2-Day Uganda Gorilla Trek in Bwindi from Kigali, Permit Included

The headline figure on this listing is $1,750 per person for two days. Because the permit sits inside the price, that number is close to what you actually pay. The table below separates what is in from what is not, using the listing's own inclusions and exclusions plus the official permit and visa figures.

The one item that surprises people is the Uganda visa, which you arrange yourself online before travel.

Every line item the listing names, with the permit and visa from the official Uganda Wildlife Authority tariff and immigration figures.

One detail worth noting against the official tariff: the listing writes the permit at 700 USD per person, while UWA's current published rate for foreign non-residents is $800. Ask the operator to confirm the permit class on your booking. Foreign residents and African visitors pay less, which may explain the figure.

Either way, the permit paperwork is handled for you, and since 1 March 2026 UWA secures a permit only on full payment at the time of booking, so early confirmation matters.

The driver-guide collects you at your Kigali hotel or at Kigali airport. The first stop is the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which holds three permanent exhibitions. The largest documents the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and there is a children's memorial plus an exhibition on genocidal violence worldwide.

The Education Centre, gardens and Genocide Archive form part of the tribute.

• Pickup at your Kigali hotel or Kigali airport
• Kigali Genocide Memorial visit
• Crossing the Rwanda-Uganda border, with border-crossing help from the driver
• About 4.5 hours of driving to the Rushaga sector in southern Bwindi
• Check-in and dinner at Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge

Rushaga is one of Bwindi's four trailheads, and the southern sectors are the closest part of the park to Kigali. That geography is the whole reason this trip works in two days. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1994, covering 321 square kilometres between 1,160 m and 2,607 m above sea level.

It protects about 459 mountain gorillas, close to half of the world's remaining population, across 25 habituated groups.

The day starts early with a cup of coffee, then a briefing from Uganda Wildlife Authority officials at the sector office at about 7:30 am. Rangers split permit holders into groups of up to eight, one group per gorilla family. Advance trackers set out before dawn to find the family, so your walk follows them by radio.

The tracking itself takes half a day or a whole day depending on where the gorillas moved overnight. Once you reach them, you spend one hour with the family, the maximum allowed per group per day. You must keep 10 m (32.8 ft) from the gorillas, you may not eat, drink or smoke during the tracking, and flash photography is banned.

Do not go near the gorillas with a cold or any infectious illness. A reasonable level of fitness is required, and the trails are steep, muddy and slippery.

After the trek you have lunch, then drive back to Rwanda. The trip ends with a drop-off at your Kigali hotel or at the airport in time for an evening or night flight. If you are flying out the same night, tell the operator at booking so the return schedule is planned around your departure.

Your one night is at Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge, which the listing describes as sitting on a hill with a view over Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The location matters more than it might seem. Staying in Rushaga means you are minutes from the morning briefing point instead of facing a pre-dawn drive from Kisoro.

The stay is full board, so dinner on arrival, breakfast before the trek and lunch after are all covered. Drinks are the main gap, since they fall under the personal expenses the listing excludes. Laundry is also at your cost.

The lodge suits the trip's rhythm. You arrive in the late afternoon, eat, sleep early, and walk to the briefing. After the trek you check out and start the drive back the same day.

This listing states plainly that all sales are final and no refund is available for cancellations. Once you book, the money does not come back if your plans change. That is stricter than most other listings in this catalogue, several of which keep free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.

There is a reason the operator can be firm. Since 1 March 2026, UWA no longer holds unpaid permit reservations for seven days. A permit is secured only on full payment at the time of booking, and permits are limited to eight visitors per gorilla group per day.

The operator is spending your money on a permit immediately.

Practical advice: treat this booking like a flight. Confirm your Kigali arrival and any onward travel before you commit, and check that no one in your party has a health issue that would keep them off the trail. Travel insurance, which the listing does not include, is the usual backstop.

This trip fits travellers already in Kigali or flying into Kigali who have exactly two days. The 4.5-hour drive into southern Bwindi beats the 8 to 9 hours from Entebbe, and the private format means your group sets the pace. The listing sets ages at adult 15 to 80, which matches the UWA minimum age of 15 for gorilla tracking.

It is not recommended for pregnant travellers, and travellers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness.

• Hiking boots with grip, for steep and muddy trails
• Long trousers and a rain jacket, rain falls in any month in Bwindi
• Garden gloves for gripping vines and nettles
• Sunscreen, sunglasses and insect repellent
• Water and a packed lunch or snacks for the trail
• Cash for an optional porter, UWA lists a porter fee of UGX 40,000

The full gorilla trekking packing list goes into more detail, and the Bwindi gorilla trekking guide explains the sectors and trailheads. If two days feels tight, the natural upgrade is the 3-day version, and the gorilla trekking from Kigali overview compares every Kigali-based option.

Permit-included pricing makes comparison tricky, because a cheap headline price often means you add $800 at checkout. The table below puts this trip against the closest alternatives from Kigali and from Entebbe on the same basis, the total once a permit is bought. Note that the permit-extra 2-day trip from Kigali is about $450 cheaper in total and keeps 24-hour free cancellation, so the premium here buys the permit convenience and the private format.

The table sets this listing against the closest alternatives in the catalog on price, length and boat type. Side-by-side totals for this trip and four relevant alternatives in the catalogue. Figures current for Q4 2026.

For context on the permit itself, UWA charges $800 for foreign non-residents in high season and $600 in the low-season months of April, May and November. Rwanda's permit at Volcanoes National Park costs $1,500, which is a big part of why Kigali-based trekkers cross into Uganda.