Gorilla permits: costs, allocation, and how not to lose your trek
How much does a gorilla trekking permit cost?
Uganda: $800 per person (Bwindi and Mgahinga, foreign non-residents). Rwanda: $1,500 (Volcanoes NP). Both buy the same core product — a ranger-led trek and exactly one hour with a habituated gorilla family, in groups of eight visitors maximum. Both are non-refundable once issued and both sell out months ahead for peak dates.
What the permit actually buys
Park entry for the day, the ranger-guide team, the trackers who located your assigned family from dawn, armed escort, and the one strictly-enforced hour. It is also, meaningfully, conservation's paycheck: permit revenue funds the ranger corps and community programs that took mountain gorillas from 620 individuals in 1989 to over 1,000 today — the only great ape whose numbers are rising.
Uganda or Rwanda — the permit decision
| Uganda · Bwindi | Rwanda · Volcanoes NP | |
|---|---|---|
| Permit | $800 | $1,500 |
| Habituated families | 20+ — more permits per day | ~12 |
| Access | 8–9h road from Entebbe, or internal flight | 2h road from Kigali airport |
| Terrain | Steeper, denser — "Impenetrable" is in the name | Volcano slopes; generally gentler approaches |
| Choose it for | Budget, more permit availability, a bigger journey | Speed and comfort with limited days |
When should you book?
For June–September and the festive weeks: 4–6 months minimum, and earlier if your dates are fixed — permits for specific dates in peak season are the scarcest commodity in East African travel. Green-season dates (Mar–May, Oct–Nov) often have availability weeks out, trade mud for solitude, and the gorillas neither know nor care about the weather forecast.
The mistakes that cost people their trek
- Booking flights before permits. The permit date is the immovable anchor; everything else bends around it. Always secure it first.
- Buying from resellers at markup. Permits are issued by UWA (Uganda) and RDB (Rwanda) at fixed prices through licensed operators. Anyone charging $1,100 for an $800 permit is pocketing the difference, not adding value.
- Ignoring the passport rule. The permit is issued against your passport number; renew your passport after booking and you must update the permit before travel.
- No buffer day. Land the night before at minimum. A delayed flight that misses the 7am briefing forfeits the permit entirely — no refund, no rebooking.
Bidan · Founder, Black WillowWe hold and manage permits for our guests as licensed-operator bookings at cost — the price on the government's page is the price on your invoice.