What Happens on A Luxury Gorilla Safari In Uganda

During a luxury gorilla safari in Uganda, you expect topnotch attention, sleeping in up-market facilities with exclusivity, best transport means and much more indicators of Luxury coupled with an eco-touch. You need to identify the dates when you hope to do the gorilla safari in Uganda and where. Uganda has two gorilla safari destinations that is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park.

You can do gorilla trekking where you have one hour with the fully habituated mountain gorilla family. Gorilla habituation experience is another gorilla safari activity you can engage in while in Uganda where tourists accompany a team of researcher in the wilderness to search for a semi-habituated mountain gorilla family and have four hours with them.

Booking a gorilla permit for either gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience is a must as this is like a ticket that allows you entry into the parks. A gorilla permit is a document issued by Uganda wildlife Authority that allows tourists access to a mountain gorillas family.

Accommodation booking for the gorilla safari in Uganda is vital in booking this safari. It is best to book the accommodation closer or within the gorilla safari destination so that you do not have to panic in the morning in order to catch up with briefing. In case you are destined for gorilla safaris in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you need to note the area where your permit is booked that is Buhoma or Ruhija or Nkuringo or Rushaga.

Transport means you use during the gorilla tour in Uganda must match your luxury gorilla safari desire. You may use road transport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park. Air transport is available for you to book during the gorilla safari as daily domestic flights can be booked or charter flight services for more private exploration.

How To Book Luxury Gorilla Safari In Uganda?

Choose when you wish to do the gorilla safari in Uganda and the people eligible to attending the gorilla tour. The age limit for gorilla tours in Uganda is 12 years and over but initially 15 years and over was the age limit. This helps you not to move back and forth with checking gorilla permit availability.

When you send us an enquiry at Arch Safaris And Tours about gorilla safaris, our tours consultant checks availability from the list of Uganda Wildlife Authority. Upon finding availability of the gorilla permit, we advise clients to secure there  permits as soon as possible because they sell out fast especially during the peak season that is June, July, August, September, December and January.

 No gorilla permit can even be bought without payment and yet first come first served basis is used to secure these gorilla safari permits.

Identify other Uganda safari activities you hope to add to your gorilla safari in case you have extra time on your holiday. In Uganda, you may engage in game drives, chimpanzees safaris, visit the source of River Nile, white water rafting, launch trips, golden monkey safaris, sports fishing and so much more.

Choose the transport means to us when getting to the Uganda safari destinations that is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park by road or air.

Identify the luxury accommodations you wish to use during the Uganda gorilla tour but they must be within or closer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park.

What is the price of a gorilla permit for Uganda?

At the moment, the cost of a gorilla trekking permit for Uganda is $700 for foreign nonresidents, $600 for foreign residents and 250000shs for East Africans.

Gorilla habituation experience permit cost is currently $1500 for foreign nonresidents, $1000 for foreign residents and 750000shs for East African.

The gorilla permit for Uganda covers park entrance fees, ranger guide fees, security, one hour of gorilla trekking or four hours of gorilla habituation experience, mountain gorilla conservation, local community support, government tax, briefing, research fees during gorilla habituation experience and others.

Exclusions in the cost of gorilla permits are porter hire, tips, accommodation, treats and other personal expenses.

How Many days Can I Book For on a Luxury Gorilla Safari in Uganda?

3 day Uganda gorilla safari is the least number of days you can be on gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience in Uganda. You may add other extra days in case you intend to engage in your Uganda safari.

Some trending luxury Uganda gorilla safaris include

5 day gorilla and chimpanzee safari

7 day gorilla, chimpanzee and game safaris

8 day gorilla, chimpanzee and wildlife tour

4 day gorilla and chimpanzee safari

10 day gorilla, chimpanzee and game safari

You need a well tailored Uganda gorilla safari itinerary planned to accommodate your interests and with your time frame so that you create the best memories of your trip in Africa.

When is the best time to book a Luxury Gorilla safari in Uganda?

Booking a gorilla safari in Uganda must be done in advance by securing the gorilla tour permit. The gorilla permits sell out fast because they are limited with maximum 8 allowed per gorilla family.

During the peak season, gorilla permits sell out fast and in advance so booking yours atleast 6 months to a year upfront is safer. Last minute gorilla permit availability searching may be hectic in the high season too.

Upon confirming the gorilla safari permits, you need to book accommodation as soon as possible. If Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is your gorilla safari destination, note where the permit is booked of the four areas that make it up before booking accommodation. This is to avoid having to drive in the dark in order to catch up with briefing in another area. As you drive in the dark, chances of encountering obstacles like deep fog, slippery roads, mechanical damage are more open.

