HOW TO BOOK GORILLA PERMITS IN UGANDA 2020

Gorilla permits are a must-have to every trekker if he or she is to be allowed to trek mountain gorillas. They are issued by respective conservation organs where gorilla trekking is conducted. In Uganda-mountain gorilla trekking is done in Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in the southwest and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is an organ responsible issuing gorilla permits; in Rwanda, gorilla treks are done in Volcanoes National Park which is set in the Northern Province and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is the agency responsible issuing gorilla permits and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, treks to see mountain gorillas are done in the Virunga National Park and gorilla permits are issued by park authorities.

Persons above 15 years are considered eligible to purchase gorilla permits in Uganda Rwanda and DRC. Each gorilla permit lets you trek only one habituated family with only and Uganda alone is comprised of 21 habituated gorilla groups, Rwanda 10 gorilla families and DRC has 8 habituated families. Each gorilla family is trekked by 8 visitors and on finding mountain gorillas, you have only an hour of magical encounter.

How you can book a gorilla permit in Uganda

To book gorilla permits in Uganda, you can get in touch with a reliable tour operator or directly with reservation team at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The procedure is the same as noted below. Get in touch with reservation team of a tour operator you plan to deal with or reservation team at UWA.

The tour operator you choose to deal with will cross check to find out availability of dates you intend to go trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

After, the reservation team will then get back to you.Your details should be submitted to tour operator or reservation team at UWA.

You will be required to book your permit early enough however, you will to make a deposit of 30 percent and the rest can be cleared within 91 days to actual gorilla trek.

Payments should be made through account details given to you by tour operator or reservation at UWA. Note, after payment or deposit the tour operator will be in position to secure or book for you the permit.

Reserving a gorilla permit through tour operator is simpler than doing it directly with UWA since the process is tedious. Doing it directly means, you do it yourself unlike dealing with our reservation team where we take charge to go through the entire process as you sit back home. On actual trek, we deliver your receipts/permit that you will present to park authorities before briefing. It should also be noted that 80% of all the gorilla permits are given to only members of Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) which gets you higher chance to find one if you booked in advance.

How much are gorilla permits

The cost of gorilla permits differs from one gorilla destination to another. In Uganda, gorilla permits cost $600 per person-for foreign non-residents, $500-for foreign residents, shs 250000 for East African residents. It should be noted that starting 1^st July, 2020, each gorilla permit in Uganda will be obtainable at $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents and shs.250000 for the East African citizens. For visitors who may wish to spend more hours with mountain gorillas, Uganda also offers you a chance to embark on gorilla habituation experience and permits for this unique experience can be obtained at $1500 per person-for foreign non-residents, $1000-for foreign residents and shs 750000 for East African residents. Trekking gorillas in Uganda is only done in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park where nearly half of all the 1063 mountain gorillas thrive.