Gorilla Permits for Uganda and Rwanda

A gorilla permit is the ticket that allows one person to join one ranger-led group for one day and spend one hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family. Nobody enters the gorilla zones of Bwindi, Mgahinga or Volcanoes National Park without one, and every permit is issued in the traveller's own name against their passport. Permits are the single largest cost of a gorilla safari, and they are the part of the trip that sells out first.

Gorilla permit prices at a glance (2026)

Prices are set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), not by tour operators, and they change by government notice. We confirm the rate that applies to your exact trekking date before you pay anything.

What the permit includes, and what it doesn't

A standard trekking permit covers park entry for that day, the ranger briefing at the sector headquarters, an armed ranger escort and trackers, and up to one hour with the gorillas once the group reaches them. The trek itself can take anything from 45 minutes to six or more hours, depending on where the family nested the night before.

It does not include transport to the trailhead, accommodation, a porter (usually US$15–20 paid on the day, and worth it on Bwindi's slopes), a walking stick, or tips for rangers. On a Fuga package, transport, lodging, meals, park logistics and the permit itself are all bundled into one price.

Uganda or Rwanda: why the price gap?

Rwanda charges almost twice Uganda's rate because it deliberately runs gorilla trekking as a low-volume, high-value product. What you get in return is access: Volcanoes National Park is about 2½ hours by road from Kigali International Airport, so a gorilla trek can fit into a two-day trip. Uganda's gorilla parks are 8–10 hours by road from Entebbe, or a one-hour domestic flight to Kisoro or Kihihi. Uganda also has more habituated families across Bwindi's four sectors (Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo) and Mgahinga, so permits are easier to find at short notice.

Many travellers solve both problems at once by flying into Kigali and trekking in southern Bwindi (Rushaga or Nkuringo), which is 3–4 hours from Kigali by road and pays the Uganda rate. See our Bwindi from Kigali guide and the full comparison in Uganda or Rwanda: where should you trek gorillas?

Gorilla habituation permits

The habituation experience lets up to four visitors join researchers and trackers with a gorilla family that is still being accustomed to people, and stay with them for up to four hours instead of one. It runs in Bwindi's Rushaga sector, costs US$1,500 in 2026, and has far fewer slots than standard trekking, so it needs the longest lead time. Read more on our gorilla habituation page.

How far ahead should you book?

• June to September and mid-December to February (dry, peak season): book 4–6 months ahead for Uganda and 6–12 months ahead for Rwanda, especially for groups of four or more who want to trek together.
• March to May and October to November (wetter months): 4–8 weeks is often enough, and Uganda's US$600 low-season rate applies in April, May and November.
• Habituation: treat it like peak season all year round.
• Last-minute travel: it is sometimes possible. See how to secure a last-minute gorilla permit.

How we book your permit

1. You send your preferred dates, the number of trekkers, and whether you want Uganda, Rwanda or either.
2. We check live availability with UWA or RDB for the sector that fits your route and tell you the options within 24 hours.
3. You send each trekker's full name as it appears in the passport, their nationality, passport number and date of birth. Trekkers must be at least 15 years old on the trek date.
4. The permit is paid in full at reservation. Wildlife authorities do not hold unpaid permits, which is why our booking terms require permit payment up front.
5. We send you a scanned copy of each permit and receipt. The original is presented at the briefing on the morning of your trek.

Cancellations, illness and missed sightings

Permits are non-transferable and refunds follow the wildlife authority's rules, not the operator's. UWA refunds a share of the permit on a sliding scale that depends on how early you cancel. It also refunds part of the permit if a ranger rules you unfit to trek because of illness, or if a full day's tracking fails to find the gorillas, which is rare in Bwindi. Rwanda's permits are generally non-refundable, but date changes can sometimes be arranged when requested early. The detail is in our permit refund and rescheduling guide, and we strongly recommend travel insurance that covers the permit value.

Permit rules you should know before paying

• One permit, one person, one date. Permits are not transferable to another traveller, and a change of date is a rebooking handled by the wildlife authority, not by the operator.
• Your name must match your passport. Rangers check identity at the briefing. A misspelled name can cause problems on the morning of the trek, so copy it exactly from the passport data page.
• Nationality sets the rate. Resident rates need a valid work or residence permit, and East African citizen rates need a national ID or passport from an EAC partner state.
• Sickness rule. Rangers can refuse anyone showing signs of a cold, flu or other contagious illness. This protects the gorillas, which have no immunity to many human infections.
• Age rule. The minimum is 15 years on the trek date in both countries, with no exceptions for accompanied minors.

How the permit fits into the total cost of a gorilla safari

For most travellers the permit is 40–60% of the whole trip. The rest depends on how you reach the park and where you sleep. As a rough guide, before permits:

A couple on a 3-day mid-range Bwindi trip will usually spend about as much on the two permits (US$1,600) as on everything else combined. For a line-by-line breakdown, see how much gorilla trekking costs in Uganda and Uganda safari cost per day. Our budget and luxury safari pages show what each level looks like.

Where each permit takes you

A Uganda permit is issued for a specific sector: Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga or Nkuringo in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, or Ntebeko in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. A Rwanda permit is for Volcanoes National Park, and the family is assigned on the morning. Because the sector fixes your lodge and driving route, we choose it together with the rest of the itinerary rather than booking whatever is free first.