Gorilla Trekking Rwanda
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking. Rwanda gorilla permits, gorilla permits Rwanda, cost of Rwanda gorilla permits, Rwanda gorilla permits availability, buy Rwanda gorilla permit.
The article below seeks to address a number of frequently asked Rwanda gorilla permits questions including; Rwanda gorilla permit cost, Rwanda gorilla permit availability, how to book gorilla permits for gorilla trekking in Rwanda, and what the cost of gorilla permits in Rwanda is.
Mountain Gorillas are an endangered species. There is only a handful of places where those interested in seeing the mountain gorillas can visit them. The mountain gorillas are currently only present in the Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, the Impenetrable forest of Bwindi Uganda and the Virunga National Park of Congo DRC. Visitors are also able to trek the Eastern lowland gorillas of Kahuzi Biega National Park in South Kivu DRC.
For gorilla trekkers who wish to trek the mountain gorillas in their natural mountain ranges habitat, Rwanda is generally considered to be the best place for gorilla trekking. The reasons advanced by past mountain gorilla trekkers is that Rwanda has a much easier to trek terrain, the gorillas are easier to find, and the proximity of Volcanoes National Park to Kigali (2.5hrs drive) makes it much more convenient as a gorilla trekking destination, compared say for example with the drive distance of Entebbe to Bwindi of 10hrs which makes gorilla trekking in Bwindi favourable to visitors with longer safari holidays.
Currently Rwanda has 10 groups or gorilla families available and habituated for trekking. Gorilla treks are assigned on the basis of one's fitness levels and the willingness to walk for fairly long periods in the mountain forest to for example visit the Susa group of gorillas which can sometimes take a full day as the Susa group can be elusive of some days. For most people trekking the Rwanda gorillas is a lifelong dream, as seeing the gorillas, especially the silverback gorillas in their natural wild offers a memorable once in a lifetime experience.
Gorilla treks in Rwanda take place every morning all year round. Gorilla trekking is an all year round trekking exercise irrespective of the time and season of the year. Gorilla trekkers usually spend the night in the Kinigi/Ruhengeri area as gorilla trekking briefing starts at the Volcanoes National Park Rwanda Tourism Park headquarters at 07:00am. Some clients stay in Kigali overnight, but have to get up as early as 04:00am in order to make the 2.5hrs drive from Kigali to PNV in time for the 07:00am park HQ assembly for pre gorilla trekking briefing.
After the gorilla trekking briefing trekkers are assigned into groups of 8 each and are assigned a gorilla family to trek together with a ranger guide to guide you through the mountain forest and lead you to where the gorillas are. The ranger guides are experienced in tracing the specific location of the gorillas. There is very little chance of trekkers not seeing the gorillas. Your driver guide or indeed yourself for self drive independent gorilla trekking clients, would also request for a preferred gorilla group to trek depending on your fitness levels. Your request would in most cases be granted. If you are arrive in a group, every effort would be taken to ensure that you trek together for groups of trekkers less than 8 in number.
After the briefing and gorilla group allocation, trekker will depart from the Park Headquarters at about 07:30am.. You will then depart for the gorilla trekking trailheads where the gorilla trekking starts. It is advisable to drive in a 4x4, as the roads to the gorilla trailheads are in very bad shape and require 4x4 cars especially during the rainy season when the dirt tracks can be extremely slippery. The gorilla treks start from the base of the slopes of the Volcanoes National Park Virunga mountain ranges. Nobody should be deterred from making the gorilla trekking trip even though it is preferable that trekkers be in good physical condition as some of the treks of some gorilla families e.g the Susan group can be physically demanding. Porters are available at a small fee to assist you carry your trekking gear and can carry the less physically able visitors on stretchers . The gorilla treks on average take between 2 and 8 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family on the specific day. Once you find the gorillas visitors are allowed to stay and view them for one hour. Photos are allowed to be taken. Your ranger guide will guide you on how to behave throughout the whole time. The minimum gorilla trekking age in Rwanda for visitors is 15 years of age.
A maximum of 80 gorilla permits which is representative of 10 gorilla groups/gorilla families are issued per day . It is advisable to purchase the gorilla permits well in advance during the peak gorilla trekking season of June/July/August/September/December and January. To avoid disappointment and jeopardising your Rwanda travel plans it is advisable and imperative to book and secure the gorilla permits as soon as possible. Rwanda Gorilla Permits currently cost USD$ 1500 per permit. The cost of the Rwanda gorilla permit is inclusive of park entry fees and the services of the gorilla trek ranger guide.
RWANDA GORILLA PERMITS PRICE INCREASE- MAY 6th, 2017.
Effective May 6th, 2017, RWANDA gorilla permit fees have been increased to US$1500. The new Rwanda gorilla permit price of US$1500 applies across the board to foreign nationals, East African residents, East African citizens and Rwandans alike. The old reduced gorilla permit prices have ceased.
However the price for a gorilla permit in Uganda remain the same at US$600 on peak season and US$450 during the low gorilla trekking months of April, May and November. The price of a gorilla permit for trekking the mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park DRC also remains at US$400 per gorilla permit.
We suggest that you check availability of Rwanda gorilla permits first with either RDB or with us at
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Watsapp +256.772.788.426
. We receive regular gorilla permits availability charts from RDB stating number of gorilla permits left available for each day.
For visitors to Rwanda interested in seeing the Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat in the Virunga mountain ranges there is a number of safari lodges which offer a perfect base for those over-nighting in the Virunga area. Options include Virunga Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Gorillas Nest Lodge, Muhabura Hotel and Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. All the accommodation options suggested above are located only a few minutes' drive from the Volcanoes National Park headquarters, the pre gorilla trekking briefing point for the Gorilla treks.
If you are interested in purchasing your Rwanda gorilla permit, a self drive 4x4 vehicle for your gorilla tour, accommodation booking for your Rwanda gorilla holiday or planning a Rwanda gorilla trekking vacation, please kindly drop us an email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We would be pleased to be of service and assist you with your gorilla tour requirements including advising about availability of gorilla permits, discounted gorilla permit prices for qualifying resident statuses and help you plan your Rwanda gorilla tour holiday.
We have for your convenience put together a gorilla tour packing guide and useful info for Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda which you can find on these pages..
To book your Rwanda gorilla permit contact us for gorilla availability first on;
Email us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Watsapp +256.772.788.426
