Best time for gorilla trekking: the trail and the permit, month by month

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Last checked: October 2026.

Mountain gorillas do not migrate, and permits are sold for every month of the year, so the best time for gorilla trekking is a question about the ground under your boots and the price of your permit, not about whether the gorillas will be there. Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park and Uganda's two gorilla parks, Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga, lie close together in the highlands where Uganda, Rwanda and Congo meet. They share one broad rhythm of two drier seasons and two rainy ones.

Which country suits you is a separate decision, set out in our Uganda vs Rwanda gorilla trekking comparison. This page covers two things only: what the trail is like in each month, and what each country's permit costs and allows in that month.

The detail: the trail and the permit, month by month

What the season changes, and what it doesn't. The visit itself is the same in every month: one hour with a habituated gorilla family, at most eight visitors per family per day, and a minimum age of 15, in both countries. What changes is the walk to reach them. Trackers locate the family and the group follows, often off the main path and up steep, vegetated slopes. In the dry months the ground holds, streams are low and the undergrowth is easier to push through. In the rains the same slopes turn slick, the mud is deep in places, and a trek of the same distance asks more of your knees and your balance. Bwindi is a rainforest: no month is reliably rain-free, only drier. On a July morning the light comes down through the canopy onto dry leaf litter; in April the same forest drips, mist sits in the valleys and every step sinks a little.

The rules that protect them. In every month the same rules protect the gorillas, who can catch human coughs and colds. If you have a cold, flu or other infectious illness, you should not trek, and you may be turned away. With the family, you keep your distance: 10 metres under the Uganda Wildlife Authority's rules, 7 metres under the Rwanda Development Board's. Uganda's permit fee includes a community development contribution. None of this is medical advice; follow your doctor and the park's rules.

The year at a glance. "Low season" means Uganda's reduced permit (April, May, November) or Rwanda's conditional reduced rate (November to May).

September, the uncertain month. Uganda's official seasons put the rains back from September, and the 2026 outlook expected rain in Kisoro and Kabale districts, the Bwindi and Mgahinga side, from mid to late September. In Rwanda the sources genuinely disagree: some count September as the start of the short rains, others call its first half dry. Treat early September as a fair bet and late September as the start of the wet months.

Uganda's permit calendar. A gorilla permit for Bwindi or Mgahinga costs $800 and includes that day's park entry. In April, May and November only, it costs $600. That rate took effect on 26 February 2026, and low-season permits cannot be rescheduled. If your dates might move, the standard permit is the safer purchase. March and October are wet months too, but they carry the standard price. Since 1 March 2026 the authority no longer holds a permit unpaid for seven days, so a permit is yours only once it is paid in full. The $800 rate is unchanged in the tariff that starts on 1 January 2027. Some operator sites quote $1,000; the authority's own letter keeps it at $800. The longer gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi costs $1,500 now and $1,800 from 1 January 2027. One operator reports that the purchase date, not the trek date, sets the price, but the authority has not confirmed this. Ask before paying for a 2027 date.

Rwanda's permit calendar. The Volcanoes National Park permit costs $1,500 in every month. From November to May, the Rwanda Development Board reduces it by 30%, to about $1,050, if you combine the trek with two nights in Akagera or Nyungwe national parks (or one night in each) plus a paid activity there. Each two-night stay earns one reduced-rate permit per person, so a second trek needs a second stay. In practice the wetter months can buy a longer, more varied Rwanda trip for a similar permit spend. Rwanda also publishes a refund rule: if a full day's tracking fails because of the family's movement, you get a full refund or another chance, and 75% back if you tracked all day without contact.

A note for late 2026. Uganda's seasonal outlook points to above-normal rain this season, peaking in October and November in the south-western highlands and possibly lasting into January 2027 in lower areas. If you are trekking between October 2026 and January 2027, plan for wet trails.

Packing for the month. In any month, bring a waterproof jacket, boots with deep grip, gaiters and a pair of gardening gloves for nettles and vines.

Government advice (checked October 2026). The US State Department rates Uganda Level 4, “Do Not Travel” (4 June 2026), and Rwanda Level 3, “Reconsider Travel” (4 June 2026): “Do not travel within 10 kilometers of Rwanda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” The UK Foreign Office has no Uganda warning (8 October 2026) and advises against all but essential travel within 10 km of the Congo border in Rusizi District (4 September 2026). By our map check, Rwanda’s main gorilla area (Volcanoes) is inside the US strip. Read both; see is a safari safe?.

Key facts

Firmest trails: June–August (often into early September) and December–February. Wettest: March–May and roughly late September–November. Trekking: every month of the year. Where: Volcanoes NP (Rwanda); Bwindi and Mgahinga (Uganda). Uganda permit: $800; $600 in April, May and November only (cannot be rescheduled). Rwanda permit: $1,500; about $1,050 from November to May with two nights in Akagera and/or Nyungwe plus a paid activity. The visit: one hour, at most eight visitors per family, minimum age 15. From 1 January 2027: Uganda's gorilla permit stays at $800; habituation rises to $1,800.

Planning it with Nobu

The right month depends on what you can manage underfoot and how firm your dates are. A travel designer works through those trade-offs with you before any permit is paid for, because in Uganda a permit is now secured only on full payment and the low-season permit cannot be moved. That might mean a dry-season standard permit in Bwindi, or a Rwanda trip in March that earns the reduced rate by adding Nyungwe. Then we plan your journey around the permit you hold.

Is it right for you?

The dry months (June–August, December–February) are right for you if steep, wet ground worries you, if you are less used to hill walking, or if this is a once-in-a-lifetime trek and you want the most reliable footing. Expect more demand for permits, so commit early.

The wet months are right for you if your dates are fixed, you are fit and sure-footed, and the saving matters: $200 less per Uganda permit in April, May or November, or a longer Rwanda trip that earns the reduced rate from November to May.

Choose differently if your dates might shift (avoid Uganda's non-reschedulable low-season permit), if knees or balance make slippery descents a real risk (avoid April–May and October–November), or if anyone in your group is under 15, the minimum age in both countries. Our guides to the best time to visit Uganda and the best time to visit Rwanda cover the parks you can visit at any age.

Journeys to consider

• Uganda, with time for the forest. — Six days built around Bwindi, with breathing space either side; the natural home for a dry-season or low-season Uganda permit. Uganda, with time for the forest.
• Rwanda, beyond the first encounter. — Six days in Kigali and the Volcanoes area, shaped around what you want to understand; suits a trek in any month. Rwanda, beyond the first encounter.