Best time for a Gorilla Trekking Safari

Gorilla Trekking season

Mountain gorillas in Uganda are trekked in the Tropical rain forests of Bwindi Impenetrable National park having the most endangered species on planet Earth and Mgahinga National Park (Southwest Uganda) and Volcanoes National park in Northeast of Rwanda. Gorilla Trekking in both countries is done year through.

Best time to trek (Low season).

Uganda being crossed by the Equator has got modified equatorial climate-2 rainy seasons, this season is known for its heavy rains between the months of March, April, May and November,(the short one October & November) and the longer one (mid-March –May), making hiking and trekking hard in the Impenetrable woods because of heavy rains, makes the trails too slippery ,muddy and you also must have a 4 wheel drive to make it to the Gorillas because some families need to drive for some time to reach the beginning of the trail heads. So with the above some people tend to be comfortable with trekking in this season. The rest of the months are dry although current variations in patterns of weather make it hard to forecast the seasons. During this time Gorilla permits cost the same as the high season ($1500 in Rwanda & $600 in Uganda). Accommodation costs are more favorable in this season than the high season because the occupancy rate is low hence attracting budget trekkers. Gorilla Trekking (both Uganda & Rwanda) in low season brings you to the best experience as the number of trekkers are few which makes the gorilla families less congested by number of visitors.

   Best time to trek (High season). 

The best time to trek is during the dry seasons of June, July, August, September and part of October and December plus February. Here is less rainfall or even no rains at all & the conditions are good and favorable for Gorilla trekking. Most trekkers /tourists choose to travel during this season because of the dry weather and it is because of this that there is a high demand for the Gorilla permits at this time which are $1500 in Rwanda & $600 in Uganda which is the current price of Gorilla Permits. A Gorilla permit in Uganda is cheaper than that of Rwanda so this allows every trekker / tourist /visitor to meet his or her budget intending to go beyond the gorillas for different experiences. Still in this season it’s perfect to trek Gorillas because the mountain Gorillas are found in the temperate weathered regions with raised landscape, meaning the climate remains cool throughout the year making it perfect weather for length treks.