When Is the Best Time for Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda?

Month by month in Volcanoes National Park

Visit Rwanda gives one dry season, June to mid-September. The heaviest rain falls in March, April and May, and the short rains fall around October to December. January and February are usually fairly dry and are often thought of as low season. Gorillas can be tracked at any time of year because their movements do not follow the seasons, so your choice is about trail conditions and crowds, not gorilla presence.

The park receives nearly 2,000 mm of rain in an average year, spread across all twelve months. Even in the dry season, pack for wet weather.

Rwanda Meteorology Agency describes the rainy seasons as March to May and October to December, a slightly wider reading than some travel sites. The practical takeaway is the same: the middle of the year is the driest and the weeks around April and November are the wettest.

August has an extra reason to go

August brings Kwita Izina, Rwanda's annual gorilla naming ceremony, held at Volcanoes National Park. It is a national celebration of newborn gorillas, and it lands in the middle of the driest season. Pair it with your trek if your dates allow.

Temperature and rain figures

Volcanoes National Park has a mean daily temperature around 15 C (59 F) and a mean night-time temperature of 6 C (43 F). At altitude, temperatures can drop to about 10 C (50 F). Annual rainfall approaches 2,000 mm, with March and April the wettest months and a second rainy peak in November.

Hikes last anywhere from 30 minutes to four or more hours, and tracking can run from 90 minutes to the whole morning depending on the family you are assigned. Start early: you report at 07:00 at the RDB offices in Kinigi for the briefing. Bring waterproof clothing, long sleeves, gloves and hiking boots. Gumboots, raincoats and gloves can be hired at park headquarters if you arrive unprepared.

Do Treks Go Ahead in the Rain?

Yes. Rain is not a reason RDB gives for a refund, so plan to trek whatever the sky does. Raincoats and gumboots can be hired at park headquarters, and the gorillas stay in the forest in every season, so rain changes your comfort, not your chances.

Booking rules and lead times

In peak months permits can sell out over a year in advance, so the best time to go is often simply when you can get a permit. Shoulder months such as May, September, December and March are easier on both availability and crowds. For peak season or large groups, book six months or more ahead, and up to a year for June to August.

The RDB advance booking system lets you pay 40% to 99% of the visiting fee when a slot is available, with the balance due before 30 days to confirm the permit. Processing takes about one day and cash payment at the park is not permitted. A no-show on the visiting date makes the permit void, and no refund is made for late arrivals, flight delays or cancellation for any other reason. Rescheduling a confirmed permit costs a 20% processing fee, approved automatically more than 7 days out and subject to RDB approval within 7 days.

A season that can cut the permit price

There is one way to save on the permit itself. The RDB low season discount offers 30% off gorilla trekking permits from November to May, for combined trips that include at least two nights in Akagera and/or Nyungwe with a paid activity, one discounted permit per 3-day/2-night stay. The page shows no program year, so whether it runs for the coming low season is not confirmed, and you should verify on the RDB portal before planning around it.

Peak, shoulder and low season compared

Peak season runs through the June to September dry season, with a second busy spell over the year-end holidays and into February. Shoulder periods either side of the rainy season mean lower prices, lighter crowds and easing rains. In the rainy season you may trek in groups of about three per gorilla group instead of eight, because demand is thin, and lodges cut their rates.

The trade-offs are honest ones. March, April and May bring the year's heaviest rain, so trails are muddier and the forest wetter. In return you get quieter paths, lush green scenery and easier permits. The gorillas are always there.

Weather patterns are getting less predictable

Global warming has affected weather patterns in Africa, making it harder to predict exactly when the wet and dry seasons begin and end. Treat the month table as a pattern rather than a promise, and judge your month by permit availability first and weather second. That rule holds no matter which season you pick.

What the seasons mean across the border

The best time is identical in Uganda because Volcanoes National Park and Mgahinga sit on the same Virunga Massif and share one gorilla population. The seasons match on both sides of the border. Uganda does cut its permit to $600 in April, May and November, per the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

What does differ is the trek day. From Kigali it is a stunning three-hour drive north to Volcanoes National Park, which makes a one-day Rwanda trek realistic. The rwanda gorilla trekking day tours are built around that Kigali transfer.

Timing Around Other Trips

If Rwanda is one stop on a wider itinerary, anchor your gorilla dates to permit availability first, then fit the rest around them.

Permit price and what it does not include

According to Visit Rwanda, gorilla permits cost $1,500 per person per day, and the price is the same in Rwanda even during the low season. The RDB portal states the same $1,500 foreign non-resident rate, with promotional rates of $500 for foreign residents in Rwanda and $200 for Rwandan and East African citizens that do not apply from June to October. Ten percent of permit revenue goes to local communities.

If you track all day but fail to contact a gorilla family, 75% of the tracking fee is refunded, and if the group's movement prevents tracking all day you get another chance or a full refund. What the permit covers beyond the trek is not stated on the official pages, so treat guides, porters and tips as separate. Porters are available to carry backpacks and help on the route, though no fee is printed on the official pages.

The one-day tours from Kigali handle the logistics while you buy the permit separately: the Universal Ventures day trek costs $342 per person, the Gorilla Tracking Day Trip $260 and the Afri Safaris day trek $279.65. Tours that include the permit, such as Shalom Safaris at $2,650 per person, price it in for you.

Is gorilla trekking worth the money?

Worth is personal, but the numbers support the case: 10% of permit revenue goes to local communities, only eight visitors share each gorilla family per day, and you get a guaranteed hour with the group. If no gorilla family is contacted despite a full day of tracking, 75% of the fee comes back to you, which limits the downside of the investment.

Dry versus wet season for the trek day

In the dry seasons the trails are firmer and the undergrowth thinner, which can shorten your hike to the gorillas. In the wet months the forest is at its greenest, birdlife peaks with migratory species arriving, and you will earn your hour with the gorillas through deeper mud. Groups are sometimes smaller in the rains, about three trekkers per gorilla group instead of eight, and lodges cut their rates.

Pack differently by season. For any trek you need hiking boots or sturdy shoes, waterproof clothing, long sleeves and gloves, as recommended in the Gorilla Friendly Pledge. In the rainy season add a heavier rain jacket, or hire one at headquarters. Face masks are worn at all times near the gorillas, and no litter or waste is left in the park. Do not visit if you have a cold, flu or other contagious illness.

Beyond the gorillas, season by season

The wet seasons bring migratory birds to the forest. Golden monkey tracking runs once a day, reporting at 07:00 at Kinigi, with a minimum age of 12 and up to 16 people per group. The Ellen DeGeneres Campus near the park opens every day from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., with last entry at 4 p.m., a good wet-weather addition before or after your trek.

Why January and February work

January and February are usually fairly dry and are often thought of as low season, so permits are easier to find and lodges are quieter than in the June to August peak. The gorillas are in the forest as always, and the one-hour visit and 7 meter (about 22 feet) distance rule apply in every month. If your travel dates are fixed and short notice, January or February is often the smoothest dry-season choice.