“Two countries. Two gorilla trekking experiences. The Bwindi family in Uganda and the Volcanoes family in Rwanda. The same species, two completely different forests, and a Kigali-to-Kampala circuit that is one of the most beautiful routes in East Africa.”
The complete East African gorilla experience
Mountain gorillas exist in exactly two places: the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, and the Virunga volcano range that straddles the borders of Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC. Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park — the forest made famous by Dian Fossey’s research and the mountain gorilla conservation movement she helped launch — offers the gorilla encounter in a setting of volcanic peaks and bamboo forest that is entirely different in character from Bwindi. The Uganda permit costs $800. The Rwanda permit costs $1,500. Both are worth their price. Visitors who do both in one trip have the complete picture.
This nine-day circuit begins in Kigali, enters Uganda via the Katuna border for the Bwindi experience, covers the western Uganda wildlife circuit, and returns to Kigali through Rwanda’s Volcanoes Park for the second gorilla encounter. You fly out of Kigali. The geography is efficient, the contrast between the two gorilla forests is the centrepiece, and the wildlife between them — Queen Elizabeth, Kibale — adds the Uganda experience that Rwanda’s comparatively small park system does not provide.
Truly Iconic Highlights
- Gorilla trekking in Bwindi, Uganda — the ancient closed-canopy forest, $800 permit, the encounter in the mountain forest that Fossey chose for her research
- Queen Elizabeth National Park — the Uganda wildlife experience that Rwanda cannot replicate: lions, elephants, the Kazinga Channel, open savannah
- Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda — the volcanic bamboo forest, $1,500 permit, a completely different ecosystem and family character
- Kigali — East Africa’s cleanest and most organised capital city, worth one evening before departure
Detailed Itinerary — Uganda and Rwanda Combined Gorilla Safari
Day 1: Arrive Kigali and Drive to Bwindi
From Kigali, drive north through Rwanda to the Katuna–Gatuna border crossing into Uganda — ninety minutes from the city centre to the border. Cross into Uganda, drive through Kabale, and continue to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Total journey: four to five hours from Kigali. Arrive at your Bwindi lodge in the late afternoon. Briefing after dinner.
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking — Bwindi, Uganda
Uganda gorilla morning. The Bwindi encounter: dense forest, ancient canopy, a family that has been habituated over years by UWA researchers, one hour in one of the most biologically complex ecosystems on earth. $800 permit. The same species you will meet again in Rwanda in five days — but in a completely different world.
Day 3: Lake Bunyonyi and Drive North
Morning at Lake Bunyonyi — canoe between the islands, the crater lake at its most still in the early hours. Then drive north toward Queen Elizabeth National Park. Overnight in the park or in the Fort Portal area depending on the routing.
Days 4–5: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Two days in Queen Elizabeth — game drives on the Kasenyi plains, Kazinga Channel boat cruise, the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector. This is the Uganda wildlife experience that the Rwanda itinerary cannot provide: the open savannah, the Rift Valley landscape, the Nile and Victoria connections. The comparison with Rwanda’s smaller, more compressed park system is not a criticism of either — they are different countries doing different things with their conservation areas.
Day 6: Drive to Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Cross back into Rwanda via the Cyanika border post — a more direct crossing for Volcanoes Park than the Katuna crossing used on arrival. Drive to Musanze (Ruhengeri), the town at the base of the Virunga volcanoes. Your lodge sits with the volcano chain visible above the fields. Tomorrow morning the bamboo forest and a second gorilla family wait.
Day 7: Gorilla Trekking — Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Rwanda gorilla morning. The Volcanoes forest is bamboo-dominated at the lower altitudes where the habituated families range, and the volcanic terrain gives the trek a different physical character from Bwindi’s ridged highland forest. The families are different — larger on average, with the specific social compositions that decades of close research have documented in detail. The $1,800 permit funds the most intensively managed gorilla conservation programme in the world. The encounter is the same one hour. Having done Bwindi five days ago, you are watching with trained attention. You notice things the first-time visitors in your group do not yet know to look for.
Days 8–9: Kigali and Departure
Drive to Kigali — ninety minutes from Musanze. A day in Rwanda’s capital: the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the clean streets, the coffee culture, the craft markets. Departure on day nine. You have trekked mountain gorillas in both countries where they exist, seen the Uganda wildlife that Rwanda cannot show you, and driven one of East Africa’s most beautiful cross-border routes. It is the complete version of this trip.
Tour Includes
Uganda gorilla permit ($800), Rwanda gorilla permit ($1,500), all accommodation, all meals, professional guide, all park fees, game drives, Kazinga boat cruise, road transfers and border crossings, drinking water.
Tour Excludes
International flights, Uganda and Rwanda visa fees, tips, travel insurance, personal items, any government fee increases after booking.
