What is the price of Rwanda gorilla permits
What is the price of Rwanda gorilla permits?
The cost of Rwanda gorilla permits is $1500 for foreign nonresidents, $500 for foreign residents, and $200 for East African Citizens. The Rwanda Development Board is mandated to sell and regulate gorilla permits in Rwanda. Volcanoes National Park is the only home of the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, located in the country’s Northwestern part.
Rwanda currently has 12 gorilla families open for Tourism, and only eight gorilla permits per gorilla family are released per day per family as a conservation measure to reduce mass tourism effects. In addition, mountain gorillas are naturally vegetarian, so when many people are invited into the forest, they may trample on the vegetation.
Most Popular Safaris
3 day chimp habituation in Kibale
3 day fly in gorilla habituation
5 days chimp and gorilla habituation
3 days Rwanda gorilla tracking
4 days gorillas and golden monkeys
5 day Uganda gorillas and wildlife
5 day gorilla habituation and chimps
5 days gorillas and game safari
5 days gorilla trekking Rwanda
What Is a Gorilla Permit?
A gorilla permit is a document that allows you a chance to visit a habituated gorilla family in the world. You must purchase the gorilla permit before traveling to satisfy you while on the ground. The mountain gorilla permits the supply of mountain gorillas to be limited, yet demand is high. This creates a yearly deficit, which requires prior booking, especially in the peak seasons.
What Is Included In A Rwanda Gorilla Permit Cost Price?
The park fees
Every tourist on safari to the Rwanda National Park must pay this compulsory fee. The park fee is included in the price of the Rwanda gorilla permit. Park fees last 24 hours, so afterward, gorilla trekking in case you are staying within the park, you may be required to pay park fees.
This fee supports conservation funds for Rwanda Development Board and provides other park requirements.
Ranger Guide Fee
Rangers escort groups of tourists on every gorilla trekking adventure and give firsthand information about the life of the mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers. They put in a lot of time to collect this information and matter it off head.
If you appreciate their excellent work, you can give the rangers tips to encourage them to keep protecting the mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers. Tipping is not compulsory but just a token of appreciation.
Gorilla Conservation Fund
The mountain gorillas deserve to be conserved, which has been greatly done over the years. In the 1980s, the mountain gorilla census showed a population of about 250 mountain gorillas living then. The most recent mountain gorilla census shows that over 1000 mountain gorillas live in the entire world.
This is attributed to the conservation project that includes local and international gorilla conservation bodies. This work requires financial support, and one of the measures is selling the mountain gorilla permits.
Sometimes mountain gorillas need extra medical support from gorilla doctors, even if they are wild animals that must search for their treatment. Even random health checkup is done by the gorilla doctors to establish the health status of the mountain gorillas. The gorilla conservation fund of Rwanda funds some of this.
Security During Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking is a safari done in the forest, but every participant wants to feel secure. Therefore, the Rangers in Volcanoes National Park often patrol the gorilla families and their locations daily. This helps trace the mountain gorillas during gorilla trekking, and in case they stray into the farmlands of the local people, they can easily be driven back into the forest.
The rangers also collaborate with other Rwanda security agencies to keep law and order in and around Volcanoes National Park.
This creates confidence amongst potential tourists even after the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
One hour with the mountain gorillas
Mountain gorillas are habituated to being in the presence of humans for just one hour. This precious hour is a lifetime moment where you get to share part of the daily life of the mountain gorillas. You can take photos, watch them go about with their life, and return home with memories of your time with the mountain gorillas.
Only one hour is allowed when you locate the mountain gorillas during gorilla trekking, and you deserve to maximize every minute. Later you stealthily get away so that the gorillas are left to feed, groom their infants, and try to conceive, as humans’ presences disrupt their life a little.
What Is excluded In the Price of The Rwanda Gorilla Permit?
Transport to Volcanoes National Park, tipping, extra days in Volcanoes National Park, and other items of personal Nature.
How Can I Purchase The Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Permit?
Procedure
Have a date when you wish to do gorilla trekking in Rwanda and the number of people joining you. You can do double gorilla trekking or more, depending on your budget.
When you check with the Rwanda Development Board or send us an inquiry, our safari consultant fits availability from the gorilla permit listing of the Rwanda Development Board.
If there is availability, we request our clients purchase their permits as soon as possible because they are limited, yet demand is high. The peak season gorilla permits are highly demanded, so most tourists reserve theirs at least six months to a year in advance.
We require personal details like nationality, date of birth, passport expiry date, and full name as indicated on your passport.
These are used for Rwanda Development Board record purposes, and some are included on your certificate after completing the trek.
Can A Rwanda Gorilla permit Be Purchased In Instalments?
