With my $1500, should I go for gorilla trekking in Rwanda or gorilla habituation in Bwindi?

If I have $1500 for a permit, should I go for gorilla trekking in Rwanda or gorilla habituation in Bwindi? With economics facing some challenges and individuals being affected because of covid 19, one has to make sure that they made the right choices before spending so much on travel. As the world opens up, thanks to the availability of vaccines in many parts of America, Asia, and Europe, many travelers will look at getting the best out of any fee paid and also cutting all necessary expenditures if there is no value for money. Making the right choices and doing the right thing will save you a lot, most especially when planning or deciding of either going to Rwanda for gorilla trekking or Uganda for gorilla habituation experience.

Rwanda gorilla trekking versus Bwindi gorilla habituation experience

Gorilla trekking trips to Africa are some of the most expensive tourist activities and before booking anything, one needs to do enough research to ensure that he or she gets value for money and vital information to help in decision making since lots of monies will be involved. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi are some of the two gorilla safari activities that one could book while on safari in Africa but before one does that, he or she should consider the below.

Factors to consider when choosing between Rwanda gorilla trek and or Gorilla habituation experience.

• Price of Rwanda gorilla permit and Gorilla habituation compared
• Time spent with mountain gorillas
• Chances of seeing gorillas and total experience
• Maximum number of people per day
• Accessing Volcanoes National Park verses Bwindi impenetrable National Park
• About Gorilla Habituation experience
• About Mountain gorilla trekking in Rwanda

Price of Rwanda gorilla permit and Gorilla habituation compared.

To do any gorilla trekking activity in Uganda or Rwanda, you need a gorilla permit. A gorilla permit allows you or gives you authority to visit a given habituated gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park or Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Rwanda and Uganda, respectively.

A gorilla permit in Rwanda to see habituated mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park costs $1500 per person per trek and gives you only one hour with these great apes. Included in this price is a certificate after gorilla trekking, one hour with mountain gorillas, a guided walk by a well-trained ranger guide, park entry fees, and security while in the forest.

A gorilla habituation permit to see semi-habituated mountain gorillas in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park also costs $1500 per person per trek and allows you four hours with mountain gorillas under habituation. Included in a gorilla habituation permit price is four hours with gorillas, services of experts in making sure that wild gorillas get used to human beings, certificates, and park entry fees.

Having seen that the price for Rwanda gorilla permit and Gorilla habituation experience permit is the same, one now needs to know where to spend his money on. If you are a person who prefers spending more time with mountain gorillas in the wild, then go for gorilla habituation experience in Uganda since you will achieve this in one day cheaply. How cheap is this? Okay, let’s say you want to spend four hours with mountain gorillas in Rwanda. First, you will need 4 gorilla permits, each costing $1500 per hour per day. This, therefore, means that you will have to part with $6000 (4x$1500=$6000). On top of spending $6000 on gorilla permits, you will also have to spend longer in Volcanoes National Park, implying that expenditure on Accommodation (Lodging and Meals) will be high since you will need 6-7 days and 5-6 nights in Volcanoes National Park. This makes the whole exercise of trekking mountain gorillas in Rwanda way much expensive most especially if you want to spend more time with mountain gorillas.

If the same $6000 is spent on gorilla habituation experience in Uganda as is for Rwanda, one would get 16 hours with mountain gorillas in Bwindi, which is why so high and satisfying and the reverse is true.

On the basis of time spent with mountain gorillas, Uganda ranks very high as you spend less on accommodation and transport, yet get more hours with mountain gorillas that the same amount of money would not give you in Rwanda’s volcanoes National Park. So if you want more time with gorillas on a single permit, gorilla habituation experience scores more compared to Rwanda gorilla permit.

We can find here details of booking Uganda and Rwanda gorilla permits. here

Time spent with gorillas on a Rwanda trek or Gorilla habituation in Bwindi

The fundamental difference between gorilla habituation in Uganda and Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is time spent with mountain gorillas. While the price of a permit is the same ($1500), they limited the Volcanoes National Park gorilla trek to only one hour, while gorilla habituation experience at the same price of $1500 gives you up to four hours. Based on time spent with gorillas, Uganda remains unmatched. Find here sample gorilla habituation safaris and Rwanda gorilla trips.

What are the chances of seeing gorillas clearly? Uganda Verses Rwanda?

For chances of spotting mountain gorillas without hassle, Rwanda ranks number one in the entire world. There is no debate about this and thanks to the type of vegetation in Volcanoes National Park and the way mountain gorillas have been habituated. On a Rwanda gorilla trek, you have 99% chance of seeing mountain gorillas and getting clear pictures and videos.

