How To Book Mgahinga Gorilla Permits
How To Book Mgahinga Gorilla Permits
Booking gorilla permits for Mgahinga National park you must know the date when you hope to go gorilla trekking. Identify the number of people you home to travel with for gorilla trekking safari. Note that Mgahinga National park so far has one gorilla family called Nyakagezi. This gorilla family has a history of meandering into Rwanda.
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Some Brief details about Gorilla Trekking In Mgahinga National Park
Mgahinga National park is the smallest Uganda National Park covering about 33.7 square kilometers of land. This Park is one of the only mountain gorilla habitants in the world-neighbored by Virunga National Park in D.R.Congo and Volcanoes National Park on Rwanda.
Apart from the Nyakagezi gorilla family that traverses it environ, other primates like Golden monkeys, olive baboons, grey cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus, olive baboons, red tailed monkeys and others are residents here.
The topography of Mgahinga National Park is composed of three volcanoes that is Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Muhavura and Mountain Sabyinyo. On the slopes of these highland are distinctive undisturbed vegetation zones ranging from montane woodland, Ericaceous zone with giant tree heather and alpine zone with giant forms pf lobelia and groundsel.
The ever expanding list of birds in Mgahinga forests is making it a hot spot for uganda birding adventures. So far over 115 bird species have been confirmed by ornithologists to be living here including Albertine rift endemics. This list is expected to expand overtime as Mgahinga National park has been getting less attention from birders.
How To Book Mgahinga National Park Gorilla Permits
Procedure
Choose a date when you hope to go for gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park and the number of gorilla permits you wish to book. So far, this park has 8 gorilla permits open for public booking.
You can book the gorilla permit through an accredited Tour Operator like Encounter Africa Safaris or directly through Uganda wildlife Authority. With Uganda Wildlife Authority, you need to be patience when you calls, as the reservation phone lines are busy most of the times.
When you enquire from us, our reservation personnel checks availability from the Uganda Wildlife Authority gorilla permit list. Encounter Africa Safaris is one of the companies confirmed to get access to this list so making gorilla permit update quicker for our clients other than the past 24 hour turnaround time.
We advise our clients to purchase their gorilla trekking permits as soon as possible because first come first served basis is used to acquire them. Only maximum 8 gorilla permits are opened for public booking each day.
Forward some passport details later like your full names as indicated on the passport, nationality, date of birth, passport expiry date.
What is the cost of Gorilla Permit For Mgahinga National Park?
The cost of Uganda gorilla permit for Mgahinga National Park is currently $700 per person per trek for foreign nonresident, $600 for foreign residents and 250000shs for East African Residents
Each day only maximum 8 gorilla permits for Mgahinga National Park are opened for public booking. You can also do golden monkeys trekking in Mgahinga National Park. you need to book a golden monkeys trekking permit.
What is Included in The cost Of Mgahinga National Park?
The cost of gorilla permit includes park entrance fees, security during gorilla trekking, one hour with the mountain gorillas, mountain gorilla conservation support, local community support, ranger guide fee
When you purchase the gorillas permit you support sustainable existence of the mountain gorillas that were about to get into extinction by 1980s. American Primatologist Dian Fossey brought the plight of the mountain gorillas to world conservation recognition after she carried out a census, which resulted into a population of 250 mountain gorillas being counted then. As of today, over 1000 mountain gorillas are living in the Virunga area this achievement is awed to conservation efforts carried out.
What Is excluded in Cost of Gorilla Trekking Permit?
Porter cost, a porter is a person who can help carry your safari gears and give you a push during gorilla trekking where necessary. When you hire a porter, this is the most direct way to support the lives of the local people. The gorilla permits costs also excludes transport to the destination, tips, snacks, packed lunch and any other items of personal nature.
At Encounter Africa Safaris, we assist you put together your dream Africa gorilla safari and tailor an itinerary to soot your needs. We collaborate with a number of accommodation facilities that may provide some discounts where possible.
We pride in over 10 years experience in planning gorilla safaris and other uganda , Rwanda , Kenya safari activities that have worn us great review on travel forums like trip advisor, safari bookings and others.
Is the cost of gorilla permit worth?
The cost of the gorilla permit may be one of the expensive holiday tickets however each penny is worth. The mountain gorillas in the Virunga area are some of the leftover in the world that were at the rim of extinction by 1980s.
With the funds accumulated from the sell of the gorilla safaris, the population of mountain gorillas is currently over 1000 from about 250 mountain gorillas counted in 1980s by the Dian Fossey team.
20% of profits accumulated from your contribution through gorilla trekking per year is forwarded to the local community to help them run there projects like set health centers, road maintenance, improve schools. This is one way to bring the local community on mountain gorilla conservation board and reduce on the animosity that existed between humans and the mountain gorillas.
Can I purchase the gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga national Park in instalment?
