Ready to plan a trek that gives back on arrival?

Community-powered tourism platform

Book your trek team. Tip who deserves it. Support the village — before you land in Uganda.

Red Rocks lets tourists heading to Uganda's gorilla and chimp parks in the Greater Virunga Landscape pre-book local guides, trackers & porters, tip digitally, and shop community crafts in advance — with funds routed straight to the people who earn them.

36,000+gorilla trekkers a year in Bwindi alone
$800cost of one high-season gorilla permit
20habituated gorilla families across 4 sectors
Directpayouts to each recipient's mobile wallet
What Red Rocks does

Six ways value reaches the park boundary

One platform, six pillars — each one gets tourism money into the hands of the people who deliver the experience.

Book Your Trek Team

Reserve and pay local guides, trackers & porters before you arrive — guaranteeing their income and your convenience on trek day.

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Tip & Support

Split a digital tip among your guide, tracker, porter and the dancers who welcomed you — paid instantly.

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Community Marketplace

Browse and buy crafts from park-adjacent artisans and cooperatives, reserved for pickup or shipping.

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Veterinary & Conservation Experience · Phase 2+

Join a small, health-screened group observing the park's veterinary team during a routine, non-invasive gorilla health check — from a safe distance.

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Operator Permit Exchange · Phase 2+

A UWA-API-authenticated exchange for registered tour operators to transfer released permits. Not open to the public.

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TravelSave · In development

Save gradually toward a domestic trip through a marketplace of verified Ugandan tour operators — your money held by a licensed partner, never Red Rocks, until you travel.

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How it works

From your sofa to the trailhead in three steps

1

Plan your trek

Choose your park and sector — Bwindi's Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga or Nkuringo, or Mgahinga — and your trek date.

2

Book & tip online

Reserve a porter, set aside tips for your guide and trackers, and browse marketplace crafts, all before you fly.

3

Funds reach recipients directly

Porters, guides, trackers, dancers and artisans are paid straight to their mobile money wallet — with a transparent, auditable record.

Built to be trusted

A registered, accountable organization — not just an app

Red Rocks Initiative for Sustainable Development is registered in Uganda as a company limited by guarantee. There are no shareholders extracting profit — surplus is reinvested in the communities the platform serves.

Every porter and artisan is verified in person by a local community liaison before they can receive payouts.

Piloting in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's Buhoma sector, ahead of a phased expansion.

Pay by card, mobile money (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money), or PayPal.

"Knowing the booking is already confirmed and paid means I don't have to wait at the trailhead hoping for work that day."
Illustrative persona — porter, Buhoma sector

Heading to Bwindi or Mgahinga soon?

Reserve your trek team and set up your tipping plan in a few minutes.

Book Your Team