Before you even think of venturing into the dense and hilly jungles of East-Central Africa to trek the mountain gorillas, make certain that you have a valid gorilla trekking permit. This is simply a document that offers access to the Great Apes living in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks, Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and the incredible Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This document shouldn’t be forged because it is offered to a limited number of people, owing to the endangerment of the Great Apes in their natural environment.
Booking gorilla permits is the first thing you ought to do, immediately you conceive the plans of trekking mountain gorillas in their natural habitat and this will be fundamental in confirming your trekking dates. All primate enthusiasts are required to first obtain valid gorilla permits prior to accessing the National Parks and this should be done at least 3-6 months before the conformed trekking date. Immediately you confirm your trekking date, payments for the permits have to be effected to get them secured for your life-changing experience. The dry months (December to February and June to September) are also the peak seasons, which make demand for gorilla permits to be very competitive and for this, it is advisable to plan several months earlier to give yourself enough time to plan other aspects of your gorilla safari.
Gorilla permits are booked in two ways-via a credible tour operator within Rwanda and Uganda. This is the most preferred booking option, and all you will be required to do is making payments on time to secure your place in the jungles. Travellers can also book gorilla permits directly via Rwanda Development Board for Rwanda, Uganda Wildlife Authority for Uganda as well as Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature for the case of Democratic Republic of Congo. The upside of booking gorilla permits via Tour Operators is that it is quicker and hassle-free because all the Bureaucracy as well as stress involved will be left in the hands of the booking agent. Additionally, these Tour Companies or Tour Operators are conversant with the habituated gorilla families, their location (for the case of Bwindi that is divided into trekking sectors), most convenient accommodation options as well as the different local community around different Gorilla Parks.
Gorilla Permits for Rwanda
Gorilla permits in Rwanda offer opportunities of trekking mountain gorillas within Volcanoes National Park, in the north-western side of this magical East-Central African Country. Thanks to the 12 habituated gorilla families in this Protected Area, a total of 96 gorilla permits are issued each day and allow only persons above 15 years to trek and spend the recommended one hour interacting with the Great Apes and their natural environment.
Cost of Gorilla Permits in Rwanda
For $1500 per person, a gorilla permit in Rwanda can be obtained. However, every traveller is entitled to a 30% discount for spending an additional 3 days visiting other safari destinations in Rwanda especially Nyungwe Forest National Park (for chimpanzee trekking canopy walks or guided forest walks) or Akagera National Park (for wildlife viewing, boat cruises and walking safaris). In this case, you will pay only $1050 for the Rwanda Gorilla Permits.
On how to obtain Gorilla Permits in Rwanda, there are two ways. For travellers who have plenty of time and willing to go through the hurdles of direct booking can contact Rwanda Development Board Offices in Kigali City or via telephone and email.
The Gorilla permit prices include one hour with the habituated mountain gorillas, Park entry fees and services of a Park Ranger as well as armed security for your time in Volcanoes National Park. You will have access to Sabyinyo Gorilla Group, Bwenge, Muhoza, Igisha, Hirwa, Kwitonda, Ugenda, Amahoro, Agashya (or Group 13), Susa, Karisimbi and Umubano.
Gorilla Permits in Uganda
Gorilla permits in Uganda guarantees access to Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Park, both in the south-west of the beautiful country. However, the constant mobility of mountain gorillas in the latter and their unreliability means most gorilla treks are undertaken within the former.
Nonetheless, the only habituated gorilla group in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has in the recent years shown stability in its home range and therefore a total of 8 gorilla permits are sold on a daily basis. Given the fact that the Park doesn’t receive the attention and experience crowds like its counterpart, travellers here are offer privacy while trekking and learning about these Great Apes’ behavior.
Before gorilla treks are undertaken, participants are first offered a preamble on the gorilla families in the sector and later allocated to habituated gorilla groups, depending on their levels of physical fitness, age as well as individual interests. This is common with the incredible Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where over 21 habituated gorilla families are found in four trekking sectors/regions.
Cost of Gorilla Permits in Uganda
Gorilla Permits in Uganda are slightly lower in price, compared to the ones in Rwanda and go for only $700 for the foreign non-residents, $600 for the foreign residents and Shs. 250,000 for Citizens of East African Community member states. However, if one hour is just not enough for observing and photographing the mountain gorillas, then you should consider purchasing permits for Gorilla Habituation in Uganda where you will pay only $1500 per person for a chance to spend four hours with the Great Apes.
Requirements for booking Gorilla Permits in Uganda
To book gorilla permits in Uganda, travellers are required to present relevant passport details in form of name, Nationality, date of birth and passport number. This prevents cases of transferring permits to unqualified persons (underage). These same details will be checked on the trekking date, before venturing into the jungles.
Payment is another important requirement for booking gorilla permits in Uganda. Also, provide the intended trekking date, which will be used to confirm availability and is not found, a nearest date will be suggested. It is for this reason that travellers are advised to always book for gorilla tours at least 3-6 months before the trekking date, to allow choice and achieving your dream at the time you are prepared for.
Having made a choice on the trekking date and effected payments, visitors are sent scanned copies of valid gorilla permits as soon as possible. The original copy of the gorilla permit will be provided by the Tour Operator or Uganda Wildlife Authority on the day you arrive the country. One of the features you will notice on the gorilla permits is serial number as well as your personal details such as name, age, Nationality, residence category (foreign non-resident, foreign resident or East African Community resident) and trekking sector/region.
The trekkable gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are Mubare, Rushegura, Katwe, Habinyanja and Muyambi Gorilla Groups in Buhoma sector. There is also Bitukura, Oruzogo and Mukiza in Ruhija, Nshongi Gorilla Group, Bikingi, Mishaya, Mucunguzi, Rwigi, Bweza, Kutu, Mishaya, Busingye and Kahungye in Rushaga sector while Nkuringo sector is haven to only Nkuringo, Bushaho and Christmas gorilla families. Nyakagezi is presently the only habituated gorilla family within Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Gorilla Permits in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Gorilla Permits for the Democratic Republic of Congo are issued for two amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites, offering two separate gorilla sub-species. It is undisputable that this country is one of its kind. However unlike the first two countries where permits are always sold out, this is not the case with Africa’s second largest country, owing to the instabilities within the Eastern part of Congo, where the two destinations are found
Gorilla permits for Kahuzi Biega National Park offer opportunities of trekking the Eastern lowland gorillas, the largest Great Apes and gorilla sub-species. For the 5 habituated gorilla families, about 40 permits are issued each day. These allow access to Chimanuka, Bonnani, Mpungwe, Mugaruka and Pungwe gorilla families.
A total of 64 gorilla permits are availed each day for Virunga National Park, to spend time with one of the 8 habituated gorilla groups that include Bageni, Mapuwa, Kabirizi, Nyakamwe, Humba, Lulengo, Munyaga and Rugendo.
Cost of Congo Gorilla trekking permits
Of the three popular countries offering the opportunity of meeting Great Apes in their natural habitats, Congo gorilla trekking permits are the cheapest. They cost only $400 per person to trek either mountain or Eastern lowland gorillas but they are still sold with so much struggles because of the continuous conflicts that affects the Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo.
When is the perfect time for undertaking mountain gorilla trekking?
Similar to most African safari activities, the busiest time of the year for trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo is from June to September and December to February. These are traditional dry months whereby temperatures are warmer and rain falls are reduced. These conditions cause drier forest floors and trails thus rewarding travellers with less challenging treks while hiking rugged terrains, dense forests and crossing streams in trying to find the endangered Giant Apes.