Gorillas live in Virunga mountains mostly within the tropical rain forests of Volcanoes and Mgahinga national parks of Rwanda and Uganda respectively. Mountain gorillas are found in three countries that is; Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Though these primates’ apes are found in three countries Uganda is the leading country with a large number of Gorillas which is almost half the number of gorillas in the whole world. They make over 500 gorillas living in the Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park.
In addition to the above, measures have been put across to keep these primates safe by sharing the revenue/ charges got from tourists with locals surrounding protected areas such that they can stop poaching. For all tourists to come across any group of gorillas one must be having a document or card known as a gorilla permit. Having a gorilla permit helps a country to know and control the number of people visiting a particular group of gorillas. Not only helps the government, but it also helps the national parks in one way like raising money to protect these endangered primates by clearing trails, putting on security to look after poachers and so on.
Despite all the above, a permit allows one to trek a gorilla group in only one hour while in the presence of gorillas and immediately after the trek the permit has to expire therefore, a gorilla permit works once after trekking any gorilla family. In other words, there are two types of permits names trekking permits and habituation permits.
For habituation permits, one has to spend four hours in presence of gorillas, unlike the trekking permit which is for only one hour.
However, the gorilla permit costs differ in terms of the price according to the country in Uganda, trekking permits go up to US$700 per person, and in Rwanda, you can buy it at US$1500 which is the country with the most expensive gorilla permits in the world.
For Democratic Republic of Congo, the gorilla permit can be purchased at only US$400 and is the cheapest country in terms of gorilla trekking cost. Since gorilla habituation takes a lot of time compared to gorilla trekking, its permits also raise high. The gorilla habituation permit in Uganda costs US$ 1500 which is more than twice the gorilla trekking permit.
Additionally, in Uganda, a gorilla permit can be issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) which is the government body responsible for gorilla permits or you can get it directly from your tour operator which is the easiest way. It’s always better and advisable to book a gorilla permit in advance before the time for the safari at least three or four months before for the best experience.
For further notice, a gorilla permit does not include transport, accommodation, meals or anything else, it only covers gorilla trekking activity which is spending one hour in the presence of gorillas. On the other hand, if one pays half of the money for the cost of a permit, and any cancellation happens, no refund and if you had fully paid still terms and conditions have to be applied and the permit can only be rescheduled to a later date.
Gorilla trekking can be best done during dry seasons when trails are dry, and not slippery allowing easy access to all corridors where gorillas are expected to be. The dry season is always from December to February though rains but less. Another dry season starts from June to July and this period is considered a drier season.
As you plan to have a gorilla safari to Uganda don’t forget to carry your rain gear like jackets and umbrellas, cameras to take photos for remembrance while back home, binoculars to view distant objects, energy-giving snacks like biscuits and cookies, good hiking shoes and your well-prepared bag backpack.
