Experiences
Chimpanzee trekking
Louder, faster and cheaper than gorillas.
A gorilla permit buys you one hour. These are the experiences we most often build around it — and the ones travellers most often say they would have regretted skipping.
Experiences
Five additions worth the day
Experiences
The gorilla habituation experience
Four hours instead of one, with four people instead of eight.
Experiences
Golden monkey tracking
The best-value hour in the Virungas.
Experiences
Birding safaris
One of the densest bird lists on earth.
Experiences
The Batwa cultural experience
The people who lived in these forests first.
How to choose
Which to add, and when
Most gorilla trips have one or two spare days. These are the ways we most often fill them, roughly in the order we suggest them.
- One spare day, near Bwindi — golden monkeys in Mgahinga (US$100) or the Batwa Trail. Both are half a day and both are 90 minutes from the southern sectors.
- Two spare days — chimpanzee tracking in Kibale. It means crossing the country, but it is the addition travellers rate most highly.
- You have trekked before — the four-hour habituation permit in Rushaga. Four hours, four people, US$1,500.
- You keep a list — build the whole trip around birding. Ruhija and Nyungwe change the itinerary shape considerably.
Minimum ages differ and catch people out: 15 for gorillas, 12 for chimpanzees, none for golden monkeys or the Batwa Trail. For families with younger teenagers that difference decides a lot.