per day from Entebbe to Kisoro. Then, once you’re in Kisoro, you take a 4×4 on a VERY bumpy 2.5-hour drive to the Lodge. The entire area remains extremely undeveloped, with no paved roads or a large welcome centre; you truly experience the rugged mountains of Uganda. Everyone you interact with has been wonderful, but there is a lot of rural poverty.

Picking a Lodge

We chose Nkuringo Lodge based on positive online reviews. I believe it is one of the nicer lodges in Bwindi, but a step below Clouds Lodge, which goes for about double the price. We paid about $700 per night for the room and full board (I’ll detail $ at the end), though the extra costs added up quickly.

The Lodge was spectacular, and it surpassed my expectations. We had an assigned butler who brought us freshly brewed coffee each morning to wake us up, lit a fire in our room during dinner, and placed warm water bottles in our bed at turndown service.

I’d say our room and the main Lodge area were at or near five-star standards. The 3/4-star parts were little details like our bathroom wasn’t super elegant, the food was a little more 4-star, and there weren’t many facilities (no pool, no hot tub, etc.). Oh, and the internet is horrendous.

Anyways, if anyone wants to book here, I’ll try to get a referral discount going (no idea if they’ll bite, but I can ask!)

The trekking experience

The National Park manages all trekking experiences directly. So while your Lodge can purchase your tickets, they don’t provide the actual trek. I say this to emphasise that there are no “luxury” treks for people at the nicer lodges.

I believe there is a 4-hour habituation package ($1500) you can buy for more $, but we purchased the standard experience ($800 per person, 1 hour with the gorillas).

After arriving at the Park area, just five minutes from our Hotel. After meeting another couple, our group of four held a briefing. Next, we drove to the trailhead, where armed guards and porters joined us. We then hired the porters for $20 each and carried our bag lunches to the start of the hike.

The trek was a moderate, slightly muddy 1.5-mile hike along a jeep road into the forest. For us, the gorillas were right at the edge of the perimeter, though sometimes you have to hike much longer.

Viewing the gorillas was spectacular. The silverback walked right up to us. We saw a baby swinging on the branches. It was amazing. The gorillas were totally unfazed by our presence, and contrary to what I saw online (maybe from Rwanda?), there really weren’t many rules or behavioural requirements.

The costs

• ⁠A 1-hour r/t flight from EBB to Kisoro is about $580 per person, and you can book through Wild Travel Safaris.
• ⁠The 2.5-hour 4X4 transfer from Kisoro to the Lodge is $250 each way, and you book it through the Lodge.
• ⁠A room with full board was $700 per night for two people
• Gorilla permits were $800 per person plus admin fees
• We can book a few activities for you at around $150-$200 each.

So overall, it quickly approached $6k, though you could probably save a bit by booking some components yourself.

Summary: Spectacular time with the gorillas; the Lodge surpassed my expectations; the area was much more “untouched” and rugged than I expected, given the gorilla attraction, but I really felt a connection to Uganda and its people, which was a bonus. I’m a bit of a jaded traveller at this point, and this is the most “off the map” I’ve felt in probably 10 years.