The Uganda gorilla permit, from booking to the trailhead
Every gorilla trek in Uganda runs on a permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). It costs $800 for foreign non-residents and covers one trek with one family on one day. This page follows it from the booking to the morning briefing at the park office.
One permit, one family, one day
A gorilla permit is a ticket from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for a single trek. It is valid for one date and puts you in a group of at most eight visitors assigned to one habituated family.
Once the trackers and rangers find the gorillas, you get one hour with them. After that the group walks back, and the permit is used up, whether the family sat in the open or stayed half hidden in the leaves.
For foreign non-residents the permit costs $800. Foreign residents of Uganda and East African citizens pay lower rates, and the habituation experience in Bwindi needs its own permit at $1,500.
The permit does not decide how far the family has wandered or what the weather does. It buys the chance to visit, and with a habituated family that chance is very good, though no ranger can promise it.
Where the $800 goes
About 1,000 mountain gorillas live in the wild, in two small areas, the Virunga volcanoes and Bwindi. The fee pays for the rangers and trackers who follow each family every day, and for keeping the forests protected.
Part of the park revenue goes to the communities around the parks. The reasoning is that people living next to the forest should gain more from living gorillas than from clearing the land for farms.
The high price also keeps visitor numbers down. With a cap of eight people per family per day, fewer strangers pass through each family, and the risk of carrying a cold or flu to the gorillas stays smaller.
Who books it for you
Almost everyone gets a permit through a tour operator rather than directly. The operator asks for your passport details early and uses them to reserve a slot with the UWA for your date.
Check the name on the booking carefully. The permit carries the name from your passport, so a spelling slip or a swapped traveler can cause trouble at the briefing, and it is easier to fix weeks ahead than on the morning.
Four of our five tours include the permit in the price. Dav Safaris' three-day trip at ~$2,600 lists it among the inclusions, and so does Eco Adventure Safaris at ~$1,860.
On Adventure In The Wild Safari's five-day trip at ~$2,350, which adds Kibale, both the gorilla permit and the chimpanzee permit are in the price. That saves you two separate bookings with two different deadlines. Home To Africa's eight-day safari lists both permits among its inclusions too.
Kawira Safaris' day trip from Kigali at ~$400 works differently, because the $800 permit is extra on top of that fare, and so is the Uganda visa. One GetYourGuide reviewer says the operator got in touch after booking to process the permit.
For the eight-day safari by Home To Africa Tours and Travel at ~$3,429, the listing ticks the gorilla permit and a chimp tracking permit as included, so it compares directly with the 3-day and 5-day trips.
Let the operator handle the permit
Dav Safaris' three-day Bwindi trip has the $800 permit in the price and 5.0 from 200+ reviews on Viator. Send your passport details as soon as you book.
Book well ahead for the drier months
Each family takes at most eight visitors a day, so permits are limited. From June to August and from December to February, the drier periods, they sell out first, and a late booking may leave no date that fits your trip.
Secure the permit before your flights if you can. Our guide to when to trek weighs the drier months against the rains, when trails are muddier but dates are often easier to get.
When plans change
Refunds and date changes for a permit depend on UWA rules and on the operator who booked it. They are not the same thing as the tour's own cancellation terms, so ask both questions before you pay.
Dav Safaris' trip on Viator offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before, but read how that applies to the permit portion. The UWA sets the fees and the conditions, and both can change.
Illness is the other risk. Gorillas catch human colds and flu, and rangers can turn back a visitor who arrives sick, even with a paid permit. Our page on the trekking rules explains the reasons behind that.
Papers to carry on the day
Bring your passport to the early morning briefing at the park office, since the permit is issued in your name. On the Kigali day trip you need it at the border too, once on the way in and once on the way out.
Uganda also asks for a yellow fever vaccination certificate on entry. A single-entry visa costs $50, while the $100 East Africa Tourist Visa lets you move between Uganda and Rwanda (Kenya too). Check current entry rules before you travel.
Permit or package, where to start
If you want one booking that covers everything, pick a trip with the permit included and send your passport details early. If you start in Kigali, treat the day trip and the permit as one cost, as our price comparison does.
The permit does not choose an easy family for you, so read how hard the trek is before you commit $800 to one day. The Kigali day trip guide covers the border side of the permit.