Booking a gorilla permit in Uganda

Gorilla permits in Uganda are legal government documents/tickets issued and printed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) that allows tourists to access the Mountain gorillas in the national parks which are Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park to spend an hour with the gorillas in their habitat. The permits are booked with the Uganda Wildlife Authority through a trusted tour operator especially if you are a foreign non-resident. Foreign residents and citizens are the only ones allowed to book directly through the Uganda Wildlife Authority website because it can be tiresome for international tourists.

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Booking gorilla permits

When you start thinking about gorilla safaris in Uganda, the first step is to purchase a gorilla permit. The gorilla permit will give you opportunities to spend more time with the gorillas.

To be able to get a gorilla permit in Uganda, some steps have to be followed and these include:

• You have to give the tour operator the dates or the date you intend to go for gorilla trekking in Uganda. Tourists are free to make suggestions of the trekking dates just in case the first date suggested is already booked and reserved. You also have to scan and email a copy of the passport to your tour operator.
• Tourists have to provide their name, passport number and nationality. This is for clarification purposes when you are at the headquarters of the national park before joining in the briefing on the day of the briefing.
• The tour operator will then check for the availability of the gorilla permits on the dates provided. In case the dates are reserved, the tour operator will then provide the available dates, and you are free to choose from the provided dates. However, once the date is free, you should pay immediately so that the dates are not taken over by another person due to the high demand for gorilla permits.
• Payments are to be made through the bank, the bank details provided by the tour operator should not be of an individual but for the company and ensure that your bank deducts the bank charges to avoid low payments of the gorilla permit.
• When purchasing gorilla permits directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, especially for foreign residents and citizens, send the bank payment details directly via email.
• Note that there are tour operators that do not deal with transactions using credit cards, and you need to find out before any payments are made. When the dates you wish to track gorillas are available, the tour operator will reserve and purchase them on your behalf after confirmation of payment.
• A confirmation email will be sent to you with the reservation information and a scanned copy of the purchased gorilla permit will be sent in a few days or weeks. Upon arrival in Uganda, the original gorilla permit will be given to you by the driver guide for those who use tour operators and directly from the UWA if you are doing a solo trip.
• The permit will be taken by the park authorities after signing in at the park and these will be taken back to the UWA offices.
• The gorilla permit gives tourists an hour with the Mountain gorillas.

Gorilla permits come with a unique serial number and personal details and it is non-transferable. Upon arrival in Uganda, you will be requested to show identification forms, including your passport, when you make it to the park headquarters. 

When planning on booking the gorilla permit in Uganda, note that the permits in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are assigned according to the sectors and these are Buhoma, Rushaga, Nkuringo and Ruhija. Make sure that you are taken to the right sector that appears on your permit because the permit cannot be used in a different sector. You should also make sure that the accommodation booked is within the sector you have been assigned.

Why you should/need to book with a gorilla permit using a tour operator

Booking through a trusted tour operator comes with a lot of advantages and one of them is that the tour operators have local knowledge about the transportation system and accommodation categories in Uganda and they can purchase the permits directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority website and office. They will not only help you with the purchase of the permits, but they will also help you plan the entire gorilla trekking safari for you at a small service fee. If you plan on extending the safari to participate in other safari activities, the tour operators will help you with the bookings, accommodation and transport.

There are several tips that you should follow when purchasing a gorilla tracking permit in Uganda and these include:

• To be able to reserve gorilla trekking permits in Uganda, you need to specify the park in which you wish to visit gorilla trekking in the country. On the day of tracking, the park officials will assign gorilla families according to the park chosen and the sector.
• The gorilla families in Uganda, especially in Bwindi, are spread far and wide, so you need to book accommodation that is within the sector you have been assigned or less than an hour from the trailhead.
• All international tourists have to purchase gorilla permits through a registered tour operator and not directly from the UWA website.
• Tourists who are not 12 years and above will not be allowed to purchase permits because 12 is the minimum age for gorilla trekking.

Assigning gorilla families

Gorilla permits in Uganda are assigned on the day of the trek in the morning during the briefing and not before. When gorilla tracking just opened in Uganda, gorilla families were assigned before the trek day but this led to some of the gorilla families not being trekked to solve this issue, URA only issues permits with the sectors for trekking if you are tracking from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and families are equally assigned according to the sector assigned by the park authorities putting into consideration the age, physical fitness and health of the trekkers.

