Gorilla permit
A gorilla permit is more like the document one is issued with to be able to take part of the gorilla trekking experience. Gorilla trekking is a tourism activity where the guests get to enter a virgin forest in search of the mountain gorillas or the other gorilla sub species living in their natural and wild habitat. There are four sub species of the gorilla genus and these are the cross-river gorillas, the western lowland gorillas, the eastern lowland gorillas and the famous mountain gorillas.
These gorillas tend to prefer to live in the rain forests of the eastern and central Africa and in the mountainous areas of these forests for the mountain gorillas and the lowland areas for the lowland gorillas. These gorillas have been living in the wild since the earlier years and were recently an endangered animal species on the IUCN species list. There were previously about less than 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the world for example however conservation efforts were introduced and enforced in the homes of the mountain gorillas.
The latest census of the mountain gorillas was done in 2019 and there were about 1,063 mountain gorillas recorded upgrading this sub species from critically endangered to the endangered animal species. For a chance to get within 7 meters of these mountain gorillas and the other gorilla species, one will have to purchase a gorilla trekking permit.
The mountain gorillas are currently and only living in the Virunga conservation area covering the Virunga national park of the DR Congo, the Volcanoes national park of Rwanda and the Mgahinga gorilla national park of Uganda and also the Bwindi Impenetrable forest which doubles as the Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park. Each of these national parks is governed by the respective country authorities and these are the one that issue the gorilla trekking permit.
Gorillas live in families of about 3 individuals up to 30 individuals and each of these gorilla families are known to the park and a trekker can visit one of these gorilla families on a visit to any of the above mentioned parks. There are 12 habituated gorilla families in the Volcanoes national park, 8 habituated gorilla families in the Virunga national park, 1 habituated gorilla family in the Mgahinga gorilla national park and about 23 habituated gorilla families.
Each of these gorilla families can be visited by a maximum of 8 guests per day meaning there are 96 gorilla permits available on a daily for the Volcanoes national park, the 64 gorilla permits for the Virunga national park, 8 for the Mgahinga gorilla national park and 184 gorilla permits available on a daily for the Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
Despite these gorilla permits looking like they are many, they are quickly sold out especially in the peak season. The peak seasons for these mountain gorilla homes are usually the dry season months. This region has only two weather seasons and these are the dry season and the wet season.
The wet season runs from the months of March to May and again in October to mid-December and the dry season months are within June to September and late December to February. The dry season months welcome large numbers of visitors and this is why the gorilla permits are usually scarce and on high demand.
If you are looking at travelling during these months, it will be advisable to reach out and book your gorilla permits at least 3 months ahead of travel so as to not miss out on your preferred date of visit.
The gorilla permit of Rwanda is issued by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) which has an online platform called the Irembo where all the activities of the Volcanoes national park can be bought and cash at the park is not accepted. This mountain gorilla trekking permit can be purchased at 1,500 USD per permit per person.
The mountain gorilla permit of the Ugandan national parks is bought or booked from the Kampala office of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and cash on arrival at the park is strictly prohibited. This gorilla permit can be purchased at 700 USD per permit and there is a gorilla habituation permit where guests spend up to the whole day with the gorillas at 1,500 USD per permit. This gorilla habituation experience is only done in the Bwindi forest national park in the Rushaga sector.
The mountain gorilla permit for the Virunga national park can be purchased through the Virunga national permit. This permit is sold at 400 USD per permit however you will need to know that this permit is purchased with a fully inclusive safari package and cannot be sold as a single item. The Virunga national park organizes the transportation, accommodation and other logistics of all visitors and this is done as a security measure to monitor the guests and also be able to protect them all.
This gorilla permit can only be issued to individuals above the age of 15 years for all destinations and these are verified at the briefing held before the activity. There are some discounts on permits being run at the different national parks so be sure to check in if you qualify for any of the categories to get a discounted gorilla permit. If you fail to make it for your booked travel date, you or your tour operator can advise on the rescheduling process however you should note there is no refund for the permits bought from any of these destinations.
A trusted tour operator like Explore Rwanda tours can help you purchase any of the above mentioned mountain gorilla permits or even the lowland gorilla trekking permit of the Kahuzi Biega national park. Get in touch and let us organize the ideal gorilla trekking safari or book your gorilla trekking permit.
