Gorilla permit rescheduling in Rwanda Vs Gorilla permit rescheduling in Uganda

What is gorilla trekking?

Gorilla trekking is a tourism activity in which individuals hike through the dense tropical rain forests of East and Central Africa in search of the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The gorilla trekking hike takes you from the levelled terrain of the park boundaries to the uneven rugged terrain of the tropical rain forests where the mountain gorillas live.

Gorilla trekking is done under the leadership and guidance of a park ranger who starts this journey with you at 8:00am in the morning taking you through the rules and guidelines for gorilla trek to ensure your own safety and that of these endangered species, and then guide you during the search for these gentle giants. As you hike through the forest, you will walk behind a scout creating temporary pathways for the group through the foliage. This movement is done following the guidance of trackers who leave early morning to go ahead of you to search for the mountain gorillas starting from where they had spent the previous night.

The hike to and from the gorillas usually takes between 2 to 6 hours and once you find the mountain gorillas, you are allowed up to 1 hour with them watching them go about their day today activities such as feeding, carrying their babies, females breastfeeding, napping, and the infants playing. After the 1 hour with the mountain gorillas, you return to the starting point and receive your certificates for a successful trek and it will mark the end of the activity.

While the entire activity is exciting, before you can get to this point, you must have a valid gorilla trekking permit.

What is a gorilla permit?

A gorilla permit is an official government issued ticket that allows an individual to trek and observe the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The cost of this gorilla permit varies for different trekking destinations.

In Rwanda, the gorilla permit costs USD 1500 for Foreign non-residents, USD 500 for Foreign residents and African citizens and USD 200 for East African citizens. The discounted prices for the foreign resident, African citizens and the East African citizens are strictly limited to the low season from the months of November to May.

In Uganda, the gorilla permit costs USD 800 for foreign residents, USD 700 for foreign residents, and UGX 300,000 for East African citizens during the peak season which are the months of December to February, and June to October. During the low season, these gorilla permits are discount to USD 600 for foreign non-residents, USD 500 for foreign residents.

Gorilla permits can be purchased directly from the responsible government office that is the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in Uganda and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in Rwanda.

Each gorilla permit allows you strictly a one-day access to one of the mountain gorilla families on the date and location specified on the gorilla permit with 1-hour in the presence of the mountain gorillas. This is a regulation put in place to protect these endangered species, and fund vital initiatives like anti-poaching patrols and community development projects.

After purchasing this gorilla permit, it is important to hold this trekking date and location. However, due to unforeseen circumstances such as political instabilities, work demands, family emergencies, flight cancellations, health issues, among others you may find the need to postpone or cancel your gorilla trek. Upon cancelation, there is no refund made for the gorilla permits therefore the best alternative would be postponing the trip and rescheduling the gorilla permits to a future date.

Rescheduling a gorilla permit to Rwanda

In Rwanda, a gorilla permit is sold at $1500 permit. A client is permitted to reschedule their permit/ticket only once. A reschedule will only be allowed if there is space available for the new specified date. During this reschedule, a fee of $300 is charged. It is important to properly confirm your new trekking dates before requesting the reschedule because this is the only time you will be allowed to reschedule the gorilla permit.

After this first reschedule, a second reschedule will not be accepted regardless of the circumstances. This leaves you with only one option which is forfeiting the rescheduled gorilla permits and purchasing new gorilla permits for your new preferred trekking date provided there is availability of gorilla permits for those dates.

While rescheduling the permit, the revised tracking dates for the rescheduled permits/tickets must not extend beyond twelve months from the original scheduled tracking date.

If the permit/ticket is rescheduled to a time when the price is higher, you will need to make an additional payment to compensate the price difference according to the current tariff.

Reschedule requests must be submitted at least seven days (7) days prior to the tracking date and will be considered and processed subject to space availability. If the number of days before the trekking date are less than seven, this will be considered late rescheduled and will not be allowed.

Purchased permits/tickets obtained through promotional offers and complimentary permits will not be eligible for rescheduling. Permit/ticket rescheduling is only allowed within the same conservation zones/location and for the same activity.

Permits and tickets will be forfeited if they are not utilized on the specified dates and at the designated location.

Rescheduling a gorilla permit in Uganda

Contrary to Rwanda, in Uganda a gorilla permit reschedule is permitted a maximum of two times and after the second reschedule, no more reschedule is allowed, regardless of the circumstances. A reschedule will only be allowed if there is space available for the specified location and date.

The first reschedule is made free of charge to any date and trekking sector of your choice, in the case of Bwindi Impenetrable national park provided its in the same trekking location depending on availability.

If a second reschedule is requested, a charge of 25% of the price of the permit/ticket will be applied, provided that there is availability on that date. In case of a second reschedule, the revised tracking dates for all initially rescheduled permits must not exceed twelve months from the original scheduled tracking date. The second reschedule is the last reschedule allowed and no refund will be allowed for a permit/ticket that has been rescheduled previously.

If the gorilla permit is rescheduled to a future date when the price is higher, you will need to make an additional payment to compensate the price difference according to the new tariff.

A request for the permit reschedule must be submitted at least fourteen (14) days or 2 weeks prior to the tracking date and is considered and processed subject to space availability. If the number of days is less than 14, a premium of 25% of the permit cost will be applied.

Gorilla permits obtained through promotional offers, and low season permits will not be eligible for rescheduling. If a permit is not used as per the trekking date and location, you automatically forfeit the permit.

Commission permits can be rescheduled to dates within one year from the quarter they were issued and all the other rescheduling guidelines will still apply, including an additional fee for second rescheduling and late reschedule.

It is important to note that gorilla permits can only be rescheduled within the same conservation zones/location and for the same activity.