Sometimes gorilla permits remain unsold both in Uganda and Rwanda. Uganda Wildlife Authority is responsible for the issuing of gorilla permits for both two national parks of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Uganda has got more than half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas that reside in the Impenetrable forest of Bwindi and Mgahinga. Mgahinga is located in southwestern Uganda and it also forms one of the blocks of Vurungas conservation areas that takes Rwanda volcanoes and Congo’s Virunga Mountains. The Rwanda Development Board is in charge of gorilla permits for Volcanoes National Park. Yes, gorilla permits are responsible for one to trek the mountain gorillas in both Uganda and Rwanda however there is a need for one to book early the mountain gorilla trekking permits to avoid shortage or not to miss out on the gorilla trekking activity.

Important information about gorilla permits

Here let’s first look at what a gorilla permit is what is included in a gorilla permit, how much does it cost and possibly how many permits are available on daily basis in both Uganda and Rwanda. A gorilla permit is card or document that is issued by UWA or Rwanda Tourism Board and it allows one to see a gorilla for only one hour. The gorilla permits in Uganda costs $700 and $1500 in Rwanda.  In Uganda, there is also the gorilla habituation experience permit that costs$1500 and this allows you to see gorillas that are under habituation for 4 hours. According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga and Bwindi includes the gorilla viewing, park entrance fees as well as the fees of the guided and the trackers. Part of the money you pay for gorilla trekking permits in Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is used to conserve the environment and is sheered to the communities around these parks and the rest goes to the UWA staff as salaries as well as infrastructure development with in the Park. The gorilla permits guarantee you to see the gorillas in the wildness and the chances of seeing these gorilla parks are over 98% since the activity is well organized and in case you fail to see the gorillas, the UWA gorilla cancellation policy comes into play. Rwanda has got only 109 habituated Mountain gorillas that are open and are available for research which means that there about 80 gorilla permits in Volcanoes National Park while Uganda has got over 19 gorilla habituated families which mean that there are about 152 gorilla permits available in Uganda per day per trek and therefore one is advised to book his or her gorilla trekking permit in advance to avoid losing out on this wonderful activity. Although gorilla trekking has been identified as one of the most highlighted gorilla trekking activity in Uganda and Rwanda, reports indicate that their gorilla permits that remain unsold and different reasons have been attributed to this which among others include the following;

Cause of Unsold gorilla permits in Uganda

There are always some unsold gorilla trekking permits by Uganda Wildlife Authority and this can be explained by different reasons which include the following.

One of the reasons why there are unsold gorilla trekking permits is the seasonality of the gorilla trekking activity. Uganda has 19 habituated gorilla families and each gorilla family is supposed to be vised by a group of 8 people. This means that about 152 gorilla permits are available daily for gorilla trekking in Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and indicated that about 152 people can trek every day.

The situation comes when some of the gorilla permits are unsold because people tend to prefer traveling in given months or seasons. most of the unsold gorilla permits are registered during the march to May and October to November because this is the period when are heavy rains and people don’t travel a lot because the ground tends to be slippery.  So here you find that out of 152 gorilla permits more than half of them are unbooked during the wet season. However, sometimes this permit tends to sell quickly as most of the travelers rush to travel during the dry season. Below are the reasons for unsold gorilla permits in Uganda and Rwanda;

Increment in the price of Rwanda gorilla permits

Rwanda used to be one of the leading destinations for gorilla trekking in the whole world and sometimes it would be hard to get a gorilla permit because of the high demand. However, due to the increase of gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda from $750 to $1500, most of the tourists have left with no option but rather to look for cheaper and affordable destinations with gorilla permits.it is indicated that the turn up for people doing gorilla trekking in volcano is low and that there are several unsold tickets due to increment in gorilla trekking prices.

Cheaper gorilla permit prices in Uganda and DR. Congo

Unsold gorilla permits in Rwanda are also partly explained by the lower prices of gorilla permits in Uganda and the democratic republic of Congo. For Uganda, the price of a gorilla permit is 700 United States dollars and $400 for the Democratic Republic of Congo. This means that tourists are now looking for these lower price permit alternatives and avoid paying heavily in Rwanda. More tourists now even fly to Kigali and then go to Bwindi and Mgahinga for gorilla trekking to reduce the drive time from Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. People /tourists are free to move from Rwanda to Uganda for gorilla trekking provided they possess the East African tourist visa that can be got online or on the arrival of each African country. The cost of the East African Tourist Visa is $100.

Impact of gorilla habituation experience in Rushaga

While we are relating to Rwanda unsold gorilla permits to cheaper gorilla permits of Congo and Uganda, other developments in Uganda have come up more developments that have caused the unsold of Rwanda gorilla permits and this development is called the gorilla habituation experience which cost USD1500 and allows visitors to see mountain gorillas for 4 hours. This experience takes place in the Southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in both Nkuringo and Ruhija Gorilla trekking sectors. However, both governments are working hard to ensure that unsold gorilla permits in Uganda and Rwanda get the tourists to buy them. And this is being done through rapid marketing of both countries to both local and the outside world.