Gorilla trekking permit is a significant tool every trekker should have if he or she is to be allowed to trek mountain gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda or Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Gorilla permit at hand gets you opportunity to track only one habituated gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda or Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo.
When Should I Book Gorilla Permits?
When planning for gorilla trip to Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo, we advise that you do book for your gorilla permit as early as possible given the high demand. In Uganda, about 20 gorilla families have been habituated and can be tracked in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park which represents 160 gorilla permits. Each gorilla permit costs $600 per person whereas in Rwanda, 80 gorilla permits are available for booking with each costing $1500 per person per trek and DRC, there are 64 gorilla permits and each costs $450 per person.
To book a gorilla permit, you need to deal with trustworthy, recognized ground tour operator in Uganda or through a reservationist at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Send your email with dates you wish to track gorillas and we shall check the availability of gorilla permits for you as you sit back home. The dates you intend to track gorillas are available, we shall reserve a permit for you and you will be required to make a deposit.
For any plans to track gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda or DRC, you are advised to book your permit at least 3-6 months before embarking on actual trek but other visitors even book permits 2 years earlier. Booking a permit in advance comes with lots of benefits as it gets you out of the stressful moment to book a permit at last minute the fact that demand gorilla permits is high.
During the dry season also best known as high/peak season is the busiest period for all Uganda’s national parks and you really need to secure your permit earlier enough to avoid any kind of disappointment. The dry or peak season in Uganda starts in the months of June, July, August, September and December, January, February. But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t book permit early during the wet or rainy season which starts from the month of March, April, May and from October to November.
Booking your permit before the actual trek makes it easier to plan for other things including means of transportation to and fro the park, accommodation options to mention but a few.
Steps to Booking Gorilla Permits
Are you considering tracking the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. Well if you are then it’s always important to know what you will need to pay for before you embark on this life changing journey. Apart from securing a gorilla permit, it is advisable to book a fully inclusive Uganda safari that includes all the features of an all inclusive tour package i.e accommodation, transportation, guide fee that you will need; and an official gorilla permit handled by each of the national parks to see the gorillas. Usually you have to book your safari early enough in order to obtain these several months in advance. If you are going with a tour company it will be arranged for you.
In Uganda it costs US$700 per day per person for a gorilla permit throughout the year. there are no more discounts that were given on the permits in what was known as the low season during the months March – May and October – November. You can get the permits in Kampala (the capital of Uganda) at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) headquarters.
It is possible to make direct booking for permits using emailing Uganda Wildlife Authority(UWA). This is done through getting to the UWA website and click on the reservation forum as you put in your particular and make an inquiry about the gorilla permits. Though booking with directly with UWA is a bit complicated and serious work since sometimes the system is down and also does not support some modes of payment like the credit card system. The latter problem makes it less reliable yet the gorilla permits have to be reserved as soon as possible due to the high demand for them.
There is an easier and a more simple way to reserve the gorilla permits through using the tour operators which is normally called indirectly booking. This is the most popular method of booking gorilla permits since most of the would be gorilla trackers use it. The tourists normally inquire from a local tour operator like go gorilla trekking, gorilla expedition and many more who then get to Uganda Wildlife Authority reservation office and book the gorilla permits physically. usual the gorilla permit fees are paid at the exact date of booking or reserve it so the client has to send the money for the gorilla permits instantly.
The gorilla permits must also be booked in advance or an earlier date before the traveller’s dates of travel. it must be six months before if one is to track the gorillas in the months of june, july, august, September and October and December and January since these are the times where they are in high demand due to the high influx of tourists in Uganda. for the months of November, February, March April and may, one should book in three months time before traveling to Uganda.
For more information about gorilla treks, gorilla permits and planning a gorilla safari, visit www.gorillatrekkingguide.com, a guide dedicated to offering all the information you need to know about gorilla trekking in Africa.
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