New gorilla habituation Uganda 2026 — more families, more permits, more access
New gorilla habituation programmes in Uganda in 2026 are expanding the number of mountain gorilla families available for trekking and, in time, the number of permits that can be issued per day in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Uganda Wildlife Authority has been running habituation programmes on several non-habituated gorilla families in Bwindi since 2019, and the most advanced of these programmes — which began full daily contact with two new family groups in late 2024 — are expected to produce fully habituated families available for trekking by mid-to-late 2026. Additionally, Uganda offers a unique gorilla habituation experience that allows small groups of visitors to join rangers during the active habituation process itself.
The habituation process: how wild gorillas become trekking-ready
Mountain gorilla habituation is the multi-year process by which a wild gorilla family is conditioned to accept the daily presence of human observers without stress or aggression. The process begins with indirect contact — rangers maintain a presence near the family group, at a distance that the gorillas can sense but that does not trigger avoidance, for several months. Gradually, the distance is reduced. The family adjusts to the human presence at each stage before the distance is reduced further. The process is described by conservation managers as taking a minimum of two years for a family with any prior positive association with humans and up to five or more years for families in more remote areas with no prior human contact history.
Why the process cannot be rushed
The habituation process is deliberately slow because the alternative — moving too fast and creating a stress response that damages the gorilla family’s trust in human presence — can set the programme back significantly and may create habituated gorillas with inconsistent or unpredictable behaviour that is less safe for future trekking encounters. The families currently undergoing habituation in Bwindi are being managed by rangers who have worked on the programme for years and who track the specific behavioural signals that indicate readiness to advance to the next stage of the process.
The gorilla habituation experience (GHEX)
For visitors who want to see the habituation process in action — rather than waiting for the new families to be fully available for standard trekking — Uganda Wildlife Authority offers the Gorilla Habituation Experience (GHEX) in Bwindi’s Rushegura sector. GHEX permits allow a maximum of four visitors to spend up to four hours with a gorilla family that is in the active habituation process — families that are comfortable enough with human presence to allow observation, but that have not yet reached the full habituation level required for standard one-hour trekking permits. The GHEX permit is priced at $1,800 per person — more expensive than the standard trekking permit — and offers a substantially longer and more intimate encounter, including the opportunity to observe the rangers’ habituation techniques and the family’s response to them in real time.
What new habituated families mean for permit availability
Each fully habituated gorilla family in Bwindi can support eight trekking visitors per day — the maximum permitted by Uganda Wildlife Authority to protect the family from excessive human contact. A new habituated family therefore adds eight permits per day to the total available, across the 365 days of the year. Over the course of a year, that represents approximately 2,920 additional permits — a meaningful increase in supply in a market where demand consistently outstrips availability, particularly in the peak dry season months. The two families closest to full habituation status in 2026 are expected to add approximately 16 additional permits per day to the system, which will provide some relief to the permit availability constraints that have been a consistent challenge for operators and visitors booking for peak dates.
Planning your visit around new families
Visitors considering a gorilla trek in 2026 or 2027 who want to be among the first to visit a newly habituated family should contact our team to discuss timing. New family openings are typically announced by Uganda Wildlife Authority several months in advance, and early bookings against new permit allocations — before the general market becomes aware of the new availability — offer the best chance of securing permits for the families that will generate the most interest and discussion in the early months of their trekking availability. Contact us for current information on habituation programme progress and new permit availability timelines.
