Gorilla permits explained: Rwanda vs Uganda

Mountain gorilla trekking is the single most permit-driven trip in East Africa. There are a fixed number of permits per day, they sell out months ahead, and once you hold one your itinerary is built around its date. Everything else is flexible; the permit is not.

The core difference

Rwanda's permits cost significantly more than Uganda's. What the premium buys is access and comfort: Volcanoes National Park is around two hours from Kigali on good roads, the treks are generally shorter, and the lodges at the park boundary are among the best on the continent.

Uganda's Bwindi is a longer journey from Entebbe, the forest is larger and steeper, and the trek can be genuinely demanding — four hours of wet, near-vertical undergrowth is not unusual. It is also roughly half the price and holds about half the world's remaining population.

Which we recommend, and when

• Limited time, or combining with a Kenya/Tanzania safari: Rwanda, for the short transfer from Kigali
• Budget is a real constraint: Uganda, where the saving is substantial
• You want chimpanzees as well: Uganda, where Kibale is exceptional
• Mobility concerns: Rwanda, where trek lengths are more predictable

What the rules actually are

One hour with the family once you reach them, in both countries. Groups are capped at eight visitors. The minimum age is 15 — this is enforced without exception. A seven-metre distance rule applies, and anyone with a transmissible illness will be turned back at the briefing, because gorillas share enough of our immunology to make a human cold dangerous to them.

“Book two permits if you can. The second trek is where you stop being overwhelmed and start actually watching.”

Timing

Trekking runs year round. The drier months — June to September, December to February — make the trails dramatically easier in both countries. In the wet season the gorillas are no harder to find, but reaching them is.