Can I fail to get a gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga national park?
Can I fail to get a gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga national park?: Are you planning to visit Mgahinga national park for mountain gorilla trekking? And you want to know if you can fail to get the gorilla permit. We all know that to see mountain gorillas in any national park, you need a gorilla trekking permit. A gorilla trekking permit is a legal document from UWA showing that a traveler qualifies to visit the jungle and encounter a mountain gorilla family.
Can I fail to get a gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga national park?
So many travelers want to know if one can fail to get a gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga national park and the answer is yes. Travelers can in most cases fail to get a gorilla permit for Mgahinga national park and this is because the number of gorilla permits is very few. Mgahinga is the smallest gorilla park with only one habituated mountain gorilla family.
Mgahinga national park has only one mountain gorilla family called Nyakagezi. According to the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking set by UWA, a single gorilla family can be trekked by a maximum of 8 people. This means that Nyakagezi mountain gorilla family as only 8 gorilla permits every day.
The 8 gorilla permits for Nyakagezi mountain gorilla family of Mgahinga are not enough for the thousands of travelers who plan to trek mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas are among the most loved primates in the world since scientists discovered they share 98% DNA with human beings.
A lot of travelers dream of being next to mountain gorillas while in their natural habitats and to make dreams come true one must have a gorilla permit. Mountain gorilla trekking permits are only 8 in Mgahinga therefore the first lucky clients are the ones that have an opportunity to meet the mountain gorillas in the wild.
There are so many travelers that miss out gorilla trekking permits for Mgahinga on their preferred dates more so in the dry seasons. The dry season is called the high season and this is because most travelers visit the country for good weather and climate. UWA sells gorilla trekking permits for all national parks on a first come first serve basis therefore the earlier you book the more the chances of getting the permit.
A single traveler can fail to get a gorilla permit for Mgahinga when he or she finds they are sold out and there are other circumstances when tourists traveling as a group can fail to get gorilla permits. Let’s assume a group wants 5 permits and only 3 are left UWA can’t remove the permits from early buyers you will be left with no choice but to wait for another time or try out other national parks like Bwindi.
The chances of failing to get a gorilla permit in Mgahinga national park are very high because of two major reasons. UWA sells its gorilla permits in a first come first serve basis and another reason is that only 8 gorilla permits are available in the park because of the one mountain gorilla family available there.
Now you saw that you can fail to get a gorilla permit for Mgahinga national park how about you try booking early in advance of 3 to 4 months or more. Tourists who book gorilla permits very early have higher chances of finding them still available than these people who book a few weeks or months to the trekking date.
You might have read somewhere that during the rainy season you don’t have to rush buying gorilla permits because a few travelers move. This is a lie when it comes to Mgahinga national park but it could work for Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where over 160 gorilla permits are available on a daily basis.
For travelers to be on safe wise when it comes to securing gorilla permits for Mgahinga national park, booking in advance is the only deal. Whether you want to go gorilla trekking in the rainy season or the dry season better book your gorilla permit and wait for the trekking day.
How to book gorilla permits of Mgahinga national park
To book a gorilla permit for Mgahinga national park you can use a local tour operator or get it directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority. But why use UWA when a local tour operator can get for you the gorilla permit at the same price? Africa Adventure Vacations is one of the local tour operators licensed to carry out tourism activity therefore we can book you a gorilla permit.
To book a gorilla trekking permit with Africa Adventure Vacations, you need the dates of the month and year you want to trek to first check for the availability of the permits from UWA. The dates are sent to the reservations office to check for availability and once they are available, you are asked to pay for your permit.
In most cases, tourists pay some of their safari money and that is where we remove money to pay for the gorilla permit. You are asked for your personal information and this is included on the gorilla permit. When you arrive in the country for your safari, you find the driver guides ready with your gorilla permit and you will be left with trekking.
What is the price of gorilla permits for Mgahinga national park?
To acquire a gorilla permit for Mgahinga national park safari you pay a certain amount of money to UWA that is used for conservation purposes. A single gorilla trekking permit for Mgahinga national park costs $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of East African member states.