Accommodation
Gorilla Safari Lodge at Bwindi, Mweya Safari Lodge at Queen Elizabeth, and either Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge or Mountain Gorilla View Lodge at Volcanoes. Mid-range alternatives available at all properties.
Bwindi vs. Volcanoes: The Two Gorilla Forests Compared
The mountain gorilla exists in two distinct landscapes that look, sound, and feel nothing alike. Understanding the difference is part of what makes doing both on one trip so rewarding.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda is a closed-canopy rainforest — one of the most ancient in Africa, continuously forested for 25,000 years without the climate-driven breaks that cleared other forests during the Pleistocene ice ages. The canopy is dense and varied, with over 200 tree species layered from forest floor ferns and mosses to emergent hardwoods sixty metres above. Trekking through Bwindi is trekking through deep forest. The gorillas here range in complex terrain — ridges, valleys, steep hillsides. Light is filtered and dappled. The soundscape is dense with bird call, insect hum, and the occasional deep chest-rumble of the silverback that you hear before you see him.
Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda is dominated in its lower reaches by bamboo — the same bamboo genus that giant pandas depend on, growing in a dense, hollow-stemmed wall that the gorillas push through and feed on. Above the bamboo belt, the forest opens into Hagenia woodland and then into open Afro-alpine heath and eventually the volcanic summit zones. The visual character is dramatically different from Bwindi: the bamboo creates tunnels and clearings, the volcanic terrain gives every view a foreground of geometric stems and a background of open sky. The encounter in a bamboo clearing — gorillas feeding in a space where you can see the whole family together at once — looks different from an encounter in Bwindi’s dense understorey. Neither is better. They are incomparable in the exact sense of the word: you cannot rank them because they are not the same thing.
Visitors who have done only Bwindi sometimes describe the Volcanoes encounter as more open, easier to photograph, more cinematic. Visitors who have done only Volcanoes sometimes describe the Bwindi encounter as more primally wild, more intimate with the forest itself. Visitors who have done both consistently say that the comparison is the point — and that having both is not indulgence but completion.
The Rwanda Permit: Understanding the $1,500 Cost
Rwanda’s gorilla permit costs $1,500 per person — $700 more than Uganda’s $800. The fee is set by the Rwanda Development Board and follows a deliberate premium pricing strategy first implemented in 2017, when Rwanda nearly doubled its permit price from $750 to $1,500. The rationale was two-part: to generate more conservation revenue per visitor (funding the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Program’s intensive conservation work), and to position Rwanda as a premium conservation destination that competes with the luxury end of the market rather than the volume end.
The Volcanoes National Park gorilla families include some of the most thoroughly documented mountain gorilla families in the world. Dian Fossey’s research began in the Virunga landscape in 1967 and generated the foundational body of knowledge about mountain gorilla behaviour that still underpins conservation programmes today. The Karisoke Research Center, which Fossey established, continues to operate in the park. The intensity of conservation investment in the Rwanda Virunga section — ranger presence, veterinary programme, habituation research — is reflected in the permit price.
For visitors doing the Uganda-Rwanda combined safari, both permits are included in the total package price. For planning purposes: the two permit costs together total $2,300, making permits the largest single cost component of the combined safari even before accommodation, transport, and park fees.
Crossing the Uganda–Rwanda Border
This safari uses two border crossings. The itinerary described here uses the Katuna/Gatuna border (southwest Uganda, northeast Rwanda) for the arrival into Uganda from Kigali, and the Cyanika border (northwest Rwanda, southwest Uganda, near Kisoro) for the return to Rwanda before the Volcanoes experience. Both crossings are legal border posts with immigration facilities. Neither is difficult, but both require some preparation.
Documentation needed at both borders: valid passport (minimum six months validity remaining), Uganda visa or e-visa, Rwanda visa or arrival stamp (Rwanda offers visa-on-arrival for most nationalities, or free entry under its visa-free agreements with specific countries). Yellow fever vaccination certificate is required to enter Uganda and recommended for Rwanda. Crossing times vary: the Katuna/Gatuna crossing can take 30–90 minutes depending on queue length; Cyanika is typically faster.
East African Tourist Visa: A single East African Tourist Visa ($100) covers entry to Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya within the same trip. For visitors who hold this visa, both border crossings are covered by the same document. It is available online and eliminates the need for separate Uganda ($52) and Rwanda visas. If your itinerary is Uganda and Rwanda only without Kenya, a separate Uganda e-visa plus Rwanda visa-on-arrival is often equally convenient. Your operator will advise on the best approach for your nationality.
Queen Elizabeth National Park: The Uganda Wildlife Core
The two days at Queen Elizabeth National Park are not filler between gorilla encounters — they are a substantive part of why the Uganda-Rwanda combined safari is better than Uganda gorillas alone.
