How many gorilla permits are available in Bwindi a day?
How many gorilla permits are available in Bwindi a day? Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a gorilla trekking destination in the southwestern part of Uganda. It’s home to the highest number of mountain gorillas in the whole world living in the thick tropical rainforest. The park was gazette in 1993 by the Uganda Wildlife Authority a government to protect mountain gorillas which were endangered at the time.
Currently, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has the highest population of mountain gorillas in the whole world. Most of these mountain gorillas have been habituated and are used to human presence around them. The park has over 23 mountain gorilla families and these are visited by tourists that have valid gorilla permits.
How many mountain gorilla permits are in Bwindi on a day?
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has gorilla trekking permits and gorilla habituation permits. The fully habituated mountain gorillas that are trekked using gorilla trekking permits are currently 22 and they have a total number of 172 permits. Only one mountain gorilla family is semi-habituated and can be trekked by a maximum of 4 people which is 4 permits. The total number of permits in Bwindi on a day is 176 and these keep on changing because of the new families that are introduced.
What is the cost of a gorilla permit in Bwindi?
A gorilla trekking permit is one that comes with 1 hour around the mountain gorillas and it costs $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 citizens of East Africa member states. A gorilla habituation permit which comes with 4 hours around semi habituated mountain gorillas costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East African member states.
When to purchase gorilla permits for Bwindi?
Tourists are advised to book gorilla permits for Bwindi 3 to 4 months or even more before the visit date. For tourists who are interested in gorilla habituation, booking 6 months or even a year before is the best. Early gorilla permit booking is advised to avoid last-minute booking disappointments because these gorilla permits easily sell out.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has only 4 gorilla habituation permits a day because of the one semi-habituated mountain gorilla family available for visits. These gorilla permits easily sell out, especially during the high season. Gorilla trekking has 176 permits a day and in the dry season, these easily sell out due to the high number of people traveling at the time.
Tourists intending for a safari to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park to visit mountain gorillas need to know that the park is the most affordable place to watch these primates compared to Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda. Because of the cheap gorilla permits tourists end up visiting the [ark in large numbers and that is why the permits sell out quickly.
The gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi
To be part of the gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, tourists need to have a valid gorilla trekking permit issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. On the morning of trekking, all trekkers for the day must travel to the sector offices where they get briefed about the rules and regulations of trekking.
A maximum of 8 people is allowed to visit a mountain gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and the activity starts after the briefing. Armed ranger guides are assigned to lead the trekkers into the jungle where they start searching for where the mountain gorillas could be. The trekkers who have excess luggage are allowed to hire porters at a very affordable fee.
While in the jungle, trekkers use different trekking trails for 2 to 3 hours up to when they can locate the mountain gorilla family and be around the members for 1 hour. During the search process, trekkers are able to meet different attractions of the forest. The moment mountain gorillas are spotted, trekkers get 1 hour to be with the members.
Trekkers around mountain gorillas get an opportunity to learn about their behaviors and watch them carry out different activities like nesting, hunting, mating, breastfeeding, and playing among others. Tourists are always allowed to take photos and record videos while following rules and regulations.
When one hour around mountain gorillas is done trekkers are asked to move away from the mountain gorilla group and let the members continue with their day to day activities. As trekkers get out of the jungle, they get an opportunity to see different wildlife species of the park among which include mammals, primates, and birds.
The gorilla habituation experience
In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, gorilla habituation is currently carried out in the Rushaga Sector of the park. Only 4 people do the activity and they are first briefed in the morning by the armed ranger guides on what and not what to do. Just like gorilla trekking, trekkers use different trails they search for where the apes could be. Once spotted, trekkers are given 4 hours to be around them and make them get used to human presence around them.