Gorilla habituation experience will truly give you more hours but chances of seeing mountain gorillas are around 90%. This is because the families visited for this experience are semi-habituated and still undergoing the process of being used to the presence of human beings. Their behaviors may affect visibility. They may all of a sudden decide to move or hide and this may affect the way you photograph or take your videos. This, however, can be compensated by the number of hours at your disposal to keep trying so you get good shots. So definitely fully habituated mountain gorillas in Rwanda are more friendly than semi-habituated mountain gorillas for gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Number of people allowed per gorilla family

Only 8 people are allowed to visit a given habituated mountain gorilla family in volcanoes National Park but due to Covid 19, the government of Rwanda through Rwanda development Board decided to reduce the number of people visiting mountain gorilla families to 6. This is likely to change as soon as people get a vaccinated. Only 4 people are allowed to visit a gorilla family under habituation in Bwindi impenetrable National Park due to the fact that these gorillas are not yet fully used to humans and thus limiting numbers is necessary. This therefore means that if you are a bigger group and want to trek together, Rwanda gorilla trekking takes an upper hand compared to gorilla habituation experience in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Accessing Volcanoes National Park and Bwindi impenetrable National Park

While planning to do Rwanda gorilla trekking or Gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi, you need to consider the accessibility of these national parks. Volcanoes National Park is by far the most easily accessible gorilla national park in Africa. Volcanoes National Park is just a 2-3 hours drive from Kigali International Airport by road. This makes it one of the easily accessible National Park for gorilla trekking in Africa. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is on the other hand 9-11 hours drive from Entebbe International Airport by road. In fact, Bwindi impenetrable National Park is much closer to Rwanda’s Airport than it is to Entebbe International Airport, which is the main entry point for Uganda. For those who want to avoid the long drive, scheduled and charter flights from Entebbe International Airport to Kihihi or Kisoro Airstrip are available. These flights take one hour or so and you are in Bwindi impenetrable National Park.

A brief about mountain gorilla habituation experience tours in Bwindi

Have you ever wished to spend four hours with mountain gorillas in Africa? Gorilla habituation experience that gives you such an opportunity. To understand more about this experience, one needs to first know the meaning of gorilla habituation and later know how and why one should participate or book a holiday to spend four hours with mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park.

Mountain Gorilla habituation is a process where wild mountain gorillas are trained on a daily basis for two or more years to get used to the presence of human beings. A group of experts and a well-trained team of ranger guides, trackers, and Park staff does this.

Uganda introduced and initiated this challenging yet rewarding four-hour gorilla habituation experience to benefit those interested in spending more time with mountain gorillas and also get to take part in the actual process of habituation. While the normal one-hour gorilla trek involves a hike to find and photographing mountain gorillas for one hour, gorilla habituation on the other hand goes beyond observation and photography to other activities like making calls, collecting samples, testing, naming, imitating and so much more.

Unlike gorilla trekking, they limit gorilla habituation to only 4 people each, paying $1500 that includes services of trackers, rangers, and experts in gorilla habituation. This fee also includes park fees, security, and a certificate after your experience. To book your gorilla habituation permit, please send us dates and months to enable us to check availability. Once found, we will reserve your permits and invoice you for the amount ($1500) and thereafter pay and secure your permit. They issued these permits on first come first serve and speed is a matter of urgency since only 4x 2 permits are available daily.

If you interest yourself in one of our Tailored Gorilla habituation experience safaris, be prepared to drive or fly to the southern section of Bwindi impenetrable National Park since it is the region where gorilla habituation experience families are. You will either stay in Rushaga, Nkuringo, or Rubuguri where you will wake up very early in the morning to start your gorilla habituation experience.

Encounter Africa safaris will take care of all your requirements including booking gorilla habituation permits, accommodation as well as transport to and from the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. For more information about gorilla habituation please contact us.

A brief about Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Rwanda is the most known and advertised African country when it comes to gorilla trekking. You cannot talk about mountain gorillas without mentioning Rwanda. There are so many reasons Rwanda is a popular destination for gorilla trekking in Africa. One reason why Rwanda scores highly is that the country takes conservations of these endangered but popular apes seriously. During Covid 19 pandemic, Rwanda is the only country that reduced numbers from 8 to 6 people visiting a mountain gorilla family in order to reduce the chances of spreading the deadly covid 19 viruses.

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda offers an exceptional experience right from briefing where coffee and tea are served, cultural dances are performed before proceeding to the park for the actual gorilla trek. It is on record that Rwanda gorillas in Volcanoes National Park offer great opportunities to shoot nice videos and photos due to the fact that popular vegetation is bamboo giving you enough visibility compared to the dense tropical rainforests of Virunga and Bwindi in Congo and Uganda, respectively.

Rwanda is the most expensive destination for gorilla trekking in Africa with a gorilla permit currently trading at $1500 per person (this price can change anytime, please contact us). While Rwanda charges the highest fee for a gorilla permit, many people still yawn and book gorilla trips to Rwanda simply because the country has mastered the game of promoting their tourism, as seen by promotions run through Arsenal and PSG Football Clubs.

To do Rwanda gorilla trekking or Uganda gorilla habituation experience will depend on you after reading what we have compiled for you. Should you choose Rwanda safaris or Gorilla habituation experience holidays, Encounter Africa safaris will take care of everything.