Imagine the thrill of encountering mountain gorillas in their rain forest home. This dream becomes a reality with a gorilla permit, your official ticket to this unforgettable experience. A gorilla permit is a government-issued pass that grants access to track and observe mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, while also supporting conservation efforts.
Gorilla permits regulate tourism, protect these endangered primates, and fund vital initiatives like anti-poaching patrols and community projects. In this guide, we’ll uncover everything you need to know about gorilla permits, from their role in conservation to the step-by-step process of obtaining one. We’ll even touch on the cost of gorilla permits in Uganda and the price in Rwanda.
Gorilla permits are government legal documents or Tickets issued by Wildlife regulating authority bodies in the respective countries that’s Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda, that allow tourists to access the gorilla parks and spend a limited amount of time with gorilla groups in Bwindi National Park, Mgahinga national park for Uganda, Volcanoes National Park Rwanda and Virunga ranges Congo. Uganda Gorilla permits are booked with the Uganda Wildlife Authority but may turn out to be cumbersome for international travelers. Only Ugandans and Foreign Residents are allowed to book gorilla permits directly with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. We recommend international travelers to seek help from genuinely registered tour operators.
How much is a Gorilla Permit in Uganda
To track mountain gorillas in Uganda, you need to secure a gorilla permit in advance. The current price of a gorilla permit is 800USD for Foregin non-resident Visitors, 700USD for foreign residents, 80USD for East African citizens and 500USD for holders of other African passports.
A gorilla permit allows you to explore these creatures in the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This same price applies to the gorilla permits of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These parks are both located in southwestern Uganda just at a border with DR Congo along the Albertine rift valley. The permit fee also includes park entrance fees for the day booked. Therefore, you can engage in other activities like nature walks the same day without paying the entrance fee that is charged at 40USD per person.
You are advised to book your gorilla permit early enough to avoid disappointments. This is due to their high demand for permits 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.
Finding gorilla permits gets harder especially during the peak season which is also the dry season. This period starts from June to September and from December to February. Please know that some tourists book gorilla permits a year in advance.
Though most travelers prefer the peak months, gorilla treks are also possible during wet or rainy season. This period is also regarded as the low season that begins from March to May and from October to November.
Book your Gorilla Permits
To book a permit for a gorilla safari in Uganda, you need to deal with a reliable, trustworthy tour operator. The other possibility is for you book a gorilla permit in person at Uganda Wildlife Authority if you are within Uganda. Booking a permit through a local tour operator usually makes the process faster compared to if you booked it through UWA.
Tour companies can add an extra fee of about 50 to100USD per permit. The extra charge per permit covers the cost and logistics of booking the gorilla permits such as making calls, picking the permits, delivering it to you and other administrative costs. For prepackaged tours, a gorilla permit is already included in the price.
The process for Booking Gorilla Permit
Please let your tour operator know the dates you intend to track gorillas to ease planning process. 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.
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 made, 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 96% chances.
Checking availability of Gorilla Trekking Permits Online in Uganda
When booking gorilla tours in Uganda, checking availability of Gorilla permits is always the first recommended step so that you book your trip within the dates that have space for trekking in either Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Once you have your planned dates of travel, you need you to send an email to your tour operator so that they check for you the availability of permits online.
This is done through a booking system managed and controlled by Uganda Wildlife Authority that can only be accessed by tour operators in Uganda. This booking system displays the dates with availability and those fully booked, so once you provide your dates, you will be able get information on which dates have availability that you can book your gorilla tour on.
Do you own the Gorilla permit after purchasing it?
You are given a receipt to confirm purchase, which has a booking ID that is always considered when signing in for your trek at either Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Depending on your dates of the gorilla trek, you will not be able to get the gorilla permit document until it is one month to the trekking date. If you purchase your gorilla permit through a tour operator, they will send you a scanned copy of the permits receipt for your records and perusal to confirm that your permits are purchased and secured for a given tracking date.
How long is the Gorilla permit valid in Uganda?
A Gorilla permit is valid from the time you purchase it to the time of your trekking date. After the gorilla tracking date, the booking ID expires and the permit becomes invalid. This is why it is advisable you plan for your gorilla trek well in advance so that you are able to make it for the booked trekking date.
But it is also well understandable that due to uncertainties sometimes, one may not make it for his/her booked date of trekking. With this, it advised you reschedule at least two weeks before your trekking date through contacting Uganda Wildlife Authority or your Tour operator.