Are You Allowed To See Mountain Gorillas In Rwanda Without A Gorilla Permit

You must have a gorilla trekking permit from Rwanda Development Board to be allowed into Volcanoes National Park. Having the gorilla permit is like an entry ticket into a movie theater. The number of gorilla trekking permits per gorilla family in Rwanda is a maximum of 8 per gorilla family. At the moment, Rwanda has 12 gorilla trekking families. Some of the gorilla families in Rwanda include Karisimbi, Kwitonda, Umubano, Amahoro, Agashya, Hirwa, Susa and others. 

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When you arrive at the ranger station ( ORTPN) of Volcanoes National Park, you present your gorilla permits and other necessary documents for verification before being allowed to do the gorilla trekking adventure.

After briefing at Volcanoes National Park, you are allocated gorilla families but the criteria used in gorilla family allocation varies. Sometimes gorilla families are allocated according to age range, physical capability, interests, and so much more. 

Each group of tourists on gorilla safari in Rwanda is allocated at least two ranger guides, one carrying a machete while another carries a rifle. The ranger guides carry a radio call to keep in constant communication with those on ground in case of an emergency.

Other than the gorilla permit, you need to book accommodation within or closer to Volcanoes National Park because you must report for briefing at Volcanoes National Park very early morning. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda starts as early as 0700hrs and is compulsory for all tourists. To get to the ORTPN in time, you need to spend the previous night within or closer to Volcanoes National Park.

When Is The Best Time To Book A Gorilla Trekking Permit For Mgahinga National Park?

It is best to book the gorilla trekking permit at least 180 days to a year in advance to the date of the gorilla safari. Since gorilla permits are limited to maximum 8 per gorilla family yet demand is high, this limited number makes it challenging to find gorilla permits availability at the last minute.

If you hope to do gorilla trekking in the peak season which is June to September and December to January, finding gorilla permits at the last minute is tough. Even the low season gorilla permits sometimes sell out so you need to reserve the gorilla permit upfront to the date of the adventure.

How to Book Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Permits?

Rwanda gorilla permits are sold daily, so you need to select a date or starting and ending time for your gorilla tour before enquiring about this adventure. Ease checking availability by stating the number of gorilla permits you wish to book.

When you contact us about your gorilla tour, our safari consultant checks availability from the list of Rwanda Development Board. Encounter Africa Safaris is one of the few companies with permission to the gorilla permits list.

Our tours consultant contacts you as soon as they find gorilla permit availability per your dates. We advise our clients to purchase their gorilla permits as soon as they can to avoid losing them. Booking Rwanda gorilla trekking permits is only possible when you purchase them. Gorilla permits are reserved with payment on a first come, first served basis, which is used to secure these permits.

You can pay for your gorilla permit in full or purchase the permit in installments of 30% and 70% as per the Rwanda Development Board policy.

For record keeping and identification purposes, you forward us some personal details to be added to your gorilla permits that is your full names, nationality, date of birth, passport expiry date.

Who is allowed to book A Rwanda Gorilla Trekking permit?

Gorilla trekking permits are open to anyone aged 15 years and over. The age limit for gorilla safaris is restricted to this age because of the nature of the topography of this area. Volcanoes National Park was affected by volcanic action resulting into the formation of ridges and plateaus covered by dense vegetation that have accumulated over so many years. While hiking to find the mountain gorillas, expect to climb some steep slopes where mountain gorillas feed, lounge or snap sometimes. Volcanoes National Park topography is influenced by five Virunga volcanoes that is Mountain Bisoke, Mountain Karisimbi, Mountain Muhavura, Mountain Gahinga and Mountain Sabyinyo. 

Sedan chair services during gorilla trekking are available to those who are physically incapacitated, but advance booking is required.

Gorilla trekking, you must abide by the rules of gorilla safari set by Rwanda Development Board but children below 15 years may only be in position to follow some of them. Even time of locating the mountain gorillas is hard to determine which requires some level of patience. Children below 15 years may only be in position to be patient once they find the mountain gorillas.

Which Is The Easiest Gorilla Trekking Family To Trek In Rwanda?

It is hard to determine the easiest gorilla family to trek in Rwanda from the 12 gorilla families living in Volcanoes National Park. All gorilla families in Rwanda are exciting to find because each possesses different qualities that make it unique. Some of the Rwanda gorilla families include Amahoro, Umubano, Kwitonda, Hirwa, Susa, Sabyinyo, Agashya, Muhoza, Karisimbi, and others.

The gorilla family that was closer the previous day may be the furthest the next day, depending on factors prevailing in the forest. Finding mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park depends on factors like location of the mountain gorilla feeding area, death of a family member, in case of family feud, adventurous nature of the gorilla family and much more.

Finding the gorilla families of Rwanda requires you to bear some level of fitness and patience. To keep the gorilla trekking candle burning open your mind to seeing other forest occupants like other primate species, butterflies, several bird species, sparkling water falls, mammals in the forest and so much more. This helps to pass time before finding the mountain gorillas.

