Who sells gorilla permits for Bwindi?: A gorilla permit is a document that allows tourists to visit mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. Every tourist intending to visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park must have a gorilla trekking permit or a gorilla habituation permit. Bwindi is the best place to see mountain gorillas from for it has the highest number of gorillas and families that have been so far created.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a gorilla destination located in the southwestern part of Uganda. The park harbors the highest number of mountain gorillas in the world thus attracting the highest number of tourists interested in seeing these apes said to be close relatives to human beings. Tourists need a gorilla permit to see these apes and this article is to enable tourists to know who sells the permits.
Who sells the gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park?
There are tourists who could have been looking for who sell gorilla permits for Bwindi. Well, Uganda Wildlife Authority is the government agency that sells gorilla permits for Bwindi. The same agency is the one controlling and managing all Uganda national park activities including those of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
Uganda Wildlife Authority is located in Kamwokya, Kampala Uganda and that is the only place where tour operators can purchase the gorilla trekking permits. Tourists who do use tour companies for gorilla permit bookings can walk to UWA offices and local tour operators will be able to help them purchase the permits at a fee. Citizens of East African member states are allowed to purchase gorilla permits directly from UWA in case they are not traveling with a licensed local tour operator.
How to buy gorilla permits for Bwindi?
Tourists can buy gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park using licensed local tour operators. Apparently, only tour companies licensed by the Uganda Tourism Board are the only ones allowed to purchase gorilla permits from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. A tour operator is the only one who can help a traveler purchase a gorilla permit for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
When the tourists have confirmed their travel dates and have a well-designed itinerary, a licensed local tour operator will contact the Uganda Wildlife Authority for gorilla permit availability and in case the permits are available you will be asked to send money for the trip or gorilla permit in case you are doing the trip by yourself. The tour operator will visit UWA offices, pay your gorilla permits, and send you scanned copies.
When is the best time to buy gorilla permits for Bwindi?
The best time to buy gorilla permits for Bwindi would be 3 to 4 months in advance or even more. Tourists are allowed to buy gorilla permits a year before the gorilla trekking date and this is highly recommended in case one is willing to pay. Advance gorilla permit booking and payments are recommended to avoid last minute bookings.
When tourists book gorilla permits a year or 4 months before the gorilla trekking date, there are many gorilla permits still available in the park. Tourists are also able to find their favorite gorilla Gorilla trekking Bwindi sectors in Bwindi still having permits. For example, tourists who are interested in gorilla trekking in Nkuringo sector need to know only 3 gorilla families are available and just 24 trekking permits are available a day.
For gorilla habituation, tourists are advised to book 6 months or even more in advance simply because one semi-habituated gorilla family is found in the park. Gorilla habituation is done by only 4 people and a day and this means only 4 gorilla habituation permits are available for tourists to trek. Advanced gorilla habituation permit bookings will save tourists from last minute disappointments.
What is the cost of gorilla permits for Bwindi?
There are two kinds of gorilla permits in Bwindi the first one is the Gorilla trekking Bwindi permit which is used by tourists who want to visit the fully habituated mountain gorillas. The second type of gorilla permit is the habituation permit which is used by tourists who want to visit the semi-habituated mountain gorilla family. Each of the gorilla permits has their own price based on someone’s residence.
A gorilla trekking permit in Bwindi costs $800 for foreign nonresidents, $700 for foreign residents, $500 for Rest of Africa and UGX300,000 citizens of East African residents. A gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 for foreign residents, and UGX750,0000 citizens of East African Member states. A gorilla trekking permit comes with 1 hour while a gorilla habituation permit comes with 4 hours around mountain gorillas.