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All Experiences
Private Gorilla Experiences in Rwanda & Uganda
Every gorilla encounter we arrange is private — your group, your guide team, your time with the animals. Rwanda and Uganda each offer their own signature products, from the standard trekking permit through to fully exclusive, multi-day experiences built around conservation access rather than just a one-hour visit. Around them sit chimpanzee and golden monkey treks, volcano summits, Big Five game drives and the community visits that give the forests their context.
Gorilla Encounters
Mountain gorillas, arranged privately
RWANDA · FROM $15,000
A gorilla family with no other visitors present — flexible start time and your party only.
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RWANDA · 3 DAYS
Private trekking plus conservation access that standard permit holders never see.
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RWANDA · $1,500
One hour with a habituated family in Volcanoes National Park, arranged end to end.
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RWANDA · PHOTOGRAPHY
Extended access and small crews for professional photographers and filmmakers.
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UGANDA · UP TO 4 HOURS
Four hours with a semi-habituated family alongside researchers in Bwindi’s Rushaga sector.
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UGANDA · $800
One hour with a habituated family in Bwindi or Mgahinga.
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Other Primates
Chimpanzees, golden monkeys and the forest primates
RWANDA · NYUNGWE
Fast-moving habituated chimpanzee communities in one of Africa’s oldest montane rainforests.
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UGANDA · KIBALE
The primate capital of East Africa, with 13 species and a large habituated chimp community.
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UGANDA · QUEEN ELIZABETH
The “Valley of Apes” — a sunken forest gorge cut into the savanna.
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RWANDA · VOLCANOES
The endangered Virunga golden monkey in the bamboo zone of Volcanoes National Park.
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UGANDA · MGAHINGA
The same Virunga population, trekked from the Ugandan side of the massif.
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RWANDA · NYUNGWE
Twelve primate species beyond chimpanzees, including L’Hoest’s monkey and large Ruwenzori colobus troops.
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RWANDA · GISHWATI-MUKURA
Rwanda’s newest park — chimpanzee and golden monkey trekking with very few other visitors.
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Volcano & Forest Hikes
The Virunga summits and forest trails
RWANDA · HALF DAY
To the Karisoke site where Dian Fossey lived, worked and is buried.
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RWANDA · FULL DAY
Through hagenia forest to the crater lake at 3,711m.
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RWANDA · 2 DAYS
The highest Virunga volcano at 4,507m, with a night camped near 3,800m.
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RWANDA · FULL DAY
The most demanding day summit at 4,127m, through successive vegetation zones.
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RWANDA · FULL DAY
Swamp and bamboo forest to 3,474m, or combined with Muhabura over two days.
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RWANDA · FULL DAY
The only Virunga summit where Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo meet.
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UGANDA · MGAHINGA
Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo climbed from the Ugandan side.
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RWANDA · VOLCANOES
The park’s bamboo, meadow and buffer zones on foot, focused on flora and birds.
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RWANDA · NYUNGWE
From half-day forest loops to the three-day Congo Nile Divide traverse.
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RWANDA · NYUNGWE
A 160-metre suspension bridge at canopy height above the rainforest.
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RWANDA · NYUNGWE
More than 300 species, including 27 Albertine Rift endemics.
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Wildlife Safari
Big game to pair with your gorilla days
RWANDA · AKAGERA
Rwanda’s Big Five park — lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo and leopard.
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RWANDA · AKAGERA
A private sunrise flight over Akagera, one departure per day.
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UGANDA · QUEEN ELIZABETH
Tree-climbing lions and the Kazinga Channel’s hippo pods.
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UGANDA · ZIWA
On foot with rangers, tracking Uganda’s only southern white rhinos.
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UGANDA · QUEEN ELIZABETH
Radio-tracking collared lions with Uganda Carnivore Program researchers.
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UGANDA · MURCHISON FALLS
The Nile’s falls by boat and on foot, plus northern-bank game drives.
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Culture & Community
The people who live alongside the gorillas
RWANDA · KINIGI
A Kinigi community village founded by former poachers now working in conservation.
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UGANDA · BWINDI
A forest walk led by Batwa guides, Bwindi’s original forest-dwelling people.
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UGANDA · BWINDI
Local artisans and traditional dance on the edge of Bwindi.
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RWANDA · KIGALI
The Genocide Memorial, the King’s Palace at Nyanza and the Ethnographic Museum.
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RWANDA · MUSANZE
A sacred ancient forest and Rwanda’s royal coronation ground.
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RWANDA · MUSANZE
A two-kilometre lava tube network beneath Musanze town.
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Lakes, Adventure & Flights
Slower days and faster transfers
RWANDA · LAKE KIVU
From a sunset paddle to multi-day island-hopping on Rwanda’s great lake.
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RWANDA · LAKE KIVU
Cycle, hike or kayak the 227km trail past tea estates and fishing villages.
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RWANDA
Guided rides through Rwanda’s hills and terraced farmland.
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UGANDA · KABALE
Canoeing and island hopping on a terraced crater lake near Bwindi.
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RWANDA
Kigali to Volcanoes or Akagera in minutes, plus scenic flights over the Virungas.
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Combine Them Into One Journey
Most guests pair a gorilla encounter with two or three of the experiences above. See how they fit together in our sample itineraries , choose where to stay from our lodges , or tell us your dates and we will build it for you.
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