Mountain gorillas are rare creatures and they are the largest ever primates to exist on earth hence taking sight of them requires an extra effort. Tourists need to first organize a well-planned itinerary that lands them to the land of thousand hills. People interested in venturing into an unforgettable safari book gorilla permits in an advance of six months prior to their due date of visiting the forest. Volcanoes national park is the only area in Rwanda where these beautiful and gorgeous creatures can be trekked and the park boosts over twelve gorilla families available for visitors.
Every day, eight gorilla permits are issued out for each family which means that only 96 tourists are blessed with spotting the forest wonders in a single day. Visitors should ensure that they are available on the gorilla trekking day that starts at 7:00am in Kinigi sector with a briefing.
10% of the money collected from gorilla permits is used for community development like construction of schools, compensation of farmers in case gorillas destroy their crops among others.
The cost of gorilla permits in Rwanda.
Each Gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs $1500. Therefore, it becomes the most expensive gorilla trekking destination, a fact that can be attributed to the fact that it is easily accessible than other national parks in Uganda and D.R. Congo and trekking conditions in Rwanda are favorable with well-defined track routes than in other destinations.
Booking gorilla permits in Rwanda.
Visitors interested in walking down into the country of thousand hills have two choices of how they can obtain gorilla permits. They can make a reservation for permits through local safari operators in the country. These operators have the capacity to purchase gorilla permits on behalf of their clients.
An alternative to this is booking gorilla permits directly from Rwanda Development Board without going through travel agents. This permit can be obtained online by visiting the official RDB website and make reservations. While making reservation, a visitor should mention the year, month and date on which they want to view the gigantic gems in a natural habitat.
How expensive are gorilla permits in Rwanda?
Gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda are considerably expensive, as they have always been following their abrupt increase from $750 to $1500 in May 2017. These permits are expensive considering that their prices are the same throughout the year hence they don’t change even during low season.
What they include?
- Gorilla trekking permits like the name suggests give visitors guarantee to watch mountain gorillas in their natural habitat for one hour.
- Keeping memories of this exhilarating moment is paramount hence tourists are permitted to takes photos and also record the surprising moments as they watch them communicate with each other, feed and perform other daily activities.
- Gorilla trekking permits involve payment of services rendered by trained guides / rangers. Without guides, tourists cannot proceed since they are not well vast with the forest and cannot easily locate the location of gorillas.
- Gorilla permit price also comes along with the services of trackers. These move ahead of the trekking group in question and they keep on communicating with rangers / guides on which tracks to take and where they have sighted a gorilla family.
Rules and regulations of acquiring gorilla permits.
- Gorilla trekking permits should be acquired 3-6 months prior to the date on which the tourists want to undertake this adventure.
- People interested in acquiring gorilla permits should be above an acceptable age of 15 years. These are considered grownups that can follow the rules and regulations of trekking these gems.
- Gorilla permits are not refunded whatsoever but can be rescheduled to any later dates.
- Tourists should indicate the year, month and actual date on which they want to undertake the gorilla trekking adventure.
- Authorities cross check, to find out if there are available permits for this specific day and if it matches with the traveler’s wish, they are supposed to make initial deposits to book permits.
- The cost of gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda is $1500 which is very high compared to its two counterparts, like Uganda which offers the same permit at $700 and $ 400 by D.R. Congo. This highlights that tourists who choose to undertake gorilla trekking from Uganda save $800 and $ 1100 for tourists who take gorilla trekking in D.R. Congo. In addition, D.R. Congo offers a discount of $200 on gorilla permit prices during low seasons.
