Why we plan gorilla trekking a year ahead
Permits for Rwanda and Uganda are scarce and precious. Here is how we secure the mornings that matter — and build the rest of the journey around them.
A gorilla permit is one of the hardest tickets in travel — and the hour you spend with a family in the forest is worth every month of planning. Numbers are limited. Peak months fill early. The best lodges near the parks book even earlier.
That is why we begin a year ahead when we can. We hold provisional permit dates, lock the lodges that match your pace, then design the rest of East Africa around those mornings — not the other way around.
Fitness helps. The trek can be steep and muddy. The guides set a gentle pace — and the forest does the rest.
Rwanda or Uganda?
Rwanda offers shorter drives, refined lodges and a polished park experience. Uganda can feel wilder, with longer approaches and a different kind of quiet. Fanny will match the choice to your dates, fitness and appetite for remoteness — never to a brochure ranking.
What surrounds the trek
- Permits secured early, with clear backup dates
- Lodges close enough to rest properly the night before
- A second nature day — chimps, lakes or cultural time — so the journey is not a single peak
- Honest advice on packing, altitude and pace
If gorilla morning is the heart of your Africa chapter, write early. The forest does not wait, and neither do the permits.
