How Early Should I Book A Gorilla Permit

Do I need to book a Uganda gorilla permit early and when? One of the frequently asked questions by visitors on a gorilla tour in Uganda or Rwanda is how early should I book a gorilla permit? Yes, a Uganda gorilla permit or Rwanda gorilla permit should be booked early or in advance due to many reasons.

How early should you book a gorilla permit? Visitors on gorilla safari are always advised to have their gorilla permits booked at least 2-6 months in advance before boarding the plane to Uganda, Rwanda, or Congo for actual gorilla trekking. There are many reasons why you should book your gorilla permit early but most importantly, to avoid last-minute stress or disappointment, high demand, especially during the peak season.

The peak months of the year characterized by high demand for gorilla permits run from June, July, August to September, and from December, January to February. Booking your gorilla permit 2-6 months early guarantees that you will be part of gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda.

The low season/months of the year begin from March to May, October to November and though they are low months or seasons, it still essential to have your gorilla permit secured early. Booking a gorilla permit in advance gives you room to plan a successful gorilla trip, have all that is needed, plan and budget for the accommodation to stay while on a gorilla tour.

Best places to visit for gorilla trekking

Gorilla trekking is best done in Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo- East Central Africa with 4 National Parks available for you to see mountain gorillas. Two National Parks in Uganda host about half of all the remaining 1063 mountain gorillas in the world and they include Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

A total of up to 21 habituated gorilla families are in Uganda, fully open for gorilla trekking- 20 of these are in Bwindi with only one in Mgahinga National Park. The two National Parks in Uganda each have gorilla trekking sectors, 4 in Bwindi including Buhoma, Nkuringo, Rushaga, and Ruhija then Mgahinga has Ntebeko.

Rwanda gorilla trekking- all gorilla tours in Rwanda are done in only Volcanoes National Park, a beautiful National Park set on the Northwestern side of the country. Volcanoes National Park is positioned in Ruhengeri and spans up to 160sq.km of land area, inhabiting up to 13 habituated gorilla families. From Kigali, Volcanoes NP is reachable within 2-3 hours’ drive and a 4×4 safari vehicle serves best for visitor navigation to and fro.

Virunga National Park is Africa’s 4^th magical gorilla trekking destination lying in the Eastern part of the D.R. Congo. Virunga was gazetted in 1925 and spans up to 7800sq.km, hosting up to 8 habituated gorilla families.

Gorilla permits- Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda

In Uganda, a total of 168 valid gorilla permits are available for booking- 160 for Bwindi and 8 for Mgahinga National Park. Each of the 168 gorilla permits in Uganda (Bwindi & Mgahinga) can be purchased at USD700 (for Foreign Non-Residents) and as Foreign Residents, you should prepare USD600 and citizens within East Africa 250,000.

Congo has all the Eastern gorilla species- mountain gorillas and eastern lowland gorillas and the gorilla permits cost the same. The Congo gorilla permits are open for reservation at USD450 per person per gorilla family.

The Rwanda gorilla permits cost 1500 dollars and they are obtainable via a reliable ground tour operator (Maranatha Tours and Travel) or directly via the Rwanda Development Board reservation team. Regardless of gorilla destination, to be considered eligible to book gorilla permits you should be 15 years and above.