2 Day Gorilla Trekking Bwindi From Kigali

Included in the $498

Included: accommodation for 1 night with full board, road transportation in a customized safari vehicle, an English-speaking driver guide, park entry fees, customs clearance fees for the car, 1 lunch on day 1, bottled water and a Batwa cultural visit. Guides also speak German and Spanish.

• 1 night of accommodation with full board
• Road transportation in a customized safari vehicle
• English-speaking driver guide
• Park entry fees
• Customs clearance fees for the car
• 1 lunch on day 1 and bottled water
• Batwa cultural visit

Not Included and Paid on Top

The listing's own optional-activities list carries the exclusions: the gorilla permit, processing fees, additional drinks or alcoholic beverages, visas, flight tickets, crafts and souvenirs, and a sunset boat cruise. The permit is the big one at $800 for foreign non-residents in Uganda. Tips are not mentioned on the listing at all, and no porter is stated, so ask the operator about both before you book.

The listing does say to bring sunscreen and a hat.

• Uganda gorilla permit ($800 for foreign non-residents)
• Processing fees
• Additional drinks or alcoholic beverages
• Visas
• Flight tickets
• Crafts and souvenirs
• Sunset boat cruise

One Contradiction to Confirm

The listing contradicts itself on meals. The includes list states full board for the night plus 1 lunch on day 1, yet one reviewer understood that everything except the driver, the night of accommodation with meals and park entry was excluded and paid separately. Read that as a warning to confirm exactly which meals and extras are covered before you pay.

The booking page is the place to do it.

Line by Line

The figures come from the Bugoli listing itself, with the permit price from the Uganda Wildlife Authority tariff. Use the table when you compare against other Kigali-start trips.

Visas for a Rwanda to Uganda Crossing

Because you start in Rwanda and trek in Uganda, you need entry to both. Uganda Immigration states there are no visas issued on arrival, so visa-prone travellers must apply online and carry the approval letter. The Uganda single entry tourist visa is $50, non-refundable, and Uganda Immigration lists a passport valid 6 months, a tour plan, an itinerary, a photograph and a hotel booking among the documents.

The East African Tourist Visa at $100 covers Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, is valid 90 days and is issued by the first country of entry, which fits this route well. Rwanda itself gives a visa on arrival, with fees capped at $50 single entry and $70 multiple entry.

Health Rules

CDC says the yellow fever vaccine is required for all travellers arriving in Uganda aged 1 year or older, and Canada lists proof of yellow fever vaccination as an entry requirement for Uganda from all countries, so carry the certificate. CDC also recommends prescription malaria medicine for Uganda, with risk throughout the country.

The Permit Deadline

Book the permit at the same time as the tour. UWA requires full payment at booking for the permit, since the unpaid 7-day reservation window was suspended, and permits for foreign non-residents can only be booked through licensed tour operators. Low season permits for April, May and November cannot be rescheduled.

What to Bring and Wear

The listing says to bring sunscreen and a hat. For the forest itself, the Gorilla Friendly Pledge guidance recommends hiking boots or sturdy shoes, waterproof clothing, long sleeves and gloves, and Bwindi trails are steep and muddy in any month. Porters are available in these parks to carry backpacks and cameras and help on the route, and gumboots, raincoats and gloves can be hired at park headquarters.

The listing states no porter and no porter fee, so ask the operator. The minimum age for the trek is 15, set by UWA, and treks run 2 to 7 hours, so a reasonable level of fitness is needed.

Time Saved on the Road

Uganda's own wildlife authority puts the drive from Kampala to Kisoro in the far southwest at about 9 hours over 524 km, and Kampala to Kabale at about 414 km of tarmac, roughly 6 hours, before more murram road to Buhoma. Entebbe sits about 40 km from Kampala, so a gorilla trip from Uganda's capital side is a long haul each way. The Kigali route exists for visitors who want a shorter route than that 9-hour journey from Entebbe International Airport.

You sleep near Bwindi on the night between the drives, which is what makes a two-day trip workable at all.

Who This Suits

The Kigali start suits travellers already in Rwanda, or anyone flying into Kigali International Airport, which is about 10 km east of the city centre with official taxis outside arrivals. It also pairs well with a Rwanda itinerary. If you want the same gorillas without leaving Rwanda, the Universal Ventures 1-day gorilla trek from Kigali at $342 plus the $1,500 Rwanda permit treks in Volcanoes National Park instead, about a three-hour drive from Kigali per Visit Rwanda.

The Permit Is Optional on This Listing

The Uganda gorilla permit is listed under optional activities, which means the $498 does not include it. Bugoli Adventures or a licensed operator buys it for you as an add-on. The Uganda Wildlife Authority tariff puts the permit at $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 for Rest of Africa and UGX 300,000 for East African citizens.

For April, May and November UWA has introduced low season rates of $600 for foreign non-residents, and those low season permits cannot be rescheduled.

