I want to do the maths clearly because I think vagueness about cost does a disservice to anyone trying to decide whether gorilla trekking in Uganda is within their reach. My total spend on the trip was approximately $6,000. This included return flights from London, one week’s accommodation at mid-range lodges, all transfers including a charter flight within Uganda, the gorilla permit, meals, tips, and incidentals. It was the most I had ever spent on a single trip. I have zero regrets. Here is why, with the numbers.
The Cost Breakdown
Flights London to Entebbe and back: approximately $1,200 booked three months in advance. Charter flight Entebbe to Kihihi airstrip (one hour): $350. Accommodation, seven nights at two different lodges near Buhoma and Rushaga sectors: $1,800 total, including all meals. The gorilla permit itself: $800 USD, booked through a licensed Uganda Tourism Board operator. Transfers, driver for the week: $400. Tips for guides, rangers, porters: $150. Incidentals, additional activities, souvenirs: $300. Total: approximately $5,000-6,000 depending on exchange rate and decisions made in-country.
I have described this in detail because the figure “gorilla trekking is expensive” is less useful than knowing what the actual components are and where the money goes. The permit at $800 is the fixed cost that most people focus on. The other costs are more variable and there are ways to reduce them — road transfer rather than charter flight, budget lodges rather than mid-range, self-catering where available. I chose not to reduce them because I had saved specifically for this trip and decided to do it properly. That decision was correct.
What $6,000 Bought
One week in Uganda. Seven days of walking in or near ancient forest. Two gorilla treks — I booked a second permit for a different sector and different family, which I had not planned to do but which was available and which I decided was worth the additional $800. Three days of other activities in Bwindi: a community walk, forest hiking, bird watching that produced a Rwenzori Turaco sighting that I still think about. A genuine change in my relationship to what constitutes a significant problem versus what constitutes a manageable inconvenience.
The last item on that list is the one that is hardest to price but which has had the most durable effect. I work in an environment where the significance of problems is routinely inflated by proximity and urgency. The gorilla trek did something to my calibration of significance that has persisted for three years. My colleagues have noticed — not that I seem unbothered by things that matter, but that I seem less bothered by things that do not. This makes me, I believe, better at my job. It is difficult to put a financial value on being better at your job, but it is not zero.
The Value Question
People ask whether gorilla trekking is “worth it.” I think this is the wrong question. Worth it compared to what? Compared to a week in Tuscany I have been to twice and remember pleasantly but not specifically? Compared to a city break in a European capital that I enjoyed and largely forgot? The Uganda trip is the most expensive holiday I have taken. It is also the only holiday from the last decade that I can describe in detail, that changed something measurable about how I operate, and that I would choose again over every alternative without hesitation.
The two gorilla treks cost $1,600 combined. They gave me two hours with mountain gorilla families in Bwindi Forest and a reference point for significance that I have been using daily since. The hourly rate on that, spread across three years of daily use, is approximately nothing.
Planning Your Own Trip
The permit is $800 per person. You do not need to spend $6,000 — a focused four-night trip built around a single trek can be done for considerably less. What you do need to do is book in advance (permits sell out months ahead) and plan with a licensed operator who can navigate the logistics. Contact us to plan your 2027 gorilla trekking Uganda trip. Zero regrets is a reasonable expectation.
