Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safaris 2025, Cost, Safari Companies & Packages.
Here is the most recent guide to gorilla trekking in Rwanda, with information about primates to see, gorilla tours, travel agencies, gorilla trekking prices, when to go, and where to stay at safari lodges.
The only places in the world where you can observe mountain gorillas (Gorilla Berengei Berengei) are in Rwanda, Congo, and Uganda. Parc Nationale Des Volcans, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, is home to several primates.
There are 80 Rwandan gorilla permits available daily as of 2024, with 10 habituated mountain gorilla populations. These endangered apes can be trekked by groups of eight persons. A portion of your donation goes toward the conservation of these mountain gorillas, as gorilla permits cost $1500 USD per person every trip.
The price of a Rwandan gorilla trek
$1,900 to $2,100 for a one-day gorilla trip
Gorilla Rwanda for two days, $2200 to $2500
$2300 to $3300 for three days of gorilla tracking in Rwanda.
The majority of Rwandan gorilla tour and trekking businesses provide a range of rates, from low-cost to high-end alternatives. The variation in price is determined by the vehicle, season, lodging, and operating expenses of the business. Local businesses will undoubtedly charge less than foreign travel agents.
Which Rwandan Gorilla Trekking Company Should I Choose?
A few weeks prior to the tour, a safari firm should be able to organize your gorilla permit, reserve lodging near the park, provide transportation, and email you a scanned copy of your gorilla tracking permission. Verify that the permit is included in the overall cost of the safari for each individual. We advise you to reserve your gorilla trip through reputable organizations like
Rwandan silverback gorillas – Expectations for the Rwandan Gorillas
Here are some highlights for your trip to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Finding lodging nearer the park entrance is necessary since you have to get up early. At seven in the morning, your African gorilla guide will give you a lecture on safety measures and proper behavior.
The Rwanda Development Board provides more than 80 gorilla tracking guides who are fluent in French and English and have received extensive training. Along with other group members, you enter the forest and begin the trek, which, depending on your level of physical fitness, may be exhausting.
Keep in mind that as they are known as mountain gorillas, trekking is a necessary. The duration of a Gorilla Trekking Rwanda safari might range from 30 minutes to several hours. The exceptionally skilled English-speaking forest guides will direct you to the particular “habituated” mountain gorilla troop, which is undoubtedly acquitted of human presence.
group that goes gorilla trekking
Anxiety usually goes away once you see the group, even though a mature silverback male gorilla may weigh up to 200 kg, which is three times the weight of an average man. The gorilla troop will often be dispersed within a limited, densely vegetated region. Even though they will be watching you with curiosity, they will continue to socialize and even feed without any regard about their human guests.
Rarely one, usually a lively child, would dare to approach you with curiosity, sometimes getting so near that you will have to back off. (To protect the gorillas from infectious human diseases, you are not permitted to go closer than 7 meters from them.) Musanze, which is 1,700 meters above sea level, has a generally cool temperature. Please bring warm clothes.
Mountains of the Virunga Gorilla – The price of a Rwandan gorilla permit in 2024.
All hiking tourists to Rwanda must have an ordinary permit, which costs $1500 USD per person.
The fee of the unique, exclusive gorilla safari adventure is $15,000.
For three people, the three-day behind-the-scenes gorilla expedition costs $30,000.
If you have a large team of eight people, you will spend US $12,000 for professional photography and cinematography of the mountain gorillas for three days in a row.
How to Travel From Kigali to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park
Travel time: 2 hours and 18 minutes without any traffic.
Distance: 109 kilometers
Where to See Rwanda’s Gorillas, Gorilla Tracking Organizations in Rwanda
Only in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans), a portion of the larger Virunga highlands, is it possible to follow gorillas. The Virunga complex is home to about 480 mountain gorillas, who inhabit between 2,300 and 4,500 meters above sea level in the southern region of Virunga National Park (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and certain areas of Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.
There are two types of Rwandan gorillas: those used for research or study, which are solely accessible by researchers and scientists. The two with the greatest number of gorillas are Beetsme and Pablo’s Shidas.
Ten habituated gorilla families are also accessible for hikers to see for tourism-related reasons. Each gorilla group may receive up to eight visitors per day, and you may stay for no more than an hour.