The dry season is most preferred for doing gorilla safaris that is normally June, July, August, September , December and January. The mountain gorillas are in high spirits plus other forest dwellers like birds, butterflies, primates, better visibility in the forest as you search from the mountain gorillas. This is due to more sunlight that is let in to the ground absorbing some water that is logged from the regular rains that fall.

During the peak season demand for amenities that support gorilla safaris is high yet competition is high creating scarcity at the last minute

If you intend to do the luxury gorilla safari in Uganda during the low season that is March, April, May and November, chances of having an unpaid for solo gorilla trek are high. There are fewer people booking the gorilla tours and all park ranger attention is focused on you. Expect no obstruction from other tourists on the gorilla safari so you can observe and take photos of the mountain gorillas as you wish.

What is the cost of a luxury gorilla safari in Uganda?

The cost of luxury gorilla safari in Uganda starts with the gorilla permit and at the moment the gorilla trekking permit costs is $700 per person and gorilla habituation experience cost is $1500.

At Arch Safaris And Tours when costing the luxury gorilla tour we consider factors like number of people on gorilla safari, number of days on gorilla safari, other Uganda safari activities to combine with gorilla safari and other factors.

By choosing luxury accommodation for your gorilla safari it plays a big role in determining the type of gorilla safari package. When making a choice of which transport means to use during luxury gorilla safari in Uganda, you need to hire a 4×4 wheel safari vehicle in good condition driven by a professional driver guide.

Booking a seat on the daily domestic flights in Uganda or chartering from Entebbe airport or Kajjansi airfield reduces on the time you may spend on the road. You get to land in Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip but you must secure a transfer vehicle to your lodge.

How Sure Can I Be To See Mountain Gorillas During Gorilla Safari

Meeting the mountain gorillas is a sure deal of about 99% chances. Although mountain gorillas live freely in the wilderness, they live in cohesive families that are not easy to beak. In case they have to move, the entire gorilla family moves. Because the mountain gorillas have a bulky body size, they do not move very far from there current feeding area.

The ranger guides leading the people on gorilla tour normally follow the trail leading where the mountain gorillas were last seen the previous day. Mountain gorillas do not normally move far from where they were last seen.

Each day, a team of ranger guides patrols the forest early morning to establish where the mountain gorillas were last seen the previous day. Mountain gorillas do not normally feed far from where they nested so some of the clues ranger guides use are what is provided by the early risers in order to locate the mountain gorillas.

Mountain gorillas are first habituated before opening them to the public. Gorilla habituation is a process where a wild mountain gorillas family is familised with human presence without altering there nature. The process of gorilla habituation may take two years or over depending on how fast the gorilla family adopts.

On the search to find the mountain gorillas, tourists are requested to help trace where they may have headed following clues like fresh dung, footprints, freshly fed on leftover foliage, giggling sounds and other clues.

What Time Do You Return From Gorilla Safari In Uganda?

Return time from the gorilla safari is hard to determine just like time of finding the mountain gorillas because it is dependent on factors prevailing in the forest. The mountain gorilla family that was close the previous day may be the furthest the following day.

The delay in finding the mountain gorillas during gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation is attributed to factors like topography of Bwindi or Mgahinga forest, weather conditions prevailing in the day, pace of fellow tourists, family feud, attack from another gorilla family and others.

Some patience is asked of tourists before locating the mountain gorillas but you can also look out for other forest dwellers other than focusing on only finding the mountain gorillas. The forest has other occupants like the black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons and several others.

Upon finding the mountain gorillas, only one hour is allowed with them during gorilla trekking and four hours during gorilla habituation experience.

Some tourists have found the mountain gorillas in 2 hours after starting the trek while others have spent about three quarters of the day.

Are mountain Gorillas dangerous?

Naturally, mountain gorillas are not aggressive but serene however this doesn’t mean you provoke them. At a glance, mountain gorillas look aggressive and ready for a fight but as you sink into there presence, you realize how vulnerable they are.

When angry, mountain gorillas may show signs like hooting, pull grass around them, walk on one foot, thump there chests and other behaviors. Do not panic upon seeing such odd traits but stay calm and wait for the ranger guide to find the root cause of such behavior. Sometimes it is family feud or an attack from another gorilla family and others. You need not to show signs of being frightened but stay calm and follow instructions given by the ranger guide.

As you get away from the mountain gorillas, do it quietly in order not to look suspicious before these primates.

Panicking may escalate the situation and cause a stampede in the forest.

Are Gorilla Safaris in Uganda safe?

Uganda is safe for gorilla safaris because Uganda wildlife Authority trains professional ranger guides to protect the mountain gorillas, other forest inhabