7 days
Kenya Safari & Uganda Gorilla Trekking
Nairobi · Masai Mara · Entebbe · Bwindi
The shortest version that still gives the Mara three nights and Bwindi a full trek day. Flies both long legs.
Price on enquiry
Itinerary
There are no mountain gorillas in Kenya. The trip you want still works.
Mountain gorillas live in three countries only — Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo. So the trip most people are searching for is a Kenya safari joined to a gorilla trek across the border. We run it as Masai Mara, then Nairobi, then Bwindi.
We are a Uganda Tourism Board licensed operator based in Kampala. The gorilla leg is ours to run.
The standard route, and what each leg actually takes
Where you can actually trek mountain gorillas
Kenya is a superb safari country and a natural place to begin. It simply has no mountain gorillas, and no amount of searching will change that. The species survives in a small band of montane forest shared by three countries.
Uganda
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, in the south-west. Dense rainforest, unpredictable treks, the lower permit price.
Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park, on the Virunga slopes. Shorter, more predictable treks and the easiest access, at nearly double the permit cost.
DR Congo
Virunga National Park. The cheapest permit at USD 400, but access and security conditions change frequently. We do not currently operate there.
Of the three, Uganda is where we operate directly and where we send most travellers combining with Kenya. That is a commercial position as much as a geographic one, so the comparison further down this page sets out the case for both Uganda and Rwanda without weighting it.
Why the Kenya and Uganda pairing works
Two wilderness types that almost never appear in one trip: open savannah at 1,600 metres, and closed montane rainforest above 2,000 metres. Nairobi is the hinge between them.
The honest trade-off
Rwanda is the easier gorilla country to reach. Kigali to the park gate at Kinigi is a two to three hour drive on good road. Entebbe to Bwindi is six to eight hours by road, which is a real day of travel and the main reason some operators steer towards Rwanda.
The answer is to fly it. A charter from Entebbe to Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip is about 45 minutes in the air, which puts Bwindi within the same travel day as the Mara. Nearly every itinerary we build for this combination uses that flight rather than the road.
What you gain for the extra step is the trek itself. Bwindi is dense, steep, genuinely wild forest, and the permit costs $700 less per person than Rwanda's. On a couple, that difference alone pays for the charter.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda
Two parks, both in the far south-west, both reachable inside a day from Nairobi.
Bwindi Impenetrable
A UNESCO World Heritage site of thick montane rainforest. Treks run from roughly 30 minutes to eight hours depending on where the family has moved overnight. Physically demanding and unpredictable, which for most people is the point.
Mgahinga
Uganda's smallest national park, on the Virunga volcanoes at the Rwanda and DR Congo border. Fewer trekkers, open bamboo terrain, and golden monkeys alongside the gorillas.
What the permit actually covers
One hour with a habituated gorilla family, park entry, ranger guides and armed escort. It does not cover transport, accommodation, meals, porters or tips. Foreign visitors book through a licensed Ugandan operator rather than direct — which is what we are, and what our licence number at the foot of this page refers to.
Since March 2026 the seven-day reservation hold has been withdrawn: permits are now paid in full at the time of booking. In practice that means we need your passport details and payment together before a date can be held for you.
Kenya and Uganda itineraries
Five routes rather than fifty near-identical ones. Each is a genuinely different shape of trip.
8 days
Masai Mara & Bwindi Gorilla Safari
Nairobi · Masai Mara · Entebbe · Bwindi · Lake Bunyonyi
Our most-booked shape. Adds a recovery day at Lake Bunyonyi after the trek rather than flying out the same afternoon.
Price on enquiry
Itinerary
10 days
Kenya, Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari
Nairobi · Masai Mara · Lake Nakuru · Entebbe · Queen Elizabeth · Bwindi
Two Kenyan parks and a Ugandan savannah park before the trek. The fullest wildlife version.
Price on enquiry
Itinerary
12 days
Kenya & Uganda Grand Safari
Nairobi · Amboseli · Masai Mara · Entebbe · Kibale · Bwindi
Adds Amboseli under Kilimanjaro and chimpanzee tracking in Kibale to the gorilla trek.
Price on enquiry
Itinerary
9 days
Kenya & Rwanda Gorilla Safari
Nairobi · Masai Mara · Kigali · Volcanoes National Park
For travellers who want the shortest transfers and the most predictable trek, and accept the higher permit price.
Price on enquiry
Itinerary
Pricing not yet published
Every itinerary above shows “price on enquiry” because we have not yet supplied verified per-person rates. Real prices go here once accommodation and vehicle costs are confirmed — no indicative or illustrative figures in the meantime.
The Kenya half
The Masai Mara is the anchor. Between July and October the wildebeest herds cross the Mara River, which is the single most sought-after wildlife event on the continent and the reason most people fix their dates to that window.
Masai Mara
Big cats in unusual density, the river crossings in season, and the Maasai conservancies along the northern boundary.
Amboseli
Large elephant herds against Kilimanjaro. The scenic counterweight to the Mara, and an easy add before flying north.
Lake Nakuru
Rhino, flamingos and Rift Valley birdlife, close enough to Nairobi to slot into a tight itinerary.
