Are there gorillas in Kenya?
No. Not in the wild, not in any national park, not anywhere in the country. Here is why, and what people searching for this are usually actually after.
The short answer
Kenya has no wild gorillas of any kind. Mountain gorillas survive in a small band of montane forest shared by three countries: Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo. Kenya is several hundred kilometres east of the nearest population and has none of the habitat the species needs.
This is not a case of gorillas being rare in Kenya or hard to find. They have never lived there.
Why the question comes up so often
Kenya is the country most people think of first when they think of an African safari, and gorilla trekking is one of the continent's headline wildlife experiences. It is a reasonable assumption that the two go together. They just happen to sit in different ecosystems: Kenya's savannah runs at around 1,600 metres in open grassland, while gorillas need closed montane forest above 2,000 metres.
Some confusion also comes from Nairobi's role as a hub. Plenty of gorilla trips genuinely do start in Nairobi — you fly in, do the Mara, then continue west. So "gorilla trekking from Nairobi" is a real thing, even though gorilla trekking in Kenya is not.
Where you can trek mountain gorillas
- Uganda — Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, in the south-west. Permits are USD 800 for foreign non-residents in high season, or USD 600 in April, May and November.
- Rwanda — Volcanoes National Park, on the Virunga slopes. Permits are USD 1,500 year-round.
- DR Congo — Virunga National Park. Permits are USD 400, but access and security conditions change frequently. We do not operate there.
What most people searching this actually want
A trip with both. That is entirely normal and we build it regularly: a Masai Mara safari, then a flight from Nairobi to Entebbe, then Bwindi. It needs about ten days to work comfortably, and the two halves complement each other precisely because they are so different.
The other common variant is Kenya plus Rwanda, which suits shorter trips because the transfer from Kigali to the park gate is only two to three hours.
Kenya safari plus gorilla trekking
The routing, how long you need, what it costs, and the honest trade-offs between Uganda and Rwanda.
What about gorillas in Kenyan zoos or sanctuaries?
Kenya has excellent wildlife sanctuaries — the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and the Giraffe Centre near Nairobi among them — but none holds gorillas. If you want to see the species, it means crossing a border.
Kenya is still worth the trip
None of this is a reason to skip Kenya. The Masai Mara has a density of big cats that is unusual anywhere in Africa, and between July and October the wildebeest herds cross the Mara River, which is the single most sought-after wildlife event on the continent. Kenya is the savannah half of a very good trip. It simply is not the gorilla half.
Common questions
Are there gorillas in Kenya?
No. Kenya has no wild gorillas. Mountain gorillas live only in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo.
Can I do gorilla trekking from Nairobi?
Yes, as a combined trip. Nairobi is about an hour and twenty minutes from Entebbe by air, and roughly an hour and a half from Kigali. The trek itself happens across the border.
How many mountain gorillas are left?
The population is small and concentrated in three countries. Census figures are published periodically by conservation authorities rather than by tour operators, so we point travellers to those sources rather than repeating a number here.
Plan your Kenya and gorilla safari
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and how long you have. We will send a written itinerary and a quotation.