The Rwanda gorilla permit can be purchased in Instalments as long as you buy it 90 days before the trekking date. You can pay 30% of the total gorilla permit cost in Installments and 70% of the total gorilla permit cost.
You must remember to top-up before the 90 days to the date of trekking or stand to lose it.
Can I Reschedule A Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Permit?
Yes, the Rwanda gorilla permit can be rescheduled depending on the rescheduling policy given by the Rwanda Development Board.
You address an email to the Rwanda Development Board stating your reasons for wishing to reschedule your gorilla permit. State the date when you want to reschedule your gorilla trekking permit. Attach some evidence in case you have any to back this up.
Your permits are alter rescheduled, and in case you wish to reschedule the same licenses on another date again, expect a surcharge.
How difficult Is Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda?
Rwanda is a mountainous country, which is why it’s called a land of a thousand hills, so expect some hiking while in Volcanoes National Park. The mountain gorillas meander the slopes and valley of five of six renowned volcanoes. These mountains include Mountain Karisimbi, Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Bisoke, and Mountain Muhabura.
Some level of fitness is required before gorilla trekking to keep you energized before completing the trek. You do not need to be in the gym all the time but do some exercises that can stretch your muscles a little more.
Pack some energy bites to munch on because breakfast is too early to last the entire time before locating the mountain gorillas.
Do not dump garbage in the forest. That will alter the Nature of the ground where mountain gorilla food grows.
Is gorilla Trekking in Rwanda Safe?
As mentioned, gorilla trekking is safe in Rwanda, but ensure you also pay attention to personal security.
The ranger guides and other Rwanda security agencies collaborate to keep law and order in the Volcanoes area.
As a tourist, you must also be keen on personal security during gorilla trekking.
Staying closer to the people you are doing gorilla trekking with so you are remembered in the forest. The ranger guides follow the pace of the slowest trekker but stay within the rest of the group.
Avoid counting large sums of money in public, which would attract the wrong people.
Keep a watchful eye on your children during gorilla trekking. The age limit for gorilla trekking is 15 years or above, but in Rwanda, the adult age is 18 years and above.
How Long Is Gorilla Trekking In Rwanda?
The time of locating the Rwanda gorillas is still being determined because of their free movement in the forest. They are mobile primates that must search for their food. They live in families and occupy a particular area until they complete the food.
The gorilla trek may take 2 hours to more depending on the dominant factors in the forest, like proximity of their food, in case of a fight in the woods, the adventurous Nature of the mountain gorillas, and others.
Some level of patience is necessary during gorilla trekking and keep an open mind, too, during the search. Volcanoes National Park has other interesting forest dwellers like golden monkeys, black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, sparkling waterfalls, ancient trees, and so much more.
Which Is the Best Gorilla Family To Trek In Rwanda?
The feeling you get when standing before a gorilla family is unmatched and a life-changing experience no matter where you do gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation.
Rwanda has so far 12 gorilla families fully habituated and open for the public to book. Some of the Rwanda gorilla families include the Amahoro family, the Hirwa family, the Agasha family, the Sabyinyo family, the Muhoza family, and the Umubano family.
Selecting the best gorilla family to trek in Rwanda is challenging because each has different traits unless you visit each, which is quite expensive. Therefore, the best family for gorilla trekking depends on what you wish to see.
You may wish to see a gorilla family with many members, a huge dominant silverback, many infants, charming gorillas, and so much more. However, all these traits are distributed amongst different families, not in one gorilla family.
Are Mountain Gorillas dangerous?
Mountain gorillas are calm primates that are serene in Nature. However, their outlook is scary, with dark fur all over their body, sunken brown eyes, and move-by-knuckle locomotion.
In Nature, mountain gorillas are serene, and in the history of gorilla trekking, no attack on any tourists has ever been registered.
What Are the Rules Of Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda
- Littering in 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. This is because they are habituated to being in the presence of humans for just that time, so they are left to go about their daily activities.
- Eating or smoking before the mountain gorillas are forbidden. Please 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 food.
- Only children 15 and above can do gorilla trekking because of the Nature of the gorilla trekking environment. In addition, the time of locating the mountain gorillas is still being determined because of their movement.
- Spitting on the soil or vegetation may spread germs to mountain gorillas, which is forbidden. Mountain gorillas can easily catch human infectious diseases like covid-19, cough, flu, and cholera.
- If you have a contagious 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 are one of the preventive measures to prevent the spreading of the 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 the spreading of any infection.
- Loud noise is forbidden in the forest because this may scare the mountain gorillas. In addition, they are susceptible to unfamiliar noise in their presence.
- Even using flash photography is prohibited because the mountain gorillas may go into hiding because of unfamiliar light.
