How much is a gorilla permit in Uganda, and what does it include?

How much is a gorilla permit in Uganda, and what does it include? The gorilla permit cost in Uganda depends on what activity you hope to do, gorilla trekking, and gorilla habituation experience. For one hour, you meet a fully habituated gorilla family in a gorilla trekking adventure. Gorilla habituation experience, on the other hand, gives you a chance to meet a semi-habituated gorilla family and spend four hours with them.

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5 Day Gorilla Habituation & Chimps

The current cost of the Uganda gorilla permit is:

Uganda Gorilla trekking permit costs

$800 for foreign nonresidents 

$700 for foreign residents

300000shs for East Africans

Gorilla Habituation permit cost

$1500 for foreign nonresidents 

$1000 for foreign residents 

 750000shs for East African residents

What is included in the cost of a gorilla permit for Uganda?

The cost of gorilla permits for Uganda includes ranger guide fees, security, four hours of gorilla habituation experience and one hour of gorilla trekking, researcher fees during gorilla habituation experience, local community support, mountain gorilla conservation support, certificate, and others.

Exclusions in the cost of the gorilla permit cost

Transport, accommodation, porter hire, snacks, and other personal expenses.

Where to do Gorilla Safaris In Uganda?

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Locally, the word Bwindi means impenetrable; indeed, this double meaning is the description of this forest. Bwindi forest, which covers an area of about 327 square kilometers, is a biosphere reserve hosting about half the total number of mountain gorillas in the world. About 20 gorilla trekking families are residents of the Bwindi forest, and two gorilla habituation families are in this forest's southern sector.

Due to the vast size of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and several features that make it hard to traverse the forest, it was subdivided into four areas that are Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. When booking the gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, areas are used to make these bookings, and so is accommodation.

Mgahinga National Park

Mgahinga National Park may be the smallest national park in Uganda, but it is also home to the world's only mountain gorillas. This forested rainforest has so far one gorilla family called Nyakagezi, famous for its adventurous nature that made it hard to pre-book its gorilla permits. The Nyakagezi gorilla family used to wander into Rwanda but is currently settled in Uganda. Mgahinga National Park gorilla permits are currently available for pre-booking.

Three volcanoes influence the topography of Mgahinga National Park: Gahinga, Mountain Muhavura, and Mountain Sabyinyo.

A visit to the Batwa pygmies, whose life depended on providing the forest, is stunning.

When is the best time to book a Uganda Gorilla permit?

Booking the gorilla permits at least six months to a year in advance is safe, especially the high-season gorilla permits. Uganda's increased tourism season is usually June, July, August, September, December, and January. Searching for gorilla permit availability during the peak season is hectic, and they are more scarce at the last minute.

Although the low season, that is, March, April, May, and November, opens more chances to gorilla permit availability due to limited demand, it is only always guaranteed time. To be safe, you must have a confirmed gorilla permit before traveling to do a gorilla safari in Uganda. The gorilla permit is only secured with payment.

How Can I Book a Uganda Gorilla Permit?

Select a date when you hope to do a gorilla safari in Uganda. You may choose to do gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience. Identify the eligible people you are traveling with for the gorilla safari.

At Encounter Africa Safaris, we can assist you in booking the gorilla permit for Uganda as long as you present the above details. We can also book other Uganda safari logistics that can accompany your gorilla safaris, such as accommodation and transport; we hand-pick our driver guide to give you the best voyage experience.

When you inquire about your gorilla safari, our tour consultant checks availability from the Uganda Wildlife Authority list and gets back to you in the shortest time possible. Encounter Africa Safaris is one of the few companies accredited by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to check for availability from its permit list.

We advise clients to purchase their gorilla permits as soon as possible because their status changes at any time without warning. Since a first come, first served basis is used to buy the gorilla permits, no permit is reserved without payment.

Later, forward us details like your full name as presented on your passport or National identification card, date of birth, nationality, and other information for easy identification on the trek day. You may only attend the gorilla safari if your details match what is presented.

Can I Purchase Uganda Gorilla permits in Instalment?

Yes, Uganda Wildlife Authority accepts installment gorilla permit purchases if you buy the permit 90 days before gorilla safari day and remember to top it up before the 90 days to trekking day. Gorilla permits can be paid for in installments of 30% and 70%, respectively. Failure to top up your gorilla permit is re-opened to the public without refunding your deposit according to the installment gorilla permit policy of Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Fully pay for your gorilla permit to prevent forgetting to top it up.

Can I Receive A Refund on the Gorilla Permit for Uganda?

Every person who purchases a gorilla permit is expected to attend this adventure; however, due to unforeseen events, you may not be able to but may want a refund.

One who fails to report to the ranger station on gorilla trekking or habituation experience day without notifying the authorities responsible in advance gets no refund as this is a no-show.

When you fail to travel for gorilla trekking and notice this in advance, you can use your tour operator's assistance to help you request a gorilla permit refund, but you need some patience. The Uganda Wildlife Authority has a refund policy and protocol to follow before your money is re-embossed. 

