What age limit is required to secure a gorilla permit in Uganda?

What age limit is required to secure a gorilla permit in Uganda?: Gorilla age limit refers to the minimum age a traveler must have in order to secure a spot in the gorilla trekking activity. The minimum age limit to secure a gorilla permit in Uganda is 15 years and above and there is no age restrictions when it comes to seniors as long as they can hire sedan chairs according to Uganda Wildlife Authority. Mountain gorillas do live at high altitudes which might be very hard for children below the age of 15 years to manage trekking them.

Mountain gorillas of Uganda do live in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park all found in the southwestern part of the country. Other places where travelers can meet mountain gorillas are volcanoes national park Rwanda and Virunga national park DR Congo. Uganda has 22 mountain gorilla families of which 20 are open for gorilla trekking activities and 2 are open for gorilla habituation activities.

Mountain gorillas are endangered animals that were about to get extinct until the Uganda Wildlife Authority set up conservation efforts to see how these mountain gorillas would survive and increase in number. There are also rules and regulations of gorilla trekking that were set and among them include only children above the age of 15 years are allowed to trek mountain gorillas. This rule was set because of different reasons which include the following.

Children below the age of 15 years always have flu and cough most of the time and these easily transfer to mountain gorillas that are vulnerable. Mountain gorillas are said to be sharing 98% DNA with human beings and therefore they can easily get diseases that affect human beings.

Answering the question of what age limit is required to secure a gorilla permit in Uganda, Children that are below the age of 15 years are also unpredictable when it comes to behavior. They might fail to follow the instructions when they are around mountain gorillas most especially when the mountain gorillas charge. Trekkers are told to cough down and act like they are eating vegetation when the mountain gorillas charge but children might decide to shout and run and there are possibilities that mountain gorillas could run after them and harm them.

Mountain gorilla trekking is a very strenuous activity that children below the age of 15 years might to complete. The gorilla trekking activity takes 2-7 hours of going through thick vegetation and rugged terrain and this might be hard for children below the age of 15 years because it’s very strenuous. The children might say they are tired and don’t want to continue with the trekking activity. Children below the age of 15 years might also fail to move at the speed of other trekkers.

However much the gorilla age limit required to secure a gorilla permit is 15 years, there are instances where children below 15 years of age can trek mountain gorillas. The children who have a few months to make 15 years of age are allowed to trek mountain gorillas in Uganda and this can be done only if their parents send pictures of the children and they must be physically fit.

Gorilla trekking activity in Uganda Bwindi forest

Children that are below the age of 15 years are allowed to buy gorilla permits if they will be 15 years by the time of the year they visit Uganda to trek mountain gorillas. Their parents will be asked to send the passports of the children to Uganda wildlife to confirm the children’s age.

For children below the age of 15 years to trek mountain gorillas in Uganda, their parents must sign some documents before their children are given gorilla permits. The parents will be the ones responsible for anything that would happen to their child while in the jungle. Parents must also trek along with their children. When it’s time for gorilla trekking, the children are given gorilla families that are easy to trek or those that are located nearer.

Travelers that want to travel with their children that are below the age of 15 years don’t have to worry because there are a lot of child activities at different lodges of the park in which children can be part. Trekkers will go early in the mountain gorilla trekking activities and children will wake up and be part of activities such as guided nature walks, visiting local people, cycling, and much more.

Cost of gorilla trekking in Uganda

Each traveler intending to encounter mountain gorillas in Uganda must have a gorilla permit and this is got from Uganda Wildlife Authority. Each gorilla trekking permit costs $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 for citizens of East Africa. Travelers interested in gorilla habituation exercises can get gorilla habituation permits at $1500 foreign non-residents, $1000 foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East Africa.

The most appropriate time for gorilla trekking in Uganda

Gorilla trekking in Uganda can be done at any time of the year but the dry season is the best time to visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park. The dry months that happen from June to September and December to February are characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is short and thin with good views of the mountain gorillas and the roads leading to the park are in good conditions.

Travelers can still visit Uganda to trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November. Travelers that visit the park during the rainy season do enjoy huge discounts on accommodation facilities because prices are lowered to attract the few travelers in the parks. The rainy season is however characterized by too much rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall and thick with good views of the mountain gorillas and the roads leading to the park are impassable.