How fit do I need to be?

Fitter than you might expect. The walking is steep, at altitude, and often through mud. You do not need to be an athlete, and groups are allocated partly on fitness so slower walkers get the nearer families — but if you have knee or heart concerns, tell us early so we can request an easier allocation.

Should I hire a porter?

Yes. A porter carries your bag, gives you a hand on the steep sections, and the fee goes directly to someone from the surrounding community — often a former poacher. It is the single easiest thing you can do to make the trek both easier and better for the park.

Can I do it more than once?

Many people do, and a second trek is often the better one because you know what to expect and can concentrate on watching rather than walking. Each trek needs its own permit.

What if I do not find them?

Sightings are close to certain because the families are habituated and tracked daily, though nothing in a wild forest is guaranteed. The park's policy in the rare event of an unsuccessful trek is confirmed at the time of booking.

A mountain gorilla sitting among broad green leaves, holding a stem and looking towards the camera

Experience

Gorilla Trekking

One hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family

An hour is the strict limit

01What it is

A guided forest trek to spend one hour with a habituated family of wild mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.

You start at Kinigi, at the park headquarters, before it is properly light. Groups are assigned to families over a briefing and a cup of coffee, then drive to a trailhead and walk in through farmland before the forest begins.

The trek itself can take under an hour or most of the day. Trackers set out at dawn and radio back the family's position, so your guide walks you towards a moving target through bamboo, nettles and wet ground.

Then you leave your bags, go the last stretch quietly, and there they are: a silverback lying in a clearing, juveniles wrestling in the vegetation, an infant clinging to its mother's back. You get one hour, and it goes very fast.

Where: Volcanoes National Park
Duration: Half to full day
Difficulty: Challenging
Time with gorillas: One hour
Altitude: Mostly above 2,500 m

02What to expect

01
An early briefing
Assembly at the park headquarters around 7am, where groups are allocated to gorilla families based on fitness and preference.
02
An unpredictable walk
Anything from 30 minutes to six hours each way. The gorillas move overnight and nobody knows where they will be until the trackers report in.
03
Steep, wet, high ground
Mostly above 2,500 metres, on volcanic soil that turns to deep mud after rain. Nettles are constant. Gloves matter.
04
One hour, then out
The hour is strictly kept — it exists to limit stress and disease transmission. You will wish it were longer, which is rather the point.

03Best time

Runs every day of the year. The drier months make the ground far easier.

JanJan: best
FebFeb: best
MarMar: shoulder season
AprApr: shoulder season
MayMay: shoulder season
JunJun: best
JulJul: best
AugAug: best
SepSep: best
OctOct: shoulder season
NovNov: shoulder season
DecDec: best

Permits for the dry season are the first to sell out.
It can rain in any month at this altitude — the season affects how muddy it is, not whether you go.

04What to bring

Waterproof jacket and over-trousers
Boots with ankle support and grip
Gardening-weight gloves for grabbing vegetation
Long sleeves and long trousers against nettles
Gaiters in the wet months
Water and a packed lunch
A dry bag for camera gear
Cash for a porter, which is money well spent

05Requirements

Permits are limited daily and must be secured well in advance.
Rwanda applies a minimum age for gorilla trekking, enforced at the briefing.
Visitors who are unwell may be turned back — gorillas are vulnerable to human respiratory infections.
A minimum distance from the gorillas is required at all times, and flash photography is not permitted.
Current permit costs, age limits and health rules are confirmed with you before booking.

Permit costs, age limits and park regulations are set by the Rwanda Development Board and its partners and change from time to time. We confirm the current position with you in writing before anything is booked.

06Where it happens

Destinations for this

All destinations →

Northern Province
Volcanoes National Park
Rwanda's gorilla country: bamboo and hagenia forest climbing the flanks of five volcanoes, home to habituated mountain gorilla families and golden monkeys.
2 to 3 nights

07Journeys that include it

Tours

All tours →

08Questions