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Gorilla Permit Information

When you buy a gorilla permit for Uganda, you will be buying a permit for a specific gorilla group. Within Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park there are eight habituated gorilla groups, and five different departure points for the treks (the furthest points are around five hours drive apart on the opposite sides of the forest).

The eight gorilla groups consist of six habituated groups, and two more groups currently undergoing the habituation process (due to be open in 2010). So currently, there are 48 trekking permits available for each day (64 once the other groups are open).

The groups are:

BUHOMA departure point:
Mubare (M group) – opened in 1993, 6 individuals
Habinyanja (H group) – opened in 1998, 19 individuals
Rushegura (R group) – opened in 2002, 18 individuals

NKURINGO departure point:
Nkuringo (N group) – opened in 2004, 19 individuals. (difficult trek)

RUHIJA departure point:
Bitukura (B roup) – opened in 2008, 13 individuals
Oruzogo (O group) – still being habituated

RUSHAGA departure point:
Nshongi (S group) – opened in 2008, 34 individuals

RUBUGURI departure point:
Kahungye (K group) – still being habituated

The numbers of individuals in these families can change as silverbacks break off from the main group with females and their young starting new groups; and of course new babies are born, and unfortunately individuals die. There is no guarantee that you will see all of the members of any one group, as they do not always sit together during the day – but can be scattered throughout the area, and surprisingly climbing up trees.

The best thing to remember, is the experience is ‘gorilla tracking’, not ‘gorilla viewing’. There are no guarantees that you will see the gorillas up close, in the open, or in an environment that is good for photographs or video. The best thing is to enjoy the whole experience and cherish the time that you do have with these incredible animals.

The trek
The trek begins with registration and a briefing at the trek start point at 07:45 (don’t forget there are five different start points – so it depends on the group that your permit is for). Then the trek will start around 08:30.

Professional trackers will set out before your trekking group and will start from the place where the gorillas were found the previous day. Gorillas make and sleep in a different nest every night. Some days they might move up to five kilometres from their previous nesting place, other days they may stay in the same area.

Once the gorillas have been found you will trek through the forest toward them. You will leave your bags, porters and everything you have except your camera gear around 200 metres from the gorillas, and receive a final briefing. Once your trek group has located the gorillas, you have one hour from that time.

Although habituated for human viewing, the gorillas are still wild animals. It is a privilege for people to be able to view these massive primates in their natural habitat, doing their everyday behaviours. To minimise behavioural disturbance and the risk of human-borne disease, there are strict viewing conditions that need to be adhered to.

While viewing the gorillas, trekkers are required to:
- keep voices low
- keep a minimum of seven metres from the gorillas
- stay together with your trekking group
- do not eat, drink, smoke or spit during your viewing hour
- if the gorillas charge, crouch down slowly and follow direction from
your guide. Do not run or look the gorillas in the eye.
- although you can take as many photos as you like, you cannot use
any kind of flash
- do not touch the gorillas, even if they come close to you

Porters
It is possible to hire a porter at the trek start point. Some of the treks can be extremely difficult, through tough terrain. It can be helpful to have someone on hand to help you up or down tricky places and of course carrying your day pack. Porters are hired at a set fee of around US$15 which you pay direct to your porter. Hiring a porter is a great idea because it employs people from the local villages and therefore encourages local people to protect the gorillas – because they directly benefit from the gorillas being in the forest.

Tipping
Giving tips is always at your discretion, although of course is somewhat expected. Don’t underestimate how many people are involved in your trek. There will be a number of trackers, a guide, porter (if you choose to take one) and sometimes an armed warden.

