Are you allowed to see mountain gorillas in Uganda without a gorilla permit 

No tourists are allowed to see mountain gorillas without a gorilla permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority. To regulate the effects of mass tourism on the mountain gorilla habitats and avoid overwhelming the mountain gorillas, the number of gorilla permits per family was restricted to a maximum of 8 per gorilla family. At the moment, Uganda has 194 gorilla trekking permits open to the public and 16 gorilla habituation permits.

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For gorilla safaris in Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park are the only destinations to book. Bwindi impenetrable National Park is vast so was divided into four areas for better administrative work that is Buhoma area in the North, Ruhija in the East, Nkuringo and Rushaga in the south.

When booking permits for gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you must note the area under which it is booked of the four. This influences where to book accommodation to use during the gorilla safari. lt is best to book accommodation closer to the area where your Bwindi permits is booked to avoid having to rise up early to drive to the briefing point.

On gorilla safari day, tourists present their gorilla permits and other related documents for verification purposes. These documents are what is used to identify tourists of the day as the gorilla permit card is swiped through a card reader to retrieve information about you from the dark strip behind the permit card.

No Uganda gorilla permit is secured without payments and even that paid for installment must be topped up as per the policy of Uganda Wildlife Authority so as not to loose it. The demand for Uganda gorilla permits is over the top especially during the high season so you need to book one in advance.

How To Book Uganda Gorilla Safari Permits

Identify whether to do gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience. Gorilla trekking adventure is a safari where maximum 8 tourists follow and stay for an hour with a fully habituated gorilla family. Gorilla habituation experience tour maximum 4 tourists accompany a team of researchers to have four hours with a semi-habituated gorilla family.

Choose a date for your gorilla tour or time of starting and ending your gorilla safari before checking for gorilla permit availability. In case you have company, note the number of people eligible for gorilla tours. This is to avoid having to move back and forth with checking availability.

Check for gorilla permit availability from Uganda Wildlife Authority if you are doing it yourself or contact a tour operator. At Encounter Africa Safaris, we do assist our clients to book gorilla permits and other related logistics. 

When you contact us, our tour consultant checks availability from the Uganda Wildlife Authority list. Upon finding the gorilla permits per your dates of preference, we get back to you as soon as possible. This is because the status of the gorilla permit availability changes anytime without warning.

We advise clients to purchase gorilla permits as soon as possible because they sell out fast and first come first served basis is used. No gorilla permits are reserved without payment.

 Avail some personal details to be added to your gorilla permit that is your full names, nationality, date fo birth, passport expiry date as these are used for identification purposes.

What is the cost of Uganda Gorilla permits?

The cost of Uganda gorilla permits valid till 30th June 2024 is $700 for foreign nonresidents, $600 for international residents and 250000shs for East Africans. 

 As per Uganda Wildlife Authority notice, from 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2026, the cost of Uganda gorilla permits is expected to be $800 for international nonresidents, $700 for international residents, $500 for other African residents and 300000shs for East Africans.

At the moment the cost of Gorilla habituation experience permits is $1500 for international nonresidents, $1000 for foreign residents, $1000 for other African residents and 750000shs for East Africans.

What is included in the cost of a gorilla permit?

The cost of Uganda gorilla permit covers park entrance fees, ranger guide fees, mountain gorilla conservation support, local community care, one hour of gorilla trekking or four hours of gorilla habituation experience. Researcher fee during gorilla habituation experience.

What is excluded in the cost of a Uganda gorilla permit?

Park lunch, drinking water, snacks, and other personal expenses.

Is the cost of the Uganda Gorilla permits worth the money?

Purchasing the gorilla permits is worth your money and time. Gorilla trekking or habituation experience is the only opportunity that gets you closer to the few mountain gorillas living in the world. This is one of the safaris on the bucket list of most adventure travelers but are limited by the maximum number of gorilla permits open to the public.

Mountain gorillas can only survive in the Virunga area which is their natural habitat so do not expect to find them anywhere else in the world not even a zoo. Mountain gorillas depict the human image, which is full of innocence. The mountain gorilla traits are similar to humans because they have about 96% human DNA. They mirror the image of humans, and it is very easy to fall in love with these mountain gorillas.

Gorilla trekking is one of the safari activities where you get to share a walk with strangers from all walks of life and doesn’t discriminate which safari package you travel.

A porting of the money collected from the sale of gorilla permits is used to support mountain gorilla conservation. The mountain gorillas are endangered primates that still require more funds to support their conservation. 

When you hire a porter to carry your gorilla safari gear, you contribute to their livelihood. Porters are locals; some are reformed poachers who have resorted to better ways to earn from the mountain gorillas and their habitat. This is one of the ways to get the community to understand the reasons for conserving the mountain gorillas and their habitats.

The mountain gorillas to be conserved the local community needs to be sensetised to a process that takes so much time and money.

