What is included with the gorilla permit?
A gorilla permit allows you one hour with mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga or Volcanoes National Park. Included in the cost are park entry fees for the respective parks, services of National Park guides/rangers who will escort you to the forest. Gorilla Trekking Trips will ensure that you secure permits in advance
Obtaining Gorilla Permits
For any travelers to be a part of the mountain gorilla trekking and habituation, they must obtain a gorilla trekking permit.
Mountain Gorilla Trekking and Habituation permits must be obtained about 3 months ahead of travel time due to their high demand most especially for gorilla habituation as these are only 8 pieces issued in a day compared to the gorilla trekking permits that a over 100 pieces in a single day.
Mountain gorilla trekking and habituation permits are documents that do allow travelers in to Bwindi Forest National Park, Volcanoes National Park and Virunga National Park for exclusive up- close gorilla experiences.
Both mountain gorilla trekking permits and habituation permits (only in Uganda) can be obtained from Gorilla Safari Consultants, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Rwanda Development Board and the Virunga National Park according to clients’ interests.
Uganda; Offers its gorilla permits at $800 and these can be secured directly with the Uganda Wildlife Authority- UWA through email though payment must be made in cash; making booking through a trusted tour operating company – Gorilla Trekking Trips, a much better option.
Uganda has the largest number of gorilla families and therefore the highest number of gorilla permits; issuing over 108 gorilla permits in a single day.
To trek for mountain gorillas in Uganda, you can reach Bwindi Forest National Park from either Kigali, Rwanda (only 3 hours away) or from Kampala with way much longer driving hours(8-10 ).
At the southern sector of Bwindi Forest National Park (Nkuringo – Rushaga area) , travelers also enjoy the gorilla habituation experience( spending 4 hours with the gentle giants) and in much smaller groups of 4 individuals. There only 2 families up for habituation experience that’s Bushaho and Bikyigi, altogether offering 8 habituation gorilla permits in a day.
These are obtained at $1500 from a trusted tour operator – Gorilla Trekking Trips / Uganda Wildlife Authority Offices in Kampala.
Rwanda; This had its price for gorilla permits doubled to $1500 in May , 2017 as an incentive to acquire funds for the conservation of mountain gorillas and improving the welfare of communities within the Volcanoes National Park Vicinity.
In Rwanda, mountain gorillas are secured directly from Rwanda Development Board – RDB / at Rwanda Tourism Board Offices – ORTPN.
Democratic Republic of Congo; In Congo, mountain gorilla permits are offered at a much lower cost of $450 and can be directly secured by contacting the Virunga National Park offices.
It is a much cheaper option trekking at Congo’s Virunga National Park though the safety of a client remains questionable.
Yes, we do have clients who trekked here and have reported successful experiences though it’s a very risky area to cross into and much less for gorilla trekking expedition through the thick dense Virunga rainforest.
Therefore it’s always important to weigh all the possible dangers involved when trekking through Virunga National Park over the cheap gorilla permit offer.
However, despite it all, the decision on where to trek (which country) and what to take depends on clients’ interests, preferences and budget .It should be noted that equal satisfaction is derived from wherever you choose to trek for the mountain gorillas.