How It Is Bought and When

UWA states that permits for foreign non-residents and Rest of Africa can only be booked through licensed tour operators, and it suspended the 7-day unpaid reservation window from 1 March 2026, so the permit is secured only on full payment at the time of booking. In practice that means you should let this tour's operator arrange the permit and pay for it when you book, not later. The permit decides if you travel at all, because only eight visitors join each gorilla group and the visit lasts one hour per group per day.

If You Would Rather Have It in the Price

Some travellers prefer a listing where the permit is already inside the total, even if the headline number looks bigger. The Antique Safari 3-day Bwindi trek from Kigali at $2,200 includes the Uganda permit, and the Eco Adventure 3-day gorillas and Batwa trip at $1,860 includes it too with three days in Uganda. For the full comparison of permit prices and what each country charges, see Rwanda or Uganda for gorillas.

Day 1, Kigali to Bwindi

You are picked up in Kigali early in the morning with a knowledgeable guide and a customized safari vehicle. The drive passes rolling hills, rural villages and markets before reaching the border between Rwanda and Uganda. Immigration formalities happen there, and the car's customs clearance is covered in the price.

After the border you continue to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for the night, with full board at the lodge. No drive time from Kigali to Bwindi is stated on the listing.

Day 2, the Trek and the Drive Back

After an early breakfast you head to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park headquarters, where park rangers brief you on gorilla trekking etiquette, safety guidelines and what to expect. Experienced trackers then lead the trek to a habituated gorilla family, and you spend one hour observing the gorillas. A debriefing at the headquarters follows, then the vehicle drives you back to Kigali.

The Batwa cultural visit is included in the package.

The Two Crossings

Katuna sits in Kabale district and Cyanika in Kisoro district, and Uganda Immigration lists both as immigration service points in the south western region. Katuna is the shorter drive from Kigali at about 80 km, roughly 2 hours, while Cyanika is about 119 km from Kigali, roughly 3 hours. Which one the vehicle uses depends on which Bwindi sector you are assigned, since Cyanika sits closer to the Kisoro side sectors and Katuna feeds the Kabale side.

This listing does not name its crossing, so ask the operator where your trek date enters Uganda.

The Return Day

The return to Kigali on day 2 can run via Katuna or Cyanika, which matters if you have an international departure flight that evening. Leave real margin. The trek itself can take hours of the morning, the debriefing follows it, and then there is the border queue and the drive.

Travellers with a same-day flight out of Kigali should look at the Bugoli 1-day Bwindi gorilla trek from Kigali only with a flight the following day, or consider staying a third night using the 3-day Bwindi trek from Kigali.

Where You Trek

Bwindi has four trekking sectors: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo, at altitudes from 1,160 m to 2,607 m above sea level. The listing does not state which sector this tour uses, so ask the operator when you book, because the sector decides the border crossing and the lodge. Uganda gorilla treks last between 2 and 7 hours with 60 minutes of observation, so the morning is committed either way.

The Rules on the Trek

Uganda's rules set the minimum age at 15 years, a maximum of eight visitors per gorilla group, a 10 m (32.8 ft) distance from the gorillas, one hour per group per day and no flash photography. Anyone ill with a cold, flu or other contagious illness should not visit, and visitors are expected to keep their voice low, avoid rapid movements and leave no waste. The listing's own age bands, private up to 6 and small group up to 8, are booking categories, not the trek rule, which comes from UWA and is 15 in both Uganda and Rwanda.

• Minimum age 15 years
• Maximum 8 visitors per gorilla group
• 10 m from the gorillas
• One hour with the gorillas
• No flash photography

The Permit and How It Is Bought

The permit costs $800 for foreign non-residents under the UWA tariff running to June 2026, and it stays at $800 from 1 January 2027. Foreign residents pay $700 and Rest of Africa $500. UWA only allows foreign non-resident permits to be booked through licensed tour operators, paid in full at booking since the 7-day reservation window ended, so on this tour the operator arranges it as the optional add-on.

The Border Crossing on This Route

This route crosses from Rwanda into Uganda by road, so you need the right visa for both countries, covered in Before You Go. The FCDO notes that border restrictions in the region can change at short notice, so build slack into the day. Nothing on the listing states the drive time from Kigali to Bwindi.

The Same Trip Across the Border

Rwanda offers the same trek at Volcanoes National Park, only about three hours by road from Kigali per Visit Rwanda, so no overnight or border crossing is needed. The permit is $1,500 from the Rwanda Development Board, nearly double Uganda's $800, and you report at Kinigi at 7:00 am for the briefing. Treks there run 30 minutes to four or more hours at 2,500 to 4,000 m with a 7 m distance rule, and Rwanda gives a visa on arrival at $50.

Day tours from Kigali run from $260 plus the permit with Vista Safaris or $2,650 with the permit included through Shalom Safaris 1-day trek, permit included. Pick Rwanda if the shorter drive matters more than the permit price, and Uganda if you are happy with a border day to save money. For the full comparison see Uganda vs Rwanda gorilla trekking.