The Ugenda, Umubano, Susa group, Karinsimbi, Sabinyo, Hirwa, Amahoro, Bwengye, Group 13 (the Agasha group), and the Kwitonda are some of these gorilla groups. These are all mountain gorillas, according to Eckhart and Lanjouw. (2008). Johns Hopkins University Press, “Mountain Gorillas: Biology, Conservation, and Coexistence.”
Gorilla Trekking Groups in Rwanda
1. Trek with the Susa Gorillas (Susa A Family)
This is the group of gorillas that Dian Fossey studied.
The River Susa, which flows through the gorillas’ native region, is where it got its name. The family is the hardest to trek since they often remain in the upper mountain ranges, but the RDB’s Tourism and Conservation trackers will be aware of the group’s whereabouts the day before so that the following trackers know where to look.
The group’s remote location has occasionally prevented visitors from following them. With a family size of 28 gorillas and three Silverbacks, this group is quite remarkable. Before splitting into two groups, this was the largest gorilla group. There were forty-two members of the group, and visitors would notice that there were gorillas all over the place. This trio is well-known for its lively baby twins, Byishimo and Impano.
Poppy, who was born in 1976, is one of Rwanda’s oldest habituated gorillas. Poppy is believed to be one of the gorillas that were part of the first gorilla troop that Dian Fossey studied.
Since caring for the two babies is almost impossible, a mother often dumps one of her twins. We sometimes thought Nyabitondore, the mother, would go insane from this enormous burden as we saw her provide excellent care for her twins, Impano and Byishimo. These days, though, you may observe the twins having fun among other gorillas.
2. Gorilla Trek with the Karisimbi Family (Susa-B)
Currently known as Susa-B or the Karisimbi Group, this family split off from the original Susa (Susa-A) family. It often inhabits the slopes of Rwanda’s highest peak, Mt. Karisimbi Volcano (4507 meters), and has 15 individuals. Serious hikers are better suited for the Karisimbi Group. The upper mountain slopes of the Karisimbi caldera appear to be where they have established their habitat.
Therefore, it could take a whole day of hiking to see this group. The gang occasionally travels to higher altitudes, which makes tracking difficult. However, RDB tourist and conservation guides will know where the gorilla group was the day before. The gorilla family’s remote location sometimes makes it impossible to track them.
3. Safari with the Sabyinyo Gorilla Group
A powerful silverback Guhonda is in charge of Sabyinyo, which is easily accessible. Given its enormous physical size, this silverback is the largest of all the gorilla groups. In reality, Guhonda has kept Ryango, his primary rival, as a lone silverback in his group. Despite having fewer members than other gorilla families, Sabyinyo is just as amazing.
The Sabyinyo volcano is the source of this group’s name, which literally translates to “old man’s teeth.” With eight members—including one Silverback, the largest in the park—three adult females, a young female, two juveniles, and a baby gorilla—the Sabyinyo are one of the groups closest to the park’s edge.
4. Gorilla Tours in Amahoro
The most tranquil gorilla group is Amahoro, which translates to “peaceful group.” A Silverback, two Blackbacks, five adult females, two sub-adult males, two juveniles, and five babies make up this group of seventeen.
However, the cost of the peace is high. This group’s silverback, Ubumwe, is calm, laid-back, and placid. Regretfully, he has lost several group members to Charles’ Umubano group.
You must navigate the relatively hard slope in order to see the Amahoro, but it is well worth it when you eventually come across this amazing group.
5. Group Umubano Gorilla Safari
The Umubano family, which translates to “neighborliness,” consists of eleven members: three adult females, six babies, a silverback, and a sub-adult male. Originally belonging to the Amahoro group, the Umubano split off after Charles, the group’s current leader, defeated Ubumwe, the dominating silverback at the time.
Charles, who became an adult silverback like Ubumwe, determined to fight and finally confronted Ubumwe because he couldn’t bear being told what to do. This battle lasted for a few weeks, almost months.
Charles eventually succeeded in capturing a few Ubumwe women, leading to the formation of the Umubano. Since then, Ubumwe has shown him a great deal of respect and appreciation. Although there have been other encounters between these two silverbacks, no fights have been seen after that significant altercation.