Terms & conditions
- Permits, once purchased, are non-refundable, non-transferable.
- There are three different visitor categories – non-resident, East African resident, Ugandan citizen, and the permit fees are different for each. Trekking permits are not transferable between different visitor groups.
- The minimum age for people to trek the gorillas is 15 years. Proof of age may be required.
- This is a ‘tracking permit’ and not a ‘viewing permit’. There is no guarantee that you will find the gorillas in a position for them to be viewed clearly or take great photographs.
- If you fail to view the gorillas after completing a full day trek, you will be refunded 50% of your trek permit.
- If during your time viewing the gorillas any individuals become agitated, nervous or aggressive, the guide may end the visit early. No refund will be given.
- If you are ill (cold, flu, diahorrea, vomiting) on your trek date, you must still report to the trek start point for the briefing. At this point the head warden will decide if you are too sick to trek. If you are not able to trek then you will receive a refund of 50% of your gorilla permit fee. You will receive this refund directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

If you do not find the gorillas or you volunteer to stay behind because of illness, you will be offered the choice to trek on the next available date. If this is not possible, then refer to the refund guidelines.

What to bring
- lunch
- wet weather gear
- trekking shoes or boots
- leather or gardening-style gloves
- drinking water
- trekking poles (useful trekking sticks are available at the start point)
- passport – to verify that you own the permit, confirm your permit status, and age if required.
- camera and/or video camera – remember to try using your camera without the flash before you do your trek.

Gorilla facts
- gorillas and humans share 97% of their DNA
- the word gorilla derives from the Greek word ‘gorillai’ meaning ‘hairy women’
- there are two varieties of gorillas - mountain and lowland
- mountain gorillas are only found in small pockets of rain forest in Uganda, Rwanda and DRC
- mountain gorillas have never successfully been kept in captivity, and so can only be seen in the wild
- they are the world’s most endangered primate with only around 700 mountain gorillas remaining
- gorillas have unique fingerprints just like humans
- a silverback is a mature male. They can weight over 150kg and eat around 30kg of food a day. They can stand over 1.7m and have an arm span of 2.3m
- female gorillas weight around 90kg and can conceive from 8 years. Pregnancy gestation is 8.5 months
- gorillas spend more time on the ground than any other primate, but can also climb trees
- like many primates their arms are longer than their legs
- every gorilla makes a different nest of leaves to sleep in each night. Babies sleep with their mothers
- babies weight around 1.8kg at birth and start to walk around 5 months
- gorillas are referred to as babies aged 0-3 years, juvenile from 3-6, subadult from 6-8 years
- a blackback is a male from 8+ years who has not developed its silver back. This normally happens around age 15
- females only have one baby every 6-8 years
- gorillas live in tight family units and males noramally have a hurem of around 4 females
- gorillas are not territorial but will defend their families if threatened
- their official conservation status is ‘critically endangered’.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
This 331 sq km of spectacularly dense rainforest is located on the western edge of the great rift valley, in the Kigezi highlands, south west Uganda. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bwindi is home to the largest population of mountain gorillas in the world.

This rich ecosystem of original equatorial forest is home to around 120 special of mammals – 10 of which are primates, 350 species of birds, 200 species of butterflies and moths, 160 types of trees, 100 different ferns, as well as huge varieties of insects, frogs and chameleons.

The forest is an important water catchment area with a dense network of streams fed from an annual rainfall of around 2200mm. Peak rainfall in during March, April and September to November. Instead of short tropical deluges, rain in Bwindi often falls as long hours of soft drizzle.

Although the climate is tropical, temperatures throughout the year are relatively mild, ranging from 7-27 degrees celsius. This is due to the altitude in the park which ranges from 1190 to 2607m, with 60% of the park over 2000m.

In the local Rukiga language, Bwindi actually means ‘impenetrable’. This double warning is apt, for Bwindi is exactly that. Its steep, slippery hills and valleys of tangled vegetation draped over ancient trees and densely-matted forest floor. Although the terrain is far from easy to negotiate, it is well worth the effort. A trek through one of Africa’s most ancient rainforests, in search of the endangered Mountain Gorillas, ranks among the world’s premier wildlife encounters.

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