UGANDA GORILLA PERMIT
Uganda Gorilla Permit: A Uganda Gorilla trekking Permit as of 2021- 2022 costs $700 for Foreign Nonresidents, $600 for Foreign Residents and Ugandan Shillings 250,000 for Ugandans and Citizens of East Africa Community member states. Being a home to over 50% of the remaining population of mountain gorillas in the entire universe, Uganda is one of the topmost and beautiful destination to visit for mountain gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience.
There are 2 national parks where one can encounter with mountain gorillas that is Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park all thrilling in the far south western part of Uganda within Bwindi-Mgahinga conservation area.
Amongst the 2 parks, Bwindi impenetrable national park thrills with the largest population of these endangered mountain gorillas distributed across 4 sectors of the park which include Buhoma sector situated in the northern part of the park, Rushaga sector in the in the southern part, Ruhija in the eastern part, and Nkuringo in the western part of the park. These 4 sectors of Bwindi all offer mountain gorilla trekking on daily basis though Rushaga sector has an added advantage of Gorilla habituation experience which allows travelers to spend more hours with gorillas in their natural habitats.
On the other hand, Mgahinga gorilla national park is the smallest park in Uganda and is as well part of the Virunga Massif alongside Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo. Mgahinga gorilla national park harbors only 1 gorilla family that has been habituated for trekking on daily by a maximum number of 8 trekkers unlike Bwindi impenetrable national park that harbors over 21 habituated families.
To access gorillas in any of the parks in Uganda, one must have obtained a gorilla trekking permit which acts as a gate pass to meet gorillas in their natural habitats and as stated above each permit costs $700 per person. These gorilla trekking permits are only issued out by the Uganda Wildlife Authority which is the only body responsible for protection and management of all protected areas in Uganda.
This implies that you may choose to obtain your gorilla permit direct from Uganda Wildlife Authority or use a trusted tour company like Achieve Global Safaris to help you out in the reservation and picking of these gorilla permits.
A Uganda gorilla trekking permit is valid for only 24 hours and comes with just 1 hour of close vicinity with the mountain gorillas after trekking them for about 1-7 hours depending on the movement of gorillas, the nature of terrains and the speed used by trekkers among others. This is however a different case with the Gorilla habituation since it allows good 4 hours with gorillas in the jungle after finding them.
Tourists are always advised to book their gorilla permits in advance to avoid missing out of their dream adventure especially during high season when the demand goes too high especially during peak season.
How many gorilla permits are available in Uganda on a daily basis?
The number of gorilla permits is determined by the number of gorilla families that thrill in particular park. For instance, Bwindi impenetrable national park thrills with over 50 gorilla families out of which 21 have been habituated thus the Uganda Wildlife Authority issues out 168 gorilla permits for 21 gorilla families since each family can be trekked by maximum number of 8 persons for 1 hour per day.
These 168 permits are will distributed across all sectors of the park depending on what clients want though it’s not a guarantee that all 168 people will be available to trek gorillas. Sometimes especially during low season, you find fewer trekkers and sometimes you may end up trekking an entire gorilla family alone. However, during peak season, you may even fail to get availability of permits as they tend to be sold off very fast due to high demand.
On the other hand, Mgahinga gorilla national park has only 8 gorilla trekking permits per day since it is a home to only Nyakagezi gorilla family that has been habituated for trekking. So if you intend to trek Nyakagezi family, ensure that you buy your gorilla permit as early as possible at least 6 months in advance which is usually the advisable duration to book your gorilla trekking permit.
Comparing the cost of Gorilla permits in Uganda to other countries
As stated earlier, a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda costs $700 for Foreign Nonresident which cheaper than a similar Gorilla permit in Rwanda that costs $1500 and higher than that of the similar gorilla permits in Democratic Republic of Congo that costs $400.
Gorilla Habituation Permits
Other than gorilla trekking, Uganda the pearl of Africa is yet the only destination that offers something more fascinating within the wilderness of Bwindi Impenetrable national park and this is none other than Gorilla Habituation Experience.
The cost of Gorilla habituation experience in Uganda is $1500 which is an equivalent to a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda. However, gorilla habituation experience takes a whole 4 hours in presence of gorillas unlike gorilla trekking that takes only 1 hour.
In Bwindi impenetrable national park, Gorilla habituation experience is conducted in Rushaga sector which allows only 4 tourists alongside researchers, habituators and armed rangers as they penetrate into the forest to spend 4 hours with the mountain gorillas that are still undergoing habituation experience to make them used to humans.
Gorilla habituation also starts early in the morning with briefing after which tourists ae led into the forest to follow up the gorilla family undergoing habituation until it finally settle then spend extra 4 hours watching them as they feed, copulate, play and many more as you study their habits and behaviors.
A gorilla habituation experience permit is as well obtained from the Uganda wildlife authority headquarters in Kamwokya. Though at Achieve Global Safaris we can as well help you in managing all your reservations and bookings such that you enjoy your Uganda safari at ease.
CONLUSION;
Let us plan your next gorilla safari in the pearl of Africa. We as well offer different safaris to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
