What is the cost of seeing mountain gorillas in Bwindi? Seeing mountain gorillas in their natural habitats has always been a dream come true for a lot of travelers in different parts of the world. Mountain gorillas are a subspecies of eastern gorillas living in Uganda, DR Congo, and Rwanda. These gorillas are said to be close relatives to human beings with over 98% DNA similar to that of human beings. Because mountain gorillas are close relatives to human beings, thousands of travelers move to meet them in their natural habitat.
In Uganda, mountain gorillas are seen in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is the best place to see these mountain gorillas because of the high population. It’s said that this park hosts more than half of the mountain gorillas living in the world and has the highest number of mountain gorilla families.
Mountain gorillas live in three countries which are Uganda. Rwanda and DR Congo. Rwanda mountain gorillas are expensive to see, DR Congo mountain gorillas can’t be visited for safety reasons and because mountain gorillas of Uganda are safe and affordable to visit it has brought in a lot of travelers from across the globe to come see mountain gorillas.
The cost of seeing mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park usually depends on a number of factors among which include the cost of a gorilla trekking permit, number of travelers, type of accommodation, mode of transport used, meals and drinks to mention but a few. Below we look at different things that determine the cost of seeing mountain gorillas in Bwindi.
Things that determine the cost of seeing mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
The cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Bwindi
A normal gorilla trekking permit of Bwindi is a document that allows tourists to have a maximum of 1 hour with the mountain gorillas. With this type of permit, trekkers stay about 10 meters away from the mountain gorillas leaving them to carry out daily activities. A single gorilla trekking permit costs $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 for Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 citizens of East African member states.
The cost of a gorilla habituation permit in Bwindi?
Gorilla habituation permits are only sold in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park a place where tourists can have a maximum of 4 hours around the mountain gorillas making them get used to human presence around them. there are only four gorilla habituation permits in Bwindi and they cost $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East African member states.
The cost of accommodation in Bwindi
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has four gorilla sectors and each of these sectors has accommodation. The accommodation around Bwindi ranges from budget to mid-range to luxury options with where to stay depending on the travelers’ budget. The budget lodges range from 80usd to 150usd, mid-range ranges from $150 to 300usd and the luxury lodges start from $300 and above.
The cost of meals and drinks
On a gorilla safari to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, you need en route meals and drinking water throughout the safari. The lodges in the park do provide food but you need it along the way to and from the park. Bwindi is located about 9 to 10 hours from Kampala/Entebbe and tourists can always have stopovers in Mbarara on to Bwindi and the equator when they are from Bwindi.
The cost of transport
To move to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, you need road transport or air transport to access the park. The cost of transport to Bwindi depends on the mode used which can be road or air. Road transport is cheap and affordable to all kinds of travelers while air transport is only affordable to rich and luxury travelers. A safari to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park will be a bit expensive when tourists use air transport to access the park.
Number of travelers
The cost of seeing mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is also determined by the number of travelers on the safari. The more the tourists the lesser the money per person and the reverse is true. Tourists who travel as a group get to share the transport costs, guide fees, fuel fees, and also accommodation costs if they share rooms.