Queen Elizabeth covers 1,978 square kilometres of savannah, wetland, and forest in the western Rift Valley. The animal diversity is exceptional: lion, leopard, elephant, hippo, buffalo, hyena, warthog, Uganda kob (antelope), and topi across the northern Kasenyi plains; the famous tree-climbing lions of the southern Ishasha sector; and the Kazinga Channel — a 36-kilometre natural waterway connecting Lakes George and Edward, with the highest hippo density of any freshwater channel in Africa.
The Kazinga Channel boat cruise is one of the most productive wildlife viewing experiences in East Africa. From the low vantage point of an open boat on the water, you pass within metres of hippo pods, Nile crocodiles, African fish eagles, marabou storks, and hundreds of water-associated bird species. Elephants and buffalo regularly come to the channel edge to drink, within easy camera range. A two-hour Kazinga cruise in the late afternoon light is consistently described as one of the highlights of the full safari — the most unexpected highlight, for many visitors who came primarily for the gorillas.
Accommodation Options by Tier
The Uganda-Rwanda combined safari crosses multiple destinations. Accommodation at each stop can be calibrated to your budget tier independently. You do not need to maintain the same tier throughout — some visitors choose to invest more in Bwindi accommodation (one key night at the gorilla forest) and less in the transit nights between destinations. Here is a representative selection by tier:
At Bwindi (Uganda): Budget: community campsites and basic guesthouses near the sector gate. Mid-range: Buhoma Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge. Luxury: Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Bwindi Lodge.
At Queen Elizabeth (Uganda): Budget: guesthouses in Kasese or Katunguru. Mid-range: Mweya Safari Lodge, Jacana Safari Lodge, Bush Lodge. Luxury: Ishasha Wilderness Camp (for tree-climbing lions), Katara Lodge.
At Volcanoes (Rwanda): Mid-range: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel. Luxury: Virunga Lodge, Bisate Lodge, Singita Kwitonda. Note: Rwanda’s accommodation near Volcanoes skews toward the upper end of the market, reflecting the premium positioning of the Rwanda conservation model. Budget options are available in Musanze (Ruhengeri) town, 20–30 minutes from the park gate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth doing both gorilla treks if I am on a budget?
The combined Uganda-Rwanda safari is genuinely a premium trip: two permits alone total $2,300. For visitors on a strict budget, Uganda alone gives you the gorilla encounter at the lower permit price. Rwanda alone gives you the Volcanoes forest. Both together give you the comparison — which is a different and richer experience than either alone. If the $2,300 in combined permits is within your reach, the rest of the combined safari can be managed at mid-range or even budget accommodation levels. The question is whether the comparison experience is worth the additional $1,500 Rwanda permit to you specifically.
Which country should I start in?
The itinerary above starts in Kigali (Rwanda) and ends in Kigali, which is logistically efficient for most visitors flying through Kigali International Airport. If you are flying through Entebbe, the reverse routing — Entebbe arrival, Uganda gorillas, Rwanda gorillas, Kigali exit — is equally valid. Discuss the routing with your operator based on your flight connections. Neither starting country changes the quality of either gorilla encounter.
Can the itinerary be extended?
Yes. The 9-day format here covers the core of the combined experience. Adding days allows: a second gorilla trek day in Uganda (second $800 permit, different family); chimpanzee trekking at Kibale Forest; additional Queen Elizabeth game drives; a Lake Mburo stopover for the Uganda ecosystem that looks least like a safari stereotype (hills, acacia woodland, zebra); or a Kigali full day including the Genocide Memorial, Inema Arts Center, and the coffee scene. 11–12 days is the most common extended format for this safari.
For full cost breakdown including permit fees, accommodation tiers, and transport for this combined safari, see our gorilla safari cost guide. To discuss your specific dates and requirements, contact us directly.
Conservation Differences: Two Countries, Two Models
Uganda and Rwanda have taken measurably different approaches to managing gorilla tourism, and understanding the difference adds depth to the encounter in each country.
Uganda Wildlife Authority manages gorilla trekking with a broader community distribution model. A defined percentage of each permit fee goes directly to the communities surrounding Bwindi and Mgahinga. This community revenue sharing programme — which has provided funding for local schools, health centres, and community enterprises since 1994 — gives the communities that share their landscape with gorillas a direct economic stake in the continued health of the gorilla population and the forest. Uganda’s model is credited with significantly reducing human-wildlife conflict in the Bwindi area and building genuine community ownership of conservation outcomes.
Rwanda’s model prioritises maximum conservation investment per visitor rather than maximum visitor volume. The $1,500 permit price deliberately limits demand to high-spending visitors and channels the resulting revenue into the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Program — an intensive, science-driven conservation operation with among the highest per-capita spending on gorilla protection of any programme in the world. Rwanda Development Board also operates the revenue sharing programme, with five percent of gorilla-related park revenue going to communities neighbouring the Volcanoes National Park.
