Habituation is the process of getting a wild gorilla family comfortable enough with human presence to be visited safely, and it takes years. Uganda’s Rushaga sector of Bwindi offers a small number of permits to join researchers and trackers who spend their days with families partway through that process.
Because the family is not yet fully habituated, groups are capped at four visitors rather than the usual eight, and your time with them stretches to up to four hours instead of the standard one. You will spend as much time learning how habituation actually works from the team doing it as you do watching the gorillas themselves.
Good To Know
Duration: Full day
Difficulty: Strenuous
Permit / Fee: Around USD 1,500
Minimum Age: 15 and older
Where: Uganda (Rushaga, Bwindi)
Is this harder than standard gorilla trekking?
The trek itself is comparable, but the day runs longer because your in-forest time with the family is up to four times as long. Expect an early start and a later return to the lodge than a standard trekking day.