Two Mara details worth knowing before you book
The reserve ticket is valid for twelve hours, from 06:00 to 18:00 — not a full day. If you leave after 10:00 on your departure morning you are charged for another entry. Most published guides still describe it as a 24-hour pass, which is where the surprise charges at the gate come from.
Mara fees are also collected by Narok County, not the Kenya Wildlife Service. Travellers who have pre-loaded funds into a KWS eCitizen account for Amboseli or Nakuru cannot use them at Sekenani Gate. We handle both payment systems as part of the booking.
Uganda or Rwanda
We recommend Uganda for most travellers combining with Kenya, and we operate there. Here is the case for both, on the factors that decide it.
| Factor | Uganda — Bwindi | Rwanda — Volcanoes |
|---|---|---|
| Permit, foreign non-resident | $800 high season, $600 in April, May and November | $1,500 year-round |
| Flight from Nairobi | ~1 hr 20 min to Entebbe | ~1.5 hrs to Kigali |
| Transfer to the park | 6–8 hrs by road, or ~45 min by charter to Kihihi or Kisoro | 2–3 hrs by road to Kinigi |
| Trek character | Dense rainforest. 30 minutes to eight hours. Strenuous, unpredictable | Bamboo and open slopes. Typically 2–4 hrs each way. More predictable |
| Photography | Low light under closed canopy, harder | More open, generally easier |
| Natural add-ons | Chimpanzees in Kibale, Queen Elizabeth NP, the Nile at Jinja | Golden monkeys, Dian Fossey site, Kigali |
| Suits | Longer trips, adventure, tighter budgets | Short trips, ease of access, mobility concerns |
If your priority is the shortest possible transfer or you have knee or altitude concerns, Rwanda is the better country and we will book it for you. If you want the wilder forest and the lower permit, Uganda is the answer. Neither is a compromise.
Who you would be booking with
Travelmonke Tours and Travel is a Kampala-based operator, licensed by the Uganda Tourism Board under registration UTB/RTT/TT/2025/101816. Being Ugandan is the reason the gorilla half of this trip is straightforward: we hold the UWA relationship, we book the permits, and we run the ground operation in Bwindi ourselves.
What travellers say
We hold 5.0 out of 5 from 21 reviews on Tripadvisor, ranked #197 of 1,697 tours and activities in Kampala. Five guides are named repeatedly across them — Eddy, Julius, Edrine, David and Amon.
Those reviews are for Uganda safaris rather than gorilla treks or Kenya trips, and we would rather say so than let you assume otherwise. What they show is how we run a trip. Every one links to the original on Tripadvisor; we publish nothing we wrote ourselves.
Still to be supplied before launch
These sections stay empty rather than being filled with invented copy:
Company story — year founded, how the business started.
Team — director and guide photographs and biographies. Guide first names are now evidenced by reviews; the rest is not.
Kenya operations — whether the Kenya leg runs on our own vehicles or through a named Nairobi partner. Travellers ask this, and a straight answer is worth more than a vague one.
Photography — images from actual departures, captioned with where and when. Tripadvisor already holds 43 traveller photos, but those belong to their authors.
How booking works
An enquiry produces a written itinerary and a quotation, not an instant price. Once you accept it, permits are secured first — since March 2026 they must be paid in full at the point of booking, so permit payment leads the deposit rather than following it. Everything else follows on the normal schedule.
Common questions
Can I trek gorillas in Kenya?
No. Kenya has no wild mountain gorillas. The species lives only in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo. Travellers searching for gorilla trekking in Kenya are almost always looking for a combined trip, with the safari in Kenya and the trek across the border.
How long do I need for both?
Ten days is the realistic minimum for a Kenya safari and a gorilla trek without a rushed feel. Twelve gives you a second night after the trek and a margin for weather. Anything under eight days means either the Mara or the forest gets cut short.
What does a Uganda gorilla permit cost?
USD 800 per person for foreign non-residents in high season, and USD 600 in April, May and November under the low-season rate. The permit covers one hour with a habituated family, park entry and ranger guides. Discounted low-season permits cannot be rescheduled.
How fit do I need to be?
Fitter for Bwindi than for Rwanda. A Bwindi trek can run from half an hour to eight hours on steep, muddy forest terrain. It is paced and guided, and porters are available and worth hiring, but it is a real hike. If mobility is a concern, tell us at the enquiry stage and we will discuss Rwanda instead.
What visas do I need?
Kenya uses an Electronic Travel Authorisation, applied for at etakenya.go.ke at USD 30, at least three days before travel. It remains valid for re-entry after a temporary trip to another East African Community country, so the Kenya–Uganda–Kenya routing does not need a second application. Uganda and Rwanda both operate e-visa systems, and an East Africa Tourist Visa covering all three exists. We confirm current requirements for your nationality with your quotation.
Is there a minimum age?
Yes, fifteen years, in both Uganda and Rwanda. It is enforced strictly and is not negotiable at the park gate.
Plan your Kenya and gorilla safari
Tell us roughly when and for how long. We will come back with a written itinerary and a quotation, and say plainly if Rwanda would suit you better.
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