Can I Reschedule Uganda Gorilla Permits?

Uganda wildlife Authority accepts gorilla permit reschedule as long as you follow the below procedure. In case you may not be in position to do the gorilla tour as per the time it was booked but hope to travel for this adventure in the future.

Address a letter to reservation office requesting to reschedule your gorilla permit to a new date. State the reason why you may be unable to honor the initial booked gorilla safari date to back up your request.

In case you have evidence attach it too so as to back up your request.

Your gorilla permit is rescheduled to the new date as promised but this is according to the prevailing permit availability status.

To move your Uganda gorilla permit, it must be fully paid for and can only be moved to a date within the year under which it was booked.

When Is The Best Time For Booking Uganda Gorilla Permits?

Booking the Uganda gorilla permits in advance is the best choice because no matter the season, gorilla permits sell out. The Peak Uganda tourism season has a high demand for gorilla permits is June, July, August, September, December, and January.

Because of the limited number of Uganda gorilla permits opened to the public per day that is maximum 8 per gorilla family, chances of finding gorilla permit availability at the last minute. To be on a safe side, you need to purchase your gorilla permits atleast 6 months to a year in advance.

In Uganda, since the area of Bwindi Forest your gorilla permit is booked influence the area where to book your gorilla safari accommodation, even where to sleep must be booked in advance. Spending the night within or closer to the area where your gorilla permits for Bwindi forest are booked saves you from having to wake up early in the morning to catch up with the briefing time.

What Accommodation To Book For Gorilla Safari In Uganda?

Uganda gorilla safari accommodations are categorised into high-end, mid-range and basic. In case your gorilla permit is booked in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, it is booked according to the four areas in this park. Bwindi forest is divided into Buhoma in the North, Ruhija in the East, Nkuringo and Rushaga in the south.

Since briefing for gorilla safari in Bwindi forest is done early morning, it is best to reserve accommodation closer or within the area where your gorilla permit is booked. In case you spend the night before the gorilla tour in another area of Bwindi, you may have to drive in the dark to catch up with the brief. When connecting from one area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to another you may encounter obstacles like a tree blocking the road, slippery roads, poor visibility and much more.

• Bwindi accommodations: Clouds Lodge, Gorilla Forest Camp, Gorilla Safari Lodge, Nshongi Lodge, Ruhija Gorilla Lodge, Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge, Silverback Lodge, Bwindi View Bandas, Bwindi Backpackers’ Camp, and others.
• Mgahinga accommodations: Mgahinga gorilla Triangle, Majambere Iwachu, Community Camp, Mountain Gahinga Lodge, Mutanda Lake Resort

How Long Is Gorilla Safari in Uganda?

The duration of the gorilla safari in Uganda varies with the factors prevailing in the forest. Some tourists have spotted the mountain gorillas after two hours of starting the search, while others have spent more time. Finding the mountain gorillas requires one to bear some level of patience.

Some of the factors that may determine when to find the mountain gorillas include proximity of the mountain gorilla feeding location, weather conditions prevailing in the day, death of a gorilla family member, pace of fellow tourists and much more.

In order not to get bored, look out for other forest dwellers like other primates, birds, different tree species, sparkling water falls and dense network of rivers.

When you finally find the mountain gorillas, only one hour is allowed with them during gorilla trekking and four hours during gorilla habituation experience.

Gorilla tours are once in a lifetime experience so in order not to get bored and tired, keep a positive mind so that by the time you locate the mountain gorillas you still have the excitement as the time you booked the gorilla permit.

What Is The Packing List For Gorilla Safari In Uganda?

• Some hard cash in case you need to make on-ground purchases.
• Extract fully charged batteries to exchange with if one runs low
• Garden gloves to cover your hands in case you need to secure a tighter grip.
• Safari Boots that can withstand water logged conditions in the forest in case the rivers over flow.
• A foldable safari hat with a large brim that can protect your hair from water dripping off the tree leaves
• Safari long shirt and trousers that can withstand forest conditions. They must be in colors like Tan or Khaki to camouflage dirt.
• Travel adapter and charger in case you need to recharge your electronic gadget 
• A raincoat in case it fall while in the jungle as this area is known to receive down pours any time without warning.
• First Aid kit with emergency items, especially if you have a non-communicable infection that may require urgent medical care.
• Medicated Insect repellent to keep away stinging insects in the wilderness
• A camera to capture highlights of the gorilla trekking tour for memories of your safari.
• A pair of binoculars to bring close the far-ranging items of your interest
• Toiletries, especially if your skin is sensitive to certain types of body chemicals.
• Bug spray in case your lodge has some of these bugs.
• Energy bites to snack on when hungry and keep you going.
•  Shoe bag to keep in your dirty shoes especially when you get no time of cleaning them up after the trek.
• A pair of stockings to tack in your trousers so that insects do not creep in to harm your body.

Contact us for more information.