A gorilla trekking permit/ pass is a document or card that allows you to trek gorillas in a specified gorilla national park in Uganda. Unlike Rwanda, Uganda is gifted with two gorilla national parks; Mgahinga gorilla national park and Bwindi impenetrable national park. Therefore before, you have to choose between these two national parks.
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Uganda has three primate national parks; Bwindi, Kibale, and Mgahinga national parks. Of the three primate national parks, Mgahinga gorilla national park is the least visited. This is partly attributed to its bad history of people failing to spot gorillas during the early days of gorilla trekking in Mgahinga.
The story changed, Mgahinga now offers over 98% chances of seeing mountain gorillas on any given day. But as earlier stated, you need a gorilla trekking permit to trek gorillas in Mgahinga gorilla national park. So how do you attain that permit?
A few years ago, anyone could buy permits directly from Uganda wildlife Authority but the policy changed over time due to scammers masquerading as tour operators. In order to secure a gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga gorilla national park, you will have to consider the following three options:
Book Through A Lodge Or Tour Operator
Foreign none residents are not allowed to buy permits directly from Uganda wildlife Authority. They have to organize their permits through Uganda tourism Board licensed tour operators. These include tour companies and lodges.
If you are a foreign none resident, you will have to buy permits through a tour company or a lodge that has a license from the Uganda tourism board. However, if you are a foreign resident or an East African, you can buy the permit yourself directly from Uganda wildlife Authority.
The tour operator or the lodge will need a copy of your passport/ passport details, your preferred gorilla trekking date, and the permit money. Some operators charge $30 extra per gorilla permit while others do it free of charge. It all depends on their terms and conditions.
Unlike Bwindi impenetrable national park, Mgahinga has only one habituated gorilla family. This implies that all gorilla trekkers in Mgahinga national park meet the same gorilla family. This also means that the park has a maximum capacity of 8 gorilla permits in a day.
It is highly recommended to book Mgahinga permits at least three months in advance because they are relatively scarce.
How To Book Gorilla Permits For Bwindi Impenetrable National park
The Bwindi impenetrable national park has two major permit options; Gorilla habituation permits and gorilla trekking permits. Gorilla trekking permits grant you a maximum of 1 hour with the mountain gorillas while gorilla habituation permits grant you around 4 hours with the mountain gorillas undergoing habituation.
Booking Gorilla Permits For Bwindi
Bwindi gorilla trekking permits are booked the same way you book Mgahinga gorilla trekking permits but there is one major difference. The Bwindi impenetrable national park has four gorilla trekking sectors; Ruhija, Buhoma, Rushaga, and Nkuringo.
Each Bwindi gorilla trekking permit can only be used for the specific sector that was attached to the permit. For instance, you cannot track in the Ruhija sector using a Buhoma sector gorilla trekking permit. Therefore you have to be specific on which sector you desire to trek the gorillas.
In case you have no idea how to choose a gorilla trekking sector in Bwindi, check out our guide.
Once you have booked your gorilla trekking permit through a lodge or Uganda tourism board licensed tour operator, all you have to do is wait for your gorilla trekking date and show up for the gorilla trekking briefing at the sector indicated on your gorilla trekking permit.