One of the most frequently asked questions about assigning gorillas is whether the trekkers have any say when it comes to assigning. The answer is no, tourists have no say in deciding which gorilla family to trek and this is left only to the park authorities. Note that only 8 people are allowed to trek a gorilla family per day, and therefore, permits have to be booked in advance to get better deals.

Gorilla permit cost in Uganda

A gorilla trekking permit in Bwindi and Mgahinga National Park cost is the same and is $800 for foreign non-residents, 300, 000 UGX for East African citizens and $700 for foreign residents. Gorilla trekking habituation permit is 750,000 UGX for East African citizens, $1500 for international toruists/foreign non-residents, and $1000 for foreign residents and African citizens from other African countries. Contact us for more information.

The cancellation policy of gorilla permits in Uganda and gorilla permit refunds

The cancellation policy is set by UWA, and no tour operator is in charge of the permit cancellation and refund. Before cancellation of the permit, you need to write a formal letter addressed to the Executive Director of UWA. Note that the cancellation is only possible if you have fully paid for the permit and some of the terms that are followed when refunding the permits include:

When you get sick have an accident/show signs of illnesses before the start of the trek. You have to provide evidence of the illness and accident to be able to get a cancellation and a 50% refund on the permit cost if you have fully paid for it. If you fall sick after getting into the country or on the morning of the trek, you will be referred to the nearest health facility, the permit will be canceled and a refund of 50% will be given.

Overpayments and double payments also warrant a refund, and upon a written request to the UWA with clear evidence, the client will receive a 100% refund of the total cost of the gorilla permit.

Failure to see gorillas on the trek day will also lead to a refund. However, you should note that trekkers not seeing gorillas on the trek day has never been experienced but in cases where you are not able to see gorillas, a reschedule will be made the following day if there is an available slot.

The cancellation policy in Uganda has a procedure that it follows and some conditions are not ignored these are:

• No refund is made when the cancellation is made 8 days before the trek date
• A 25% refund is made if the cancellation is done 9 to 45 days before the date for trekking.
• A 50% refund is made if the cancellation is made 46 to 90 days to or before the date for trekking.
• A 75% refund is made if the cancellation is made 91 days or more before the trek date.

What the gorilla permit covers and excludes

The gorilla permit in Uganda covers guide services, one hour with the Mountain gorillas, armed rangers and security. The gorilla permit, however, does not cover extra activities, accommodation and transport. After the purchase of the permits, you need to start planning for the safari accordingly, for example, booking transport and accommodation, among other services.

In conclusion, booking a gorilla permit in Uganda is easy and the best way you will be part of the gorilla trekking exercise. To ensure that the booking process goes on smoothly without trouble, contact Encounter Africa Safaris to deal with the whole process and for more information.

When to purchase gorilla permits in Uganda

Uganda gorilla permits need to be purchased in advance, that is, six months, sometimes even a year in advance, especially if you are traveling during the peak season from June to September. The earlier the permit is purchased, the more choices you have in getting the best deals when it comes to accommodation and the better chances you have in getting the desired dates.

Last-minute bookings may be possible, especially during the low season, but note that the availability of the permits is not guaranteed. This is because tourists book different days for gorilla trekking, and the permits are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Gorilla trekking experience

The gorilla trekking experience in Uganda is one of the best, starting with a briefing in the morning at the park headquarters of Bwindi and Mgahinga, depending on where you have been assigned to track gorillas. During the briefing, you will be subdivided into groups of 8, told the rules and guidelines that need to be followed during the trek, and the groups will be allocated a gorilla family, putting physical fitness and age into consideration. Gorilla trekking starts immediately after the briefing and depending on the location of the gorilla family and the speed used to trek, the tracking session can take 2 to 7 hours. Although Mountain gorillas are habituated, they are still wild animals, and they move from one place to the other, hunting for food. When trekking primates, you will also be able to see other primates, wild animals and bird species.

When to visit Uganda for gorilla trekking

Tracking gorillas in Uganda is done all year round in Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park though the best time is during the dry season (peak season) from June to September and December to February. During this period, there is little to no rainfall, the trek routes are easier to use and the gorillas are also easy to see during the dry season. Note that Uganda’s climate changes all the time so expect rainfall during the dry season as well. The rainy season is the best time to visit the national park especially if you are travelling to Uganda on a low budget.

For more information about booking gorilla permits in Uganda, get in touch with Encounter Africa Safaris to help you book the permit and plan your safari to Uganda.