Getting a gorilla permit in Uganda
Getting a gorilla permit in Uganda is not very difficult as you have to follow some bit of criteria to make things easier for you to secure one.
Uganda has only two destinations for gorilla trekking namely Bwindi Impenetrable national park with 4 different gorilla trekking sectors and Mgahinga national with 1 trekking gorilla group. A gorilla permit is a card, similar to an ATM card issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to allow visitors access the mountain gorillas in any of the 2 gorilla trekking national parks and is valid for only one hour in the presence of the mountain gorillas. Getting a gorilla permit in Uganda can be done by buying them from Uganda Wildlife Authority head offices in Kampala city.
To book a gorilla tour, it’s a requirement to book this gorilla permit in advance & the recommended time is 5 months before your trekking date, thus the need for making payment of a gorilla permit in advance. This is because gorilla permits are very competitive and difficult to book most especially during the peak season in the months of January, February, June, July, August, and December. A Uganda gorilla permit costs 600 USD for foreign non-residents, 500 USD for foreign residents and 250,000 UGX for East African Citizens and is only valid for a single day for only a single person. As of 2017, discounted gorilla permits were banned and so throughout the year, gorilla permits are of the same cost unless the last years when the price of the gorilla permit was based on peak and low seasons.
Mgahinga national park has one gorilla trekking sector called the Nyakagezi sector with only one gorilla family while Bwindi Impenetrable national park has over 4 gorilla trekking sector given the fact that it has the highest number of gorillas in the whole world. These include; Buhoma sector in the northern part of the park, the Ruhija sector in the Eastern part of the park, the Rushaga sector and the Nkuringo sector in the southern part of the park, each of these sectors have more than 2 gorilla families eligible for trekking. Gorilla permits are allocated depending on availability in a given sector, so if a client is interested in a specific sector, prior communication is required. Each gorilla trekking sector has its own adventure experience as some are difficult to hike while others are not. Note that a gorilla group is only allocated on the day of trekking, so depending on your physical fitness upon request, you will be allocated accordingly.
For getting a gorilla permit in Uganda, contact your tour operator that is Achieve Global Safaris with your confirmed date and month, and we will let you know of availability. In cases of no availability, you will have to reschedule your gorilla trekking date or let your tour operator choose the available date to book your gorilla permit. Once your gorilla permits are confirmed, you are required to make immediate payment to purchase your gorilla permit. To help us process your permit, you are required to send your passport copy detailed needed by Uganda Wildlife Authority to print your gorilla permit.
