Are DR Congo gorilla treks open?
Not at the moment. As of 9 October 2026, Virunga National Park, home to the DR Congo’s mountain gorillas, lists its gorilla treks and the Mount Nyiragongo volcano hike as closed until further notice. The US State Department rates the DRC Level 4, Do Not Travel, and an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus is still active in the east of the country.
For now, we are not offering trips to the DR Congo. You can still see mountain gorillas on our private trips from Kigali: in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and in Bwindi and Mgahinga in Uganda.
What this means for your trip
We checked these on 9 October 2026, and we update this page when anything changes.
Gorilla treks are closed
Virunga National Park lists its mountain gorilla treks as closed until further notice.
Nyiragongo is closed
The Mount Nyiragongo volcano trek is also closed until further notice.
US advisory: Level 4
The State Department advises Americans not to travel to the DRC, citing health, crime, unrest, terrorism and kidnapping (issued July 15, 2026).
Flights home to the US
US citizens who were in the DRC in the past 21 days cannot board commercial flights to the United States.
Entry to Rwanda
Rwanda refuses entry to foreign visitors who were in, or passed through, the DRC in the 30 days before arriving.
Gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda
Trek the same mountain gorillas in Rwanda ($1,500 permit) or Uganda ($800). See our permit guide.
We’ll update this page
We check Virunga’s notices and the US advisories regularly, and we will update this page when the treks reopen.
If the DR Congo is on your wish list, tell us and we’ll let you know when a trip becomes possible again.
Some Facts About DR Congo
100+ million
Kinshasa
French
CDF
See mountain gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda
Our private gorilla trips start in Kigali and include the gorilla permit. Compare the two countries in Rwanda vs Uganda for gorilla trekking, check current permit prices, or browse all our tours.
Your Dream Safari Awaits
Every traveler has a different idea of the perfect safari. You might have always dreamed of seeing mountain gorillas in the wild. Or maybe you want to watch the Great Migration unfold across the Maasai Mara. Perhaps you simply want to go on game drives and connect with East African culture. Whatever brings you here, we’re ready to help you turn that dream into reality. Tell us where you’d like to go and what you’d like to see. We’ll create the perfect safari for you.