The New Gorilla Permit Cost in Uganda 2024
The New Gorilla Permit Cost in Uganda 2024
Planning to visit the endangered mountain gorillas from Uganda? Here’s something you ought to know. Beginning 1st July 2024 until 30th June 2026, the Pearl of Africa will be charging new gorilla permit fees for all its visitors planning to get up close and personal with these Giant Apes.
The new Gorilla Permit Cost in Uganda affects all categories of visitors, whereby Foreign Non-Residents will now be required to pay $800 per person from the previous $700 per person per trek, while Foreign Residents will now pay $700 per person from $600, and East African Community Citizens will pay Shs. 300,000 from Shs. 250,000 per person per trek. Interestingly the new gorilla permit cost comes with the introduction of a different fee for Visitors from the Rest of Africa, which costs $500 per person. BOOK NOW
Tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner in Uganda, and gorilla tourism is undeniably the top income earner for the industry. Uganda has two renowned Gorilla trekking destinations- Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks which shelter a combined 21 habituated gorilla families, and each of these families can only be visited by a total of 8 visitors. This means that in a single day, the Uganda Wildlife Authority issues only about 168 gorilla permits each day. Mountain gorillas are generally vulnerable creatures that share 98.2% of their DNA with mankind which makes them susceptible to many human diseases like flu, cough, Tuberculosis, and Measles among others. To protect them, several guidelines are issued and these govern all gorilla treks. These guidelines include obeying the minimum age limit of 15 years, not visiting the mountain gorillas when sick (with flu or cough), maintaining the minimum distance of 7 meters when observing and taking photos of the Giant Apes, and spending a maximum of one hour in the presence of the mountain gorillas.
When to book for Gorilla permits in Uganda.
Thanks to the high demand for gorilla permits, gorilla permits should be booked at least 6 months before the intended gorilla trekking date to avoid last-minute disappointment. Gorilla permits are only issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and visitors should book via a trusted/credible Tour Operator/Tour Company. Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Safaris Company is one of them -the World’s best Gorilla Safari Company in Uganda & Rwanda.
Besides gorilla tracking, several other Park activities have been affected by the current conservation tariff and these include chimpanzee tracking which now costs $250 per person from $200 per person for Foreign Non Residents and $200 per person from $150 per person for Foreign Residents. The Chimpanzee Habituation in Kibale which used to cost $250 now costs $300 per person for Foreign Non-Residents. These new Chimpanzee costs apply to Kibale Forest National Park. The cost of Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge (Queen Elizabeth National Park) has also increased to $100 per person from $50 per person for Foreign Non-Residents.
