Cost of Gorilla Trekking Permit : A gorilla trekking permit is a document that is given to tourists by the uganda wildlife authority to tourists that are above the age of 15 accepting them to take part in trekking the habituated gorilla families and spend quality time with them in their natural habitat. The trekking of gorillas majorly takes place in Bwindi impenetrable national park or Mgahinga gorilla national park. Mountain gorillas are the major attractions in uganda and attracts a various number of tourists and involves moving on foot in the tropical rainforest in search of the gorilla families.
COST OF A UGANDA GORILLA TREKKING PERMIT
A trekking permit within Bwindi impenetrable national park as well as Mgahinga gorilla national park is charged 700USD per person of foreign non-resident, for foreign resident 600USD per person and UGX 250,000 for the east African citizens per person.
For tourists who want to participate in the gorilla habituation process, the habituation permit in uganda is charged USD 1,500 per person for foreign non-residents, for foreign residents its 1,000 USD and UGX 750,000 for east African citizens per person.
HOW TO BOOK UGANDA GORILLA TREKKING PERMITS
Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda can either be booked directly from Uganda wildlife authority which is a government body that’s in charge of the tourism sector in uganda. Therefore, tourist can contact the head offices in Kampala by either a phone call or email
As well as in Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park permits can be obtained through booking through a trusted tour operator by informing them about the Uganda gorilla safari and which national park you intend to go to. Therefore, the tourists send their details such as; names, date, month, year among others. The tour operator checks if their available permits matching with the date, then the tourists makes a deposit and once money is received then the permits are purchased.
WHEN TO BOOK THE GORILLA PERMITS
The gorilla trekking permits should be booked 3 to 6 months in advance before the real date of the trekking. The permits can be booked mostly in the dry season within the months of June, July, august, September, December, January and February. This is so because during that season the gorilla permits are competitive and are usually sold out therefore to avoid disappointments in the last minute, tourists are advised to book in advance.
HOW MANY GORILLAS TREKKING PERMITS ARE AVAILABLE IN UGANDA
The endangered mountain gorillas are majorly found in Bwindi impenetrable national park and is known to be a habitat to over 19 habituated gorilla families as well as Mgahinga gorilla national park which is a home of only one habituated family. The gorilla trekking in both national parks accept only 8 people to visit each habituated family. Therefore, there are only 160 gorilla trekking permits that are available for the tourists on a daily basis.
GORILLA TREKKING EXPERIENCE IN UGANDA
The gorilla trekking experience is amazing within Bwindi national park and Mgahinga national park and it starts early in the morning at 8am with a briefing about the rules and regulations as well as their expectations at the park headquarters. After that the tourists are divided into groups of 8 where each is allocated to a habituated gorilla family to trek as well as a park guide. The Uganda gorilla trekking only takes 30 minutes to 7 hours depending where the gorillas are located due to the fact that they move from one place to another searching for food. During the trekking, tourists have an opportunity to spot other primates, wildlife species as well as bird species. Once the mountain gorillas are found the tourists are allowed to spend with them only an hour in order to learn their lifestyles, habits, behavior’s as well as they carryout their day to day activities such as breastfeeding, grooming the young ones, feeding, playing as well as taking photos with them.