Both models are working. The mountain gorilla population has grown continuously under both approaches. What they demonstrate is that there is more than one way to manage the economics of gorilla conservation responsibly — and that visiting both countries contributes financially to both models within a single trip.
Lake Bunyonyi: The Day Between the Gorillas
Day 3 of this itinerary passes through Lake Bunyonyi, and it is worth a paragraph because it is consistently one of the less-anticipated and more remembered parts of the combined safari. Lake Bunyonyi is a deep crater lake in the Kigezi highlands of southwestern Uganda, dotted with 29 named islands and surrounded by steeply terraced hillsides that have been farmed continuously for centuries. The morning light on the lake — flat water, early mist, the silhouettes of the islands — is one of those natural moments that photographs poorly and impresses deeply.
A canoe on Bunyonyi costs almost nothing and takes you between islands that hold remnant colonies of birds, fishing villages, and in one case the ruins of the former Leper Island isolation hospital. The lake is safe for swimming — bilharzia-free, which is unusual for East African freshwater. Most visitors spend two to three hours on and around the lake before the drive north to Queen Elizabeth. It is a transition day that works as something other than dead travel time.
Photography on the Combined Safari
The photography opportunities across the Uganda-Rwanda combined safari are among the most varied of any East African itinerary at this length. A brief technical guide for the main destinations:
Bwindi forest (gorilla trek): The light in Bwindi’s dense forest is low and filtered. Use a wide aperture (f/2.8–f/4.0), high ISO (1600–3200), and a shutter speed fast enough to freeze gorilla movement (1/250s minimum for stationary subjects, 1/500s+ for moving juveniles). No flash. A 24–70mm or 70–200mm lens covers most gorilla photography scenarios. The forest floor close-up and the silverback portrait are the two primary shots; everything else in the hour is a bonus.
Queen Elizabeth (game drives and Kazinga): The open savannah at Kasenyi is medium-light. A 100–400mm or 150–600mm telephoto is useful for lions at distance. The Kazinga boat cruise gives you eye-level hippo, crocodile, and waterbird shots from very close range — a 70–200mm is sufficient for most subjects because you are that close. Early morning and late afternoon give the best light for the savannah; the boat cruise in golden-hour afternoon light is the classic Queen Elizabeth shot.
Volcanoes National Park (gorilla trek): The bamboo forest is brighter than Bwindi’s closed canopy. The bamboo clearings where gorillas often feed in the morning can be very well-lit, particularly earlier in the day before cloud builds over the volcanoes. The same camera settings apply as Bwindi. The difference is the background — bamboo stems rather than dark forest. A 70–200mm or 100–300mm gives you flexibility between the wider family group shot and the tighter silverback portrait.
A Note on the Dian Fossey Connection
The Volcanoes National Park section of this safari exists on ground that carries one of the most significant stories in 20th-century conservation history. Dian Fossey established her Karisoke Research Center in this forest in 1967 and spent 18 years studying mountain gorilla behaviour with an intimacy and persistence that had not been attempted for any great ape before her. Her work produced the book Gorillas in the Mist and generated the scientific and public attention that transformed international awareness of mountain gorilla decline. She was murdered at Karisoke in 1985 in circumstances that were never definitively resolved but are widely attributed to poachers whose livelihood she had disrupted.
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International continues her work, operating conservation and community programmes in Rwanda and DRC. The Karisoke Research Center, now rebuilt, remains an active research facility. Visitors to Volcanoes National Park can include a visit to Fossey’s grave and the original Karisoke site as an optional addition to the gorilla trek day — a three-to-four-hour hike to the gravesite where she is buried beside Digit, her most studied gorilla subject, and the other gorillas she lost to poachers. It is not the easiest physical addition to a morning after a gorilla trek. For many visitors, it is mandatory.
Who This Safari Is For
The Uganda-Rwanda combined gorilla safari is for visitors who have decided that one gorilla encounter is not enough — or who have done one and want the other — or who want to make the most of a single long-haul journey to East Africa. It is also the most logical format for visitors flying through Kigali, since the Rwanda gorilla experience is most efficiently combined with Uganda as a short detour rather than a separate trip. At nine days, this safari requires a two-week travel window from door to door. It is not a short trip. It is a complete one.
The two permits together cost $2,300. Accommodation and transport across nine days add to that considerably. This is not a budget safari. It is the trip that visitors who have thought about gorilla trekking seriously — who understand what the permit funds, who can contextualise both forests — tend to describe as the one they wish they had done first rather than planning a return trip to do the second one later. Most people only go once. This format is for those who want once to be enough — and the complete version of what once offers.