6. Trek with Agasha Gorillas
There were thirteen people in the group when it originally started. A silverback, twelve adult females, two subadult females, three juveniles, and seven babies make up the group’s current membership of about 25. Nyakarima, the group’s former leader, was defeated by Agashya, whose name translates to “the news.” Agashya really made news when he first assessed Nyakarima’s strengths and then brutally challenged him to a battle, eliminating his whole squad in the process.
This was a remarkable incident in the history of gorilla sightings and surprised Nyakarima immensely. In order to protect his group and make sure Nyakarima wouldn’t discover them, Agashya then moved up the volcano. Since then, Agashya has added more gorillas to his group by stealing some from other groups and adding other lone individuals; as a result, the group has grown quickly from 12 to 25 members.
Agashya is also renowned for leading his entire group to the volcano’s summit at the first hint of danger. This same situation happened once when several visitors had gone to watch Group 13. Agashya thought that Silverback, his opponent, was about to engage in combat. He took his troop to the volcano in response. They would move farther away each time we closed in on the group until we were unable to move them. Thus, this is yet another difficult group to observe.
7. Family Gorilla Adventure in Kwitonda
Kwitonda the Silverback, whose name translates to “humble one,” is the leader of this 18-member group, which also includes two silverbacks and a blackback. It is difficult to trek because it went from the DRC and often stays far away. These two groups, along with Susa B, are among the hardest to locate.
8. The name Hirwa Group Trekking means “lucky one.”
On June 17, 2006, this group gained notoriety after trackers saw how members from two different families—Group 13 and the Sabyinyo group—joined to form a smaller group. Thankfully, additional gorillas joined this group as well, and now there are nine members of the Hirwa group: three adult females, two subadult females, three babies, and one silverback.
Despite being the most recent gorilla group, Hirwa demonstrates strength and effectively protects its members.
9. Trekking with Bwenge Gorillas in the Mist
Eleven members of this family own Silverbacks. It is mostly observed on the Karisoke Volcano’s slopes. The group was formed in 2007 after Bwenge, the silverback, departed his natal group and was joined by females from other gorilla groups. Bwenge is the group leader. Six newborn deaths were among the difficult occasions the organization has experienced.
With two successful deliveries in the last several years and a capable silverback leader, this group is growing stronger today. It’s a strenuous hike that takes over three hours to reach the group. The paths may be somewhat steep and muddy at times. This trio appears to have been in the renowned film “Gorillas in the Mist.”
10. Family Gorilla Adventure in Ugenda
This group resides in the Karisimbi region of Rwanda. Eleven gorillas, including two silverbacks, are included. Since the family was always on the go, it developed this mane, which translates to “being on the move.” Since it is always moving, tracking it is typically difficult and requires a lot of movement to locate them.
Rwandan Gorilla Trekking Lodges
Budget, mid-range, and premium alternatives are all widely available. The type of gorilla safari you have depends depend on the lodging you choose. Most businesses will provide quotes for all three alternatives. Among the well-known safari resorts are Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Virunga Lodge, Sabinyo Silver Back Lodge, and several more.
After Rwanda Gorilla Tours, What Should I Do Next?
Lake Kivu, Akagera National Park, and Nyungwe Forest National Park are among the safari sites in Rwanda.
With twelve primate species, three hundred bird species, and around seven animal species, Nyungwe Forest National Park is regarded as one of Africa’s oldest forests. Chimpanzee tracking, birdwatching, the canopy walkway, and hiking trails are the main attractions here.
You may witness elephants, lions, buffalo, topi, zebras, antelope, monkeys, bushbacks, impala, and much more at Akagera National Park. There are more than 500 bird species here.
One of Rwanda’s more recent parks, Gishwati Mukura National Park, is the country’s third and is well-known for its primates and birdlife.
Additional Safari Locations
In addition to your gorilla trekking in Rwanda, you may embark on an African safari in Tanzania. See the Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and much more.
Gorilla Events & Conservation
There are several activities involving mountain gorillas, but the most well-known is the Kwita Izina ceremony, which is held annually and include invitations from a variety of personalities. You would have the opportunity to take part in this event if you booked your gorilla trip during this period. There are several gorilla conservationists in Rwanda. The International Gorilla Conservation Project, the Dian Fossey Foundation, and many more.