Gorilla permits in Bwindi national park are documents issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to allow tourists to engage in gorilla trekking or habituation. The permit prices are the same for the different sectors of Bwindi national park. Permits for gorilla trekking in Bwindi cost 700 USD for foreign nonresidents, 600 USD for foreign residents and 250,000 Uganda shillings for East Africans.
For gorilla habituation which is another activity which is done in Bwindi national park, a permit costs 1500 USD for foreign nonresidents, 1000 USD for foreign residents and 750,000 Uganda shillings for East Africans.
Licensed tour operators are authorized to book gorilla permits for clients to engage in gorilla trekking or habituation in Bwindi national park. Such tour operators are part of associations like the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO). It is much safer to book a gorilla permit with a licensed tour operator to avoid any discrepancies during a trip.
Advance booking of the gorilla permits in Bwindi national park is recommended. This is because gorilla permits are easily sold out especially during the dry season (June to October and also December to February). The dry season is also considered the best time for gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park. However even during the rainy season tourists can engage in gorilla trekking in Bwindi.
When booking a gorilla permit in Bwindi national park, some of the information that may be needed include a passport of the tourist which helps with records of the age, country of origin among others. It is for this reason that sharing passport information with the tour operator boking the gorilla tour is important.
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) also uses this information to know the statistics of tourists visiting Bwindi national park and also for marketing purposes and to create strategies to bring more tourists to Bwindi national park.
The tour guides who go with the clients for the gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi national park also use the information on the passport during pick up and also preparation for the tour by getting familiar with the type of client they will be guiding.
With the passport information provided, the tour operator is able to tell the age of the tourists and this can help with differentiating who will get a gorilla permit since people below the age of 15 years are not permitted to engage in gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park.
Another condition for gorilla permits in Bwindi national park is that the permit is valid for single use and is used for only one individual. Each permit is inclusive of guide fees, entrance fees for Bwindi national park and also community development fees.
Gorilla permits in Bwindi national park are issued for different sectors including Buhoma sector in the northern part of the park, Rushaga and Nkuringo in the southern part of the park and Ruhija sector in the eastern part of the park.
Each of the sectors of Bwindi national park have gorilla families and the sector with the biggest number of gorilla families is Rushaga. Rushaga is also popular during gorilla trekking in Bwindi.
Depending on the availability of gorilla permits in Bwindi national park, a tourist will be able to engage in gorilla trekking or habituation in a particular sector in Bwindi. This makes it easier and it is also flexible when booking permits since one sector may not have availability of gorilla permits and another may have the permits.
The accommodation where an individual will be staying during their gorilla trek in Bwindi national park is a key factor when booking the gorilla permits. This is because the sectors are far apart and staying in one sector ad trekking in another sector maybe difficult due to the distance.
When the gorilla permit has been purchased by the tour operator, the exciting adventure to Bwindi national park awaits. Bwindi national park is located in the south western part of Uganda and the drive from Kampala or Entebbe to the park takes about 8 to 9 hours.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park starts with a briefing at the park headquarters and each of the sectors have briefing points. This briefing starts as early as about 7:00 am and it is done by the park officials. Registration is also done at the park headquarters.
During the briefing on gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park, information about what to do and what to avoid doing when with the gorillas is communicated. Tour operators can also provide this information prior to the gorilla tour.
After the briefing on gorilla trekking, tourists are put in groups of 8 and assigned ranger guides to accompany them into Bwindi impenetrable forest for the search of the gorillas in the national park. This activity can take about 5 hours or longer depending on the location or last sighting of the gorillas.
Some gorilla families are however much easier to see during the gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi national park. While in the forest other primates can also be seen in the trees such as black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys among others. Different bird and butterfly species are also found in Bwindi forest.
One hour is spent with the gorillas during the gorilla trek in Bwindi national park while for gorilla habituation tourists spend 4 hours with the gorillas. During this time tourists can record videos and take photos of the gorillas and observe them.
After successfully engaging in the gorilla trekking or habituation experience in Bwindi national park, tourists are awarded certificates at the park headquarters. And after gorilla trekking tourist can engage in activities like community tours and interact with the local community.
The local community benefits in many ways from the purchase of the gorilla permits in Bwindi national park and the locals can be employed as guides, rangers, porters or work at the lodges around Bwindi national park.
Book your gorilla permit today with Elephant whispers safaris and enjoy spending time with the mountain gorillas of Uganda.