Gorilla trekking is one of the most common tourists’ activities in Africa and unforgettable life experience for all travellers that have encountered the unique great apes living in sub tropical and tropical rainforests of central and West Africa.
Gorillas are an endangered species of primates that were almost becoming extinct in the late 1990s with about 300 individuals left in the wild, the conservation efforts triggered by primatologists like Dian Fossey has led to the increase in gorilla population in the recent years to about 1004 mountain gorillas in the wilderness.
Mountain gorillas live in social groups of 5-50 individuals dominated by silverback that takes responsible of all the group day to day activities. Gorillas are herbivores animals that primarily feed on vegetation and they spend most of the time of the day foraging.
Why are Uganda gorilla permits scarce?
Uganda is one of the countries in the world where mountain gorilla trekking can be done from apart from Democratic republic of Congo and Rwanda. The famous Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is home to half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.
The Ugandan gorilla permits are scarce because Uganda offers midrange gorilla trekking with permits costing $600 per person while Rwanda offers the most expensive gorilla trekking experience with permits costing $1500 per person then Congo offers the lowest prices for gorilla trekking with permits costing $400 per person during peak season and $200 during low season.
The above price given for gorilla permits does not include accommodation fee and transport this makes gorilla trekking the most expensive tourist activity in Africa. Many travellers coming to Africa opt to do gorilla trekking in Uganda because the prices favour both mid range and budget travellers hence leading to gorilla permits being scarce in the country.
Uganda gorilla permits are also scarce because though Congo offers the cheapest prices for gorilla trekking, the political unrest in the country has left many tourists with no option but to travel to Uganda for gorilla trekking as the country is safe and this has led to gorilla permits being scarce.
Uganda gorilla permits are also scarce because Uganda is the only country that offers gorilla habituation experience, almost all visitors that travel for gorilla habituation in the country include gorilla trekking and this has made gorilla permits scarce because travellers wouldn’t love to move to two countries yet habituation and trekking can be done in one place .
Uganda gorilla permits are also scarce in that Uganda gorilla national parks offer a wide range of accommodation options from mid range, budget and luxury and this gives tourists various options to choose where to sleep according to their budget unlike in Rwanda and Congo where lodges in gorilla national parks are very expensive.
In conclusion, gorilla trekking permits in Uganda are very scarce and those planning to trek gorillas must always book their permits in advance of three to six months before the actual trekking date especially during the peak season of June to September and December to February.
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