A gorilla permit is a document that is issued by a government wildlife regulatory body to allow a visitor witness mountain gorillas in the wild.
In Uganda and Rwanda, gorilla permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) respectively.
The most convenient way of booking a gorilla permit in Uganda and Rwanda is with a registered tour operator.
These are highly knowledgeable about the local processes of obtaining a gorilla permit.
First, you must contact the tour operator of your choice via email, phone or physical office visit.
Upon receiving your communication, the tour operator must send you are quotation to indicate the price to pay for the gorilla permit.
Then you will make the payment after they have checked for the availability of the gorilla permit for your preferred date.
The tour operator will purchase the gorilla permit, and promptly send you a soft copy for to confirm your safari in Uganda or Rwanda.
Getting a gorilla permit in both Uganda and Rwanda is highly competitive, thus the need to book in advance, at least 3 months prior to your trip. This mainly occurs in the high season, usually in the dry months of the year — December, January, February, June, July and August.
However, in the low season, when a relatively fewer number of tourists are interested in gorilla trekking toursgorilla trekking tours, you have a chance to make a last-minute booking or budget gorilla holidays.
The low seasons often occur in the wet months of the year — March, April, May, September, October and November.
A Rwanda gorilla permit per person per trek costs US$ 1,500 for a foreign non-resident, US$ 500 for a foreign resident and rest of Africa, and US$ 200 an East African Community citizen. In Uganda, a gorilla permit issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority per person per trek costs US$ 800 for a foreign non-resident, US$700 for a foreign resident, US$ 500 for the rest of Africa and UGX 300,000 for an East African Community citizen. This permit will be presented to the Volcanoes, Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks’ respective authorities on trekking day.
The gorilla permit covers the park entry fees, an experienced park guide and trained armed rangers to accompany you in the forest. In Rwanda, you are offered a discount of 30 percent on the gorilla permit if you choose to include Akagera National Park and Nyungwe Forest National Park among your other tour destinations. Families and other group travelers can also get discounts on their gorilla permits. However, the applicants should ensure that they are 15 years old and above, therefore genuine passport details are highly necessary.
Only 8 people are expected to track a habituated mountain gorilla family in a day. This is to minimize disturbance on the primates’ behaviors. In Uganda, there are at least 24 habituated gorilla families in both Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, while Rwanda has 13 habituated gorilla families. These families are available for visitors to track and spend an hour in their presence throughout the year. Gorilla trekking tours normally start at around 7 0’clock and cannot be done at night – only during the day.
Cancellation and Refund of a Gorilla Permit
After booking your gorilla permit, you may cancel the trip due to various factors. UWA or RDB might not fully refund you once you cancel your gorilla trekking tour. However, in Uganda a 50 percent refund is offered if you cancel your trekking tour 3 months prior and a 75 percent refund if you cancel the tour over 3 months prior. While on a gorilla trekking tour in the forest, you may fail to locate the mountain gorilla family. You will either be refunded or granted another opportunity to trek a mountain gorilla family.
However, if you become ill with a contagious disease on trekking day, your gorilla trekking tour might be rescheduled. Rescheduling of your gorilla trek for another reason is possible in both Uganda and Rwanda, but this can be done if you communicate in advance, or else you must pay an additional amount of money. In case you booked through a Rwanda or Uganda tour operator, there is a chance that they can resell the permit to another traveler. You need to consult with your booking tour agency to be informed about how it works.