Are Gorilla Safaris In Rwanda safe?

Gorilla safaris in Rwanda are safe since they are conducted by well trained Rwanda Development Board ranger guides with experience of how to do these safaris. They have accumulated better knowledge about the mountain gorillas and better information on dealing with these primates.

Every gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda is led by atleast two ranger guides carrying some protection gears like the rifle and machete. The ranger guides also carry a radio call to keep in constant communication with the security team on ground in case backup is needed.

How Much Is The Cost Of Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Permit?

The current cost of a Rwanda gorilla trekking permit is $1500 for international nonresidents, $500 for international Residents, and $200 for East Africans.

The cost of a Rwanda gorilla permit covers park entrance fees, ranger guide fees, security, mountain gorilla conservation, certificate, local community support, one hour with the mountain gorillas, government tax, and other personal expenses.

Exclusions in the cost of Rwanda gorilla permit include porter hire, accommodation and others personal expenses.

Is The Cost Of Rwanda Gorilla Permits Worth The Money?

The Rwanda gorilla permit cost is worth the money because you get a chance to be just a few meters from the mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas are some of the few survivors of the ice age period that affected Africa, where most forests in Africa disappeared during the arid conditions between 12000 and 18000 years ago.

When you purchase the gorilla permits, you also support the existence of these primates that were on the verge of extinction by the 1980s, according to the census carried out then. By then, about 250 mountain gorillas were living in the world. From the funds collected after selling gorilla permits and other sources, the current population of mountain gorillas is about 1000.

Can I Reschedule A Rwanda Gorilla Permit?

You can reschedule the Rwanda gorilla permits, but must be fully paid for. The Rwanda Development Board accepts gorilla [permits reschedule in case you are not in position to make on the scheduled date. The procedure for rescheduling Rwanda gorilla permits includes the following:

Write to Rwanda Development Board Reservation office requesting to reschedule the gorilla permit to a new date. State the date to which you wish to move your gorilla permit. You may state the reason why you wish to move your gorilla permit to back up your request.

When your request to reschedule the Rwanda gorilla permits is acknowledged, your permit is moved per your new date. However, this move is done according to the prevailing gorilla permit status. 

The Rwanda Development Board has a surcharge on the gorilla permit reschedule.

Why Hire A porter during Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda?

One of the ways to directly give back to the local community is by hiring a porter. Porters are local people from the community who help tourists carry their bags. Some of the porters are reformed poachers who now understand the purpose of having mountain gorillas in their midst. You can hire a porter at a friendly cost.

 The funds collected by the porters are used to support the running of their day-to-day lives. 

The community needs to constantly be sensitized about not encroaching on the mountain gorilla habitat and one cheapest way is using one of their own. When you hire a porter, they go back to tell the rest of the community members about the relevancy of the mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers in the community.

When you are very tired, the porter may give you a push so that you can carry on with your gorilla trek. 

Are Mountain Gorillas In Rwanda Aggressive?

Mountain gorillas are calm and serene primates in natures although on the outlook they look aggressive. They have dark furred bodies, huge in size and walk by knuckle style. At a glance, the mountain gorillas are scaring and intimidating however, they are cowards that run into hiding when agitated.

When you finally meet the mountain gorillas, they may look busy munching on foliage; however, be very careful with what you do because the mountain gorillas still keep a keen eye on you.

Although mountain gorillas are calm, they can charge too when provoked. They thump their chests hard, pull grass around them, walk on one leg, and much more drama. 

Do not panic when you witness such odd behavior, as sometimes it may not be ignited by you.

Please wait for the ranger guide to establish the root cause of the matter, as sometimes the mountain gorillas may try to tease their visitors, have hierarchy fights, or fight with another gorilla family and others. Watch out for the advice given by the ranger guide and follow because you have limited time with the mountain gorillas.

 What are the Rules Of Gorilla Safari in Rwanda?

• Eating or smoking before the mountain gorillas is forbidden. Do this at least 200 meters away from them so that they are not enticed to pull what you are eating from you. They are wild animals that must search for their own food.
• Only children 15 and above are allowed to do gorilla trekking because of the nature of the gorilla trekking environment. The time of locating the mountain gorillas is unknown because of their movement.
• Spitting on the soil or vegetation may spread germs to the mountain gorillas, so it is forbidden. Mountain gorillas can easily catch human infectious diseases like covid-19, cough, flu, cholera.
• In case you have a communicable infection, volunteer to stay behind and protect the mountain gorillas from such infectious diseases. The extent to which this disease may spread and kill the mountain gorillas is unknown.
• Wearing a clean mask before the mountain gorillas is one of the preventive measures adopted to prevent spreading covid-19 virus to the mountain gorillas and other germs.
• Keep a gap of at least 8 meters from the mountain gorillas when you locate them to prevent spreading any infection.
• Loud noise is forbidden in the forest because this may scare the mountain gorillas. They are very sensitive to unfamiliar noise in their presence. 
• Even using flash photography is prohibited because the mountain gorillas may go into hiding because of unfamiliar light.

Contact us for more information.