5 Best Places To See Gorillas in Africa

Seeing gorillas in the wild is the ultimate wildlife experience. The sheer majesty of a fully grown male silverback is mesmerizing, as is the playfulness of the toddlers and tenderness of their mothers. So, where are the best places for a gorilla safari?

That depends to some extent on your budget and sense of adventure. Most people visit mountain gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda, both of which are safe to visit and have a well-developed tourist infrastructure. Elsewhere, there are a handful of more remote destinations where adventurous travelers can visit eastern and western lowland gorillas. One thing is certain: wherever you track gorillas, it will rank among the most thrilling and moving wildlife encounters you’ll ever enjoy.

1. Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park is Africa’s most celebrated gorilla trekking destination thanks to its association with Dian Fossey of ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ fame. It protects the Rwandan portion of the Virunga Mountains, a chain of stunningly beautiful volcanoes whose steep slopes are lined with rainforest and towering stands of bamboo. There are 12 gorilla families available for tracking here. The most famous is the Susa group, which lives high up on Mt Karisimbi and was studied by Fossey when she lived in the area. Other groups roam lower down the slopes and are easier to track, although being wild, they’re constantly on the move.

The downside of Rwanda is that gorilla permits are expensive at US$1,500 for foreign nonresidents. (The fee is discounted to US$200 for citizens of Rwanda and other East African countries, or US$500 for holders of other African passports and foreign residents.) With a wide range of super-luxury accommodations now available near Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda has become the ‘Botswana’ of gorilla trekking, offering an unbeatable experience but at a high cost. Because of this it is often visited as a short gorilla trekking add-on to upmarket safaris in Kenya or Tanzania.

Once you’ve made it as far as Volcanoes National Park, think about doing some other activities there. Our favorites include golden monkey trekking, the steep forest walk to Dian Fossey’s grave at the abandoned Karisoke Research Center, and the steeper hike to the beautiful crater lake on top of Mt Bisoke. If you time your trip for September, you might witness the annual Kwita Izina naming ceremony of baby gorillas, which attracts thousands of visitors to the park headquarters at Kinigi.

2. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Uganda’s main hub for gorilla safaris is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which supports a population of 460 individuals and more than 25 family groups habituated to tourist visits. Like in Rwanda, gorilla trekking in Uganda is a well-organized operation with excellent rangers and trackers, and local communities benefit from the fees. The hiking in Bwindi can be tougher than in Rwanda – there’s a reason the park is called impenetrable – but some groups are easier to reach than others.

For most visitors, a big attraction of Bwindi over Volcanoes National Park is that permits are so much cheaper (US$800 for foreign nonresidents, dropping to US$700 for foreign residents, US$80 for East African citizens and US$500 for holders of other African passports). Other big pluses of Uganda over Rwanda are that there’s a greater choice of affordable accommodations and enough other attractions that it’s easy to spend a full two weeks exploring the country.

Bwindi also offers a gorilla habituation experience where you spend up to four hours with a semi-habituated group. These will be less predictable and docile than habituated groups, but the outing offers a fascinating, intimate glimpse into how gorillas gradually get used to humans. The cost of the experience is US$1,500 (the same price as one hour with Rwanda’s mountain gorillas).

3. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda

Like Volcanoes National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has a magnificent location high in the Virunga Mountains, bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There is only one habituated group here, so permits are in high demand. But if you manage to get one, it’s a fabulous location for gorilla trekking. Hiking conditions are relatively undemanding (emphasis on the word ‘relatively’) and the setting below the volcanic Virunga peaks is stunning. The habituated group is one of the few to boast a coalition of three magnificent male silverbacks.

Gorilla trekking permits for Mgahinga cost the same as for Bwindi. Because numbers are limited, the park has a more low-key feel than Bwindi or Volcanoes, at least in terms of tourist traffic. There are also other fabulous walking opportunities on offer, from golden monkey trekking and guided bird-watching trails to steep day hikes to the peaks.

4. Kahuzi Biega National Park, DRC

The only country that has both mountain and eastern lowland gorillas is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here, several habituated mountain gorilla groups live within Virunga National Park, but this has been closed to tourists since March 2020. Initially this was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but more recently it has been for security reasons. The park looks unlikely to reopen in the foreseeable future. A more realistic option for now is Kahuzi Biega National Park, which is home to some 250 eastern lowland gorillas. Kahuzi Biega is in fact the only place where you can track eastern lowland gorillas, which are unique to the DRC and occur in no other country.

Kahuzi Biega is a short drive from the pretty town of Bukavu, which lies on the shore of Lake Kivu and has some good accommodations in old colonial mansions. Compared to Uganda and Rwanda, it’s a little-visited and rather adventurous option. It is also relatively cheap, with permits costing US$400. It should be emphasized that the DRC is a volatile country, so it’s advisable to monitor the security situation and to track gorillas here on an organized trip.

5. Odzala-Kokoua NP, Republic of Congo

Not to be confused with the more volatile DRC, the relatively quiet and peaceful Republic of Congo (also called Congo Brazzaville) is the best place to see western lowland gorillas. Habituated gorillas can be visited in the wild, tropical rainforest of Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the northwest. Because of its remoteness, this is not a cheap destination. But it does offer an exclusive experience, with small groups and rustic luxury accommodations combined with some tough trekking.