BOOKING A GORILLA TREKKING PERMIT UGANDA AND RWANDA
Gorilla trekking permits booking is an important part that should be done in advance so as to secure your slot for seeing mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Gorilla trekking permit booking is done only at Uganda wildlife Authority head office in Kampala Uganda and at Rwanda Development Board in Rwanda. Visitors can book gorilla trekking permits personally or through a trusted tour company that secures permits for you as it plans your safari. A gorilla trekking permit is a legal document that is allows visitors access to the gorilla national parks, trek with gorillas and spend one hour with these endangered apes while on the guidance from the park ranger.
Gorilla trekking is done in Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park in Uganda, Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in DR Congo. Gorilla trekking adventure is an activity that is so competitive, meaning anyone planning to see gorillas needs to book slots in advance at least three months’ prior the trekking date. Visitors are allowed to book gorilla permits up to 2 years in advance.
When booking a gorilla permit through a tour operator, you will need to provide your passport details, trekking date and preferred trekking destination and let him/ her go through the hustle of booking the permits. The tour operator after securing your permit will send you a scanned copy of it and will provide your original copy on arrival. Local Tour operators have enough information on different gorilla trekking areas and so can choose for clients the best place to go gorilla trekking depending on client’s physical fitness and choice.
If you want to book personally, you will contact Uganda wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board through email asking for availability of permits on your preferred date and destination or the available permits if those you want are booked already. Visitors also need to provide personal information and send copy of passport. You will then proceed to make payments directly to their accounts and send a scanned copy of the bank receipts. Your permit will be processed and a copy sent to you which will be presented at the offices on arrival to pick the original Gorilla permit that will show your details and where to do gorilla trekking. Remember these permits are not transferable.
Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda cost USD 700 for foreign nonresidents, USD 600 for foreign residents and 250000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens. In Rwanda all gorilla trekking permits cost USD 1500. All the prices are per person allowing one hour with one habituated gorilla family per day. Once the gorilla permits are booked they are non-refundable, they can be rescheduled just.
Visitors are advised to book through a tour company than booking directly since booking yourself might be tiresome and challenging. Booking through a trusted tour company adds no extra cost to the gorilla permit cost. Tour operators can also arrange your transportation and accommodation to make it easy for you on the trekking day.
Uganda also offers gorilla habituation experience and the activity also requires you to book a permit. The gorilla habituation experience permit is booked in the same way as gorilla trekking permit as discussed above. Gorilla habituation experience is only done in Uganda in Bwindi Impenetrable national park in Rushaga sector. It allows visitors to spend 4 hours with gorillas together with researchers and guides.