Although full payment for the gorilla permits is the best idea, Uganda Wildlife Authority is accepts instalment permit purchase of 30% and 70 % respectively.
This however is only applicable to persons who purchase there gorilla permits before 90 days to the trekking date. You must top up before the 90 days to trekking date.
Failure to comply may attract a penalty.
Can The Gorilla Permit For Mgahinga Be Rescheduled ?
Every person would like to attend gorilla trekking tour once they book the gorilla permit however due to unforeseen circumstances this may not be possible. In case you hope to still do gorilla trekking in the future, you can reschedule the gorilla permit.
Procedure
Write to Uganda wildlife Authority stating that you would like to reschedule your gorilla permit. Include an attachment with some evidence of the reason why you wish to change your dates in case you have any. This acts as backup for request to reschedule your gorilla trekking permit.
Once approved, your gorilla permit is moved per your new date depending on the prevailing gorilla permit availability status.
Note
Uganda accepts free gorilla permit reschedule twice for the same permit. The executive director of Uganda wildlife Authority is the only one who can approve the thirds time. A penalty is given of 25 % in case you wish to reschedule the same gorilla permit the third time.
You need to top up your gorilla permit before it is moved for those that purchase them in instalment.
In case discounted gorilla permits are opened to the public, you can only reschedule the gorilla permit with in the discounted period. In case you wish to reschedule your discounted gorilla permit to a date beyond this period, you need to top up to a price applicable for that date.
How Long Is gorilla trekking In Mgahinga National Park?
The time taken to complete gorilla trekking is unknown because of the different factors that determine when to locate the mountain gorillas.
Some trekkers have see the mountain gorillas after two hours of starting the trek while other have spend over three quarters of the day.
Some of the factors that determine when to find the mountain gorillas include:
- The pace of the gorilla trekking group
When allocated to do gorilla trekking with a slow group, you may take long to locate the mountain gorillas and complete the adventure. Some level of fitness helps to move quickest during gorilla trekking. The range guide also follow the pace of the slowest trekker.
- Weather conditions prevailing during gorilla trekking
On a very wet day, the ground may be soggy and slippery in case it is the severe rainy season. They may delay your trekking time . Even the mountain gorillas love to feed on the slopes during the severe rain season. You may have to hike to where the mountain gorillas are.
- Family Feud amongst the mountain gorillas
When the mountain gorillas fight, the losers may be pushed into hiding. In case this is the family you are allocated to visit, locating them may seem futile. You may be allowed another gorilla family later or be refunded according to the refund policy of Uganda Wildlife Authority.
- Having an adventurous Dominant Silverback
When the dominant silverback has a hobby of being adventurous, the entire family follows him and so the trekkers may find it easy to difficult to locate such kind of gorilla family.
- Proximity of mountain gorilla food
Mountain gorillas feed from a particular area for a long time however when food is depleted, the dominant silver back has to seek new feeding grounds. This may take some time before they settle and so making the gorilla trekking time more challenging.
To succeed when doing gorilla trekking, you need to have some level of patience as this is the wilderness where animals are free access anywhere. This is not a zoo where you expect to find the gorillas in a particular location.
In order not to get bored, have an open mind and look out for other interesting features and wildlife in the forest like monkeys, butterflies, birds and others that this historic forest harbors.
Is Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National park Difficult?
The topography of Mgahinga National Park is generally steep with a backdrop of Mountains Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Muhavura and Mountain Sabyinyo where the mountain gorillas spend some of there time
During the severe rain season which is normally March, April, May and November, the trails may be slippery and have a lot of under growth that falls over. Even the rivers may over flow from the water that comes off the mountains. Chances of a boggy ground are high in the wet season.
You need to carry the right gorilla trekking gears like safari boots, rainproof gears, long trousers and long sleeved shirt and so much more.
In case you are an elder or you are physically impaired, you can hire a sedan chair service to help you with the gorilla trekking adventure in Mgahinga National Park
How Aggressive Are Mountain Gorillas?
At face value, the mountain gorillas look scaring because of there dark furred huge body structure and knuckle locomotion. They have sunken brown eyes that are shy when you look into them. In nature, the mountain gorillas are serene and shy.
No record of the mountain gorillas attacking humans has so far been recorded in the history of gorilla trekking. The mountain gorillas are habituated for some time like two years or more to human presence and opened to public viewing after a number of mocks visit are done.
What Are the Guidelines For Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park?
- Littering the forest during gorilla trekking is forbidden because this alters the nature of the forest where mountain gorillas live.
- Only an hour is allowed with the mountain gorillas when you locate them. They are habituated to be in the presence of humans for just that time so that they are left to go about there day today activities.
- Eating or smoking before the mountain gorillas is forbidden .Do this atleast 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 there 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 there 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 there presence.
- Even using flash photography is prohibited because the mountain gorillas may go into hiding because of unfamiliar light .
Contact us for more information.
