Updated
In Uganda, each habituated gorilla family can be visited by a maximum of eight tourists per day, for one hour, accompanied by a ranger guide, trackers and armed escorts. Porters and drivers do not count towards the eight, and they stay back during the hour with the gorillas. Because each family takes only eight visitors, the number of permits for each sector and date is limited, which is why popular dates sell out. On the Gorilla Habituation Experience, groups are even smaller, at up to four people.
Why eight?
Mountain gorillas catch human respiratory diseases easily, and large groups cause more disturbance and more risk. The eight-person limit, together with the one-hour visit and the rule to stay at least 7 m away, balances the income tourism brings for protection with the gorillas’ health and natural behaviour. The same limits apply in Rwanda and Congo. See our guides to the one-hour rule and trekking rules.
What it means for permits
The number of permits available each day in a sector is roughly eight times the number of families open to visitors there. Rushaga, with the most families, has the most permits and is often the place with availability when others are full; Nkuringo and Mgahinga, with fewer families, have fewer. Permits cost US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November, and are sold for a specific date and sector. See our guide to booking a gorilla permit and the Rushaga sector guide.
Travelling as a group
Groups of up to eight can trek the same family on the same day if enough permits are available for that family, which usually means booking well ahead in the peak months of June to September and December to February. Larger groups are split between families, often in the same sector, and meet up afterwards. You cannot choose a specific family; rangers allocate groups at the morning briefing, taking fitness into account where possible. Our guide to group trekking and splitting costs has more.
Who walks with you
Each group of up to eight visitors is led by a Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger guide, with armed escorts for security and trackers who go ahead to find the family. Porters, hired at about US$15–20, carry bags and help on steep ground, and wait a short distance away while you are with the gorillas. Your driver-guide usually waits at the trailhead. So although only eight visitors see the gorillas, the full party in the forest can be considerably larger.
Smaller-group options
The Gorilla Habituation Experience in Rushaga takes up to four visitors for about four hours with a family still being habituated, at US$1,500 in 2026 and US$1,800 in 2027. In the quieter months, standard treks are sometimes smaller than eight simply because fewer permits have been sold. See our guide to the habituation experience.
Frequently asked questions
A maximum of eight tourists per family per day, for one hour.
No. Porters, rangers, trackers and escorts are not counted, and porters stay back during the hour.
Not with the same family. Groups larger than eight are split between families.
Up to four visitors per family per day.
