Gorilla Permits in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Gorilla Permits in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park : To see mountain gorillas in the wilderness of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, it is a requirement to have a valid gorilla permit, the permit gives you permission to do gorilla trekking and stay one hour in the presence of gorillas.

Gorilla Trekking is one of the most incredible wildlife encounters in the world on which visitors get a grand opportunity to see the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.

In the whole world, mountain gorilla trekking is done in only 3 countries that is Rwanda, Uganda and DR. Congo and in 4 gorilla destinations that is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable national park, Volcanoes National Park and Virunga National Park.

Price of a Gorilla Permit in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

In Uganda, gorilla Permits are issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority and currently, gorilla permits for Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is $ 700 per person.

Booking for a gorilla permit is a crucial park of your Uganda gorilla safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park which is one of the best places on the planet to see mountain gorillas, to book for a gorilla permit in Uganda you in the help of a local tour operator.

What is Included in the Gorilla Permit

Gorilla permits to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park guarantees to visitors to see or track mountain gorillas and observe them for 1 hour, with your permit you don’t need to pay entry fees for Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park permit fees also include the ranger or guides fees, while on mountain gorilla trekking it is mandatory to be escorted by armed rangers and guide while looking for mountain gorillas in the forests of Mgahinga.

Gorilla permits also include security as you are in the forest, the security is in form of UWA rangers that are armed and are tourism police.

Gorilla Permit excludes – transportation, meals and accommodation and any other extra activity. You can book all of this as part of our Uganda gorilla safari packages.  

Note: for any other activities in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, you will need to pay for park entrance fees separately.

How many Permits are Available in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to one habituated gorilla family by names of Nyakagezi Gorilla Family composed of 9 members, this means that each day there are only 8 permits available for trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

If you are interested in gorilla tracking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, you should book your gorilla permits within a time frame of at least three months in advance.

Also, it is important to first check for the availability due to their small number.

The Process of Booking a Gorilla Permit for Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

For a speedy reservation process for a gorilla permit to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, it is best to use a tour operator or safari company which makes the process easy.

Indeed, this process has been made very fast by the tour operators who operate within Uganda, when booking for a gorilla permit in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Here are the following steps to consider

• First of all, you will need to inform your tour operator about the dates for your tour. This will involve specifying the date for the gorilla trekking adventure and provide a copy of your passport.
• After submitting in your preferred dates, you will be informed about the dates which are readily available for gorilla trekking, your tour operator will temporarily book for you a gorilla permit. This is because, if they do not book it, you might miss out.
• The next step is payment, after agreeing on the fraction of the total amount of the safari to pay. Your tour operator will send you a payment method, there are two commonly used payment methods in Uganda by most tour operators is Bank Transfer and Online Payment by Pesa Pal. With the payment details, you will be able to transfer the money for the gorilla permits.
• An acknowledgement email will be sent to your email which will then enable you to transfer money. You should be in position to tell your bank to deduct the bank charges for the transaction from your account. In most cases, the park will not ask for any extra money to be paid the gorilla permits. Your tour consultant will inform you about any form of additional costs that will be incurred by you when acquiring the permit.
• With a copy of the passport which must be valid, you will be able to register for your gorilla permit.
• The names provided by you in your passport will be registered in the system then a gorilla permit will be acquired for you.

In Uganda, all the tour operators are under a joint organization called Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), any individual or tour company cannot help you acquire a gorilla permit for Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.