Planning to track gorillas in Uganda but you do not know how a gorilla costs? Before embarking on actual gorilla trek to Uganda or any gorilla destination to track mountain gorillas, a permit is a must to have. It is an important tool that allows you to take part in this life changing adventure in either Bwindi National Park or Mgahinga National Park. One gorilla permit is what gives you opportunity to track only 1 habituated gorilla family. Presently, Uganda has about 17 families which represent about 136 permits.
Generally, the total cost for gorilla trekking differs from one Tour Company to another. Each tour operator/company has its own price quote and the relatively cheaper gorilla tour goes from $1000. The luxury safari may cost you about $1500-$2000 each person or even more.
How much is gorilla permit in Uganda
If you are looking for that one destination with relatively cheaper gorilla rates then Uganda should be a must to include in your travel plan. Uganda is the ultimate destination for cheaper gorilla safaris if compared with other destinations where to see gorillas. To track mountain gorillas in Uganda, you need $600 to help you secure a gorilla permit. This allows you to explore these creatures in the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These parks are located in southwestern Uganda just at a border with DR Congo along the Albertine rift valley. Please book your permit early enough to avoid disappointments. The demand for permits is high and the fact that treks are limited to only 8 visitors per habituated family per day, you really need to secure one early enough before the actual trek. It gets worse especially during the peak season which is also the dry season that starts from June to September and from December to February. As well, treks are also possible during wet or rainy season which is also regarded as the low season that begins from March to May and from October to November.
To book a gorilla permit in Uganda, you need to deal with a reliable, trustworthy tour operator. The other possibility is for you book it through a reservation department at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Booking a gorilla permit through a local tour operator usually makes the process faster compared to if you booked it through UWA. Most important to take note is that, tour companies can add an extra fee of about $60-$100 per permit but of course there is no additional charge for you to buy a permit on condition that you are to utilize other tour services for instance transfers and if you only need a permit then you will have to extra charge of about $100 per permit they book the fact that this may involve them making calls, pick permit, deliver it to you and many other administrative costs.
The process for booking permit
Please let your tour operator know the dates you intend to track gorillas to ease planning process. By so doing, a tour operator then lets you know if the dates you prefer to take part in this adventure are indeed available and temporarily book them for you. You will be sent bank details for you to make money transfer for your permit or even make payment by credit card. The tour operator then sends you acknowledgement email for the money transfer and you are requested to instruct your bank deduct bank charges for the transaction from your account to avoid less payment for the permit that may make you miss your permit or rather incur extra cost that you never planned for. The extra costs may be for services such as telephone calls, transport that are incurred while securing a permit for you. After, send a copy of your passport that has your details that will be used during permit registration. Your full names, nationality and the passport number are some key things needed when registering your permit, so please do present them early enough. Your names will then be registered and a permit is acquired for you. After the payments are effected the permit is obtained for you however, take note that this permit alone doesn’t guarantee you a 100 percent to see mountain gorillas but gives you about 95% chances.