Interested in our packages? Download the 2026-2027 rate card.
Are you a traveller who wants to leave a positive impact? We are your people!
Best known for hiking and boating trips and partnerships with Batwa “Pygmies”, the Gorilla Highlands Tours team excels at putting together unique itineraries. Whether you are interested in the biggest attractions or off-the-beaten-path jewels of Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo, we are there for you. If you care about responsible tourism, we are your guys — and the World Responsible Tourism Award 2022 winners in the category of cultural heritage contributions.
Tailor-made does not need to mean expensive! Our creativity and flexibility (you can even opt for public transport or chopper rides if you wish) allow for experiences that suit any budget. With our guidance you will save money, guaranteed.
As we consult you, we are not reading from lists of bullet points (a plight of the tourism industry) but talk about things we have tried ourselves. Our lead advisor Miha Logar has spent 20+ years in the Gorilla Highlands region and seen almost everything. His colleagues bring in deep knowledge from: accessible travel, culinary tours, cycling adventures, educational trips, family tours, nature conservation, photography expeditions, virtual experiences, volunteer tourism, and more.
Need a starting point? Have a look at the six unusual travel itineraries covering Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo. You can also head to overview pages of trek options, Lake Bunyonyi canoeing, and other experiences.
Upcoming Trips to Join
Join Edmond & Belle on Their Grand Gorilla Highlands Adventure
2–4 spots availableEdmond grew up in Africa as an Iraqi Jew, built a career in computer logistics, and has since traded spreadsheets for curiosity. Belle is a German-born multimedia artist whose life revolves around travel, people, and landscapes. Together since 1990, they bring three decades of shared adventures to this trip.
Entebbe → Kampala → Kidepo Valley → Murchison Falls → Queen Elizabeth → Lake Bunyonyi → gorilla tracking in Mgahinga → Congo Nile Trail → Nyungwe Forest → Kigali
Not available for the full 20 days? You are welcome to join for a section — tell us what works for you.
Join Simon & Sonja on Their Hikes
10 spots availableSimon supports a Slovenian MEP in Brussels but his heart is in Uganda: he has volunteered, worked and hiked in the country. His companion Sonja is a municipal council employee in Kočevje and a total hiking enthusiast who has tackled trails across the globe. The photo is from their 2025 exploration of Rwanda.
Mama Bena’s Bonus · 29–30 July 2026
Valley of No Living · 31 July – 1 August 2026
Not available for both? No problem at all — you can also join for just one hike.
No scheduled group trips right now — contact us to organise your own.
Ready to talk? Let us schedule a call with you, hear you out and get to work!
Our Stories From Tours:
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Would You Trust a Traditional Healer?
Meg Whelan’s (she’s pictured in the centre) familiarisation trip was coming to an end. In just a couple of days she had flown all over Uganda, experienced three national parks—Kidepo Valley, Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi Impenetrable—and seen a lot that would help her at Connoisseur Travel. There was something nasty growing on her neck and…
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Selfish Traveller’s One Secret to Spill
I am a selfish traveller. I do not like to share. When I find something special, and better yet undisturbed, the last thing I want to do is tell everyone about it. Because as you can say about most hidden found treasures –Humans ruin everything! I bookmarked (online) the Edirisa and the Gorilla Highlands pages…
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Follow the Example of the Good People from Seattle
In April we asked future trekkers to send us their photos and fulfill the wish expressed by the host family at Lake Kayumbu. This is the first submission, already laser-printed on an A4 sheet, waiting to be delivered to Gerald and Jackline. Kirk and Shawn are bringing their daughters Casey and Cameron to Kenya, Rwanda…
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Gorilla Trek Ends with … Of Course!
Like so many hikers before them, East African Playgrounds volunteers felt they wanted to stay at Mutanda Island Lodge on Gahiza Island for another day… Yet their program was tight. On Sunday, following four days of trekking that would warm them up at Lake Bunyonyi then lead them from Bunyonyi to Lakes Kayumbu and Mutanda and finally to the edge…
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Second & Third Gorilla Trek Day in Images
This photo report is being sent from a tiny island on Lake Mutanda where mobile internet is patchy at best; please pardon our high compression and brevity. Over the weekend we will be in a similar situation, so allow us to complete the story on Monday. You may also like: Three Silverbacks, One Happy Gorilla…
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Despite the Wisdom of Mountain Goat
It was a glorious day. A day that only those who know Bunyonyi‘s usual climate will know how to fully appreciate. The perfect, sunny, easygoing opening act to four days of rather demanding hiking. The first four miles out of 40 on land and water. Many of the 26 East African Playgrounds volunteers from three…
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4-Day Gorilla Trek Starts Tomorrow
The biggest thing that happens on the Gorilla Highlands Trails every year are the East African Playgrounds groups. Over 150 English volunteers will trek from Lake Bunyonyi through Echuya Forest to the lakes of Kisoro and eventually to Rushaga (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park) where mountain gorillas are expecting them… They are divided in eight groups…
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Innovation: Budget Family Travel in Uganda & Rwanda
The Gorilla Highlands Team is co-hosting #Africhat, a monthly gathering on Twitter that will take place between 7:30 and 8pm this evening (Uganda time). The topic: Family Travel in Africa. The occasion calls for us to share our recent pioneering experience with budget family travel in our region… At the end of December 2015 an…
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Backpacker on a Wheelchair Tracks Gorillas
Despite the anything-but-insignificant cost and physical strain of tracking mountain gorillas, this is an encounter many people feel they definitely have to experience. Even the disabled. Sunday Ndayakunze, the tourism warden of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, says that on average once a month they get a gorilla tracker who needs assistance. A visitor with disabilities…