Planning Around Uganda's Gorilla Permits

Bwindi and Mgahinga run best in the dry windows — June to September, and again December to February — when the forest trails are less punishing and the gorilla families are easier to track. Outside those months, the trekking still happens; it's simply slower and muddier.

The detail that actually determines whether a Uganda trip comes together is the gorilla permit, not the season. They're limited, they're booked far ahead, and we build the rest of the itinerary — Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth's tree-climbing lions, the boat cruises — around whichever trekking date we can secure first.