Here, we comprehensively cover how you can secure a gorilla trekking permit for your gorilla safari in Uganda. Within Uganda, gorilla trekking is conducted in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. But because of the inconsistency of gorillas in Mgahinga, majority of the sold permits are for Bwindi.
In Uganda, each gorilla permit goes for US$ 700 for foreign non-residents, US$ 600 for foreign residents, and UGX 250,000 for East African residents. However, prices usually could down during low seasons between October to February.
On a single day, nearly 72 people travel to Bwindi to track mountain gorillas but only 8 people are allowed per one gorilla family. We strongly encourage you to book your gorilla permit in advance. We strongly caution you not to book for a gorilla family that is far away from your choice of accommodation!
The routes to Bwindi and its various regions are often tricky because the park is in a remote area. So, if you would like to trek gorillas on your own, so as to save costs, you might end up incurring more. Our safari guides have been trained to help you with this.
How tour operators can help you secure a gorilla trekking permit
Many tour operators normally add an extra fee of between US$ 60 to US$ 100 for each permit. However, most of them won’t charge you for purchasing a gorilla trekking permit in case you hire them for other tour services, such as transfers. But if you only want a gorilla permit then they will add that extra charge.
The process is more like the above, although the tour agencies normally speed up the reservation. Because of this you are likely to get confirmation for your gorilla permit faster.
- You inform them of the dates for your tour to Uganda and specify the date for trekking the gorillas
- They will inform you if your preferred dates are available for trekking and also temporarily book them.
- They will send you their bank details so that you can transfer the money for the gorilla permits or even pay by credit card.
- They will send you an acknowledgement email for the money transfer. Please remember to instruct your bank to deduct the bank charges for the transaction from your account. No extra charges for the gorilla permit in case you are reserving the rest of your tour through them.
- You will send a copy of your passport availing the details which will be used to register for your permit. Normally they need just your full names, nationality and the passport number.
- Your names will be registered and then we acquire the gorilla permit. On receiving the payment they will buy the gorilla permit and send you a confirmation.
Important Notices
It is important to note that tour operators in Uganda, through their joint organization of Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), can normally buy as much as 80% of the gorilla permits for a time of up to two years. Each of the member agencies can buy as many as 20 permits in a single month.
However, individuals as well as those not under AUTO can buy utmost two gorilla permits per month within the period of three months before the intended month of gorilla trekking. Reservations are usually open on working days from Monday to Friday.
Gorilla trekking permits that are not sold on opening of the booking days are usually resold the following day. This is without any limit put on the number of permits bought by a single operator or even an individual person.