Gorilla Tracking Permits - Uganda & Rwanda

Permits - Important Information (read this entire section before making a reservation)

There has been some recent major changes in the price of gorilla permits and some of the accommodation. The price of a gorilla permit in Uganda has been increased to USD375 in July 2006. In Rwanda the price of a permit has been increased to USD500 in June 2007 partly due to the addition of VAT and to enable further improvements to be made by the Rwandan government in tourism services, park infrastructure and to undertake more community projects.

Over the last year there have been a number of changes in the gorilla families that are available for viewing in the Virunga mountains as some groups have disappeared as they have crossed into other countries or disintegrated or new groups have been formed! It is not easy keeping up with the regroupings but our current understanding is given below.

Uganda
In Uganda gorillas are seen in Bwindi and Mgahinga. Bwindi has four habituated families with 32 permits now available. The gorillas there live in thicker tropical forest and tracking is more challenging as the hillsides are steeper and it can take 3-10 hours. Three of the families (Mubare, Habinyanja, and Rushegura) are accessed from Buhoma in the north, staying at Bwindi Lodge. You can also go for nature walks to see birds, monkeys and orchids. The fourth family, in Nkuringo in Southern Bwindi, is accessed from Kisoro, staying at Mount Gahinga Lodge at Mgahinga. Access to the Nkuringo group is on a very steep trail. Mgahinga, in Uganda, is the best place to appreciate the unique Virunga volcanoes. The habituated family which used to reside at Mgahinga is no longer living there and is moving between Uganda, Rwanda and DRC and cannot currently be viewed. You can however climb a volcano or go for a nature walk, visit the endangered golden monkey or go birding in the unique Virunga volcanoes.

Rwanda
Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda currently has 7 groups and 56 permits available per day. PNV had five habituated gorilla families until now (Group 13, Sabinyo, Amahoro , Umubano, Susa;) A further 2 families are now available for viewing– Kwitonda which has crossed from Djomba in the DRC and Hirwa which has recently emerged from different habituated families. Most groups are half-day walks but Susa can take 5-7 hours. Tracking in PNV is usually easier than Bwindi as the afro-montane forest is lighter. You can also climb a volcano, visit the remains of Dian Fossey’ s grave and the graves of the gorillas which she studied and see the endangered golden monkey.

Applying for the Gorilla Tracking permit

The gorilla permit(s) must be applied for initially and it is the availability of these that is key to the whole trip. If the permits are not available your deposit is returned, if the permit(s) is / are available then we proceed with booking the rest of the services. The price we quote may include the cost of one permit, but you must decide if you want to apply for additional permits for other days. A permit covers one person only. You then need to pay a deposit of the estimated cost of the permit or permits, plus 30% extra to allow for possible changes in the price of the permit. The tour cost (excluding all permits) is fixed with the US Dollar as the base currency, but the permit cost can change with little or no notice, so you need to ensure we have more than the minimum in hand to purchase your permits.

Our agents in Uganda and Rwanda will purchase the permits for us and we need to provide them with the funds in advance, even though we can never be certain that permits are available. Even if we have established that permits are available before sending the deposit, the situation is totally fluid and we could easily find that there are no permits available within the space of 3 or 4 days whilst your deposit is on its way to Uganda / Rwanda. So please book well ahead to reduce the risk of missing out on permits.The gorilla permit(s) must be applied for initially and it is the availability of these that is key to the whole trip. If the permits are not available your deposit is returned, if the permit(s) is / are available then we proceed with booking the rest of the services. As far as our tour group is concerned there is space on the dates you want. The price we quote may include the cost of one permit, but you must decide if you want to apply for additional permits for other days. A permit covers one person only. You then need to pay a deposit of the estimated cost of the permit or permits, plus 30% extra to allow for possible changes in the price of the permit. The tour cost (excluding all permits) is fixed with the US Dollar as the base currency, but the permit cost can change with little or no notice, so you need to ensure we have more than the minimum in hand to purchase your permits.