Can I reschedule the gorilla permit for Uganda?

Uganda allows gorilla permit reschedule if you cannot travel by the pre-booked date but hope to attend the gorilla tour. To reschedule the Uganda gorilla permit, you can follow the below procedure:

Write to the Uganda Wildlife Authority reservation office requesting to reschedule the gorilla permit and state to which date. If you have evidence of why you cannot attend the gorilla safari, attach it too.

Upon approval of your request, your gorilla permit is moved to the new date according to the prevailing permit status.

The gorilla permit is only moved when fully paid for, and those purchased in installments must be topped up first. The gorilla permit must be moved to a date within the year under which the former dates were booked.

What is the Age Limit For A Gorilla safari in Uganda?

Twelve years and over is the age limit for a gorilla safari in Uganda from 15 years and over. This decline in the age limit was done by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to allow more children to attend this adventure. Children below 15 years may be unable to withstand the conditions in the wildness and sometimes the prolonged hours in the wilderness.

The topography of Bwindi and Mgahinga National Park is quite steep, so hiking is sometimes unavoidable, requiring one to bear some level of fitness that children below 15 years may not have.

What is the cost of A Uganda Gorilla safari?

The Uganda gorilla safari costs start with the gorilla permit costs, which cuts across all packages. At Encounter Africa Safaris, we package our gorilla safaris according to Luxury, Mid-range, and budget. 

When calculating a gorilla safari quotation, we consider some items like the number of people traveling, the number of days on a gorilla safari, other activities you combine with a gorilla safari, transport cost, accommodation type you book, and other safari logistics.

Is the cost of the Uganda gorilla safari worth the money?

Booking the gorilla permit is already satisfying, knowing that you can be just meters away from the only leftover mountain gorillas in the world. Gorilla permits are limited to 8 for gorilla trekking safari and 4 for gorilla habituation experience. This gives limited opportunities to those who have gorilla safaris on their bucket list.

You contribute to the mountain gorilla conservation fund when you purchase the gorilla permit. More funds are still required to support the sustainable existence of the mountain gorillas, so when you purchase the gorilla permit, a portion of the money you pay for the gorilla permit is for this noble cause.

The community around the gorilla safari destinations must be included in mountain gorilla conservation. Annually, the proceeds acquired from selling gorilla permits are shared with the local community to have them in the mountain gorilla conservation campaign. 

 When you purchase a porter during gorilla safari, you directly contribute to the livelihood of the local people, as most porters use the funds they collect to support their daily lives.

How Sure Can I Be To See The Mountain Gorillas On Uganda Safari?

Seeing the mountain gorillas is a sure safari, so expect to see the mountain gorillas in the wild. Most game safaris are a probability because wild animals cannot be prevented from moving freely in the wild. Unlike other wildlife safari, be sure to see the mountain gorillas at least 98% chance.

When mountain gorillas feed from one area, they stay there until food is exhausted and they must move. Each morning, a team of ranger guides follows the mountain gorilla families where they nest and state the possible day hangout spot.

Although each tourist team with the ranger guide follows the trailhead to where the mountain gorillas were last seen the previous day, they also use the early rangers' clues to trace them.

Tourists are asked to participate in finding the mountain gorillas by following clues like freshly fed on foliage, fresh dung, footprints, and so much more that rangers can do.

In case you fail to find the mountain gorillas, you are refunded 75% of your gorilla permit cost according to the refund policy of Uganda Wildlife Authority.

What are the dos and don'ts of Gorilla safari?

• Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas when you locate them. This is to prevent chances of passing an infection to these primates, as they are highly susceptible to infectious diseases like flu, cough, COVID-19, and others.
• If you are sick with a contagious infection, volunteer to stay behind so as not to pass it to the endangered mountain gorillas.
• If you want to eat or drink before the mountain gorillas, do it at least 300 meters away from them. They are wild animals that must search for their food.
• The age limit for gorilla safari is 15 years, and beyond this age, it was reduced from 15 years and over to give more children more chances to see the mountain gorillas. This is because the way to locate the mountain gorillas has rugged topography, which sometimes requires hiking to find them.
• Never go into the forest without an escorting ranger guide. Although the mountain gorillas are fully habituated to human presence, some forest dwellers are not and may be dangerous to you alone.
• When defecating, ask the ranger guide to dig a hole at least 30 centimeters deep and cover well beyond recognition.
• Stay in a tight group with the mountain gorillas because surrounding them may cause them to feel ambushed.
• Don't attempt to provoke the mountain gorillas because they are wild animals habituated to human presence. They still possess wild behaviors. 
• When taking photos, do it with a flash-less camera to not scare the mountain gorillas; they are often frightened by unfamiliar occurrences in their presence.
• When tracking the mountain gorillas, keep your voice low so as not to scare the mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers that may be interesting to add to your wildlife photo collection.
• Never dump garbage in the wilderness, as this alters the nature of the forest where mountain gorillas live.

Our safari team is ready to help you purchase your gorilla trekking permit in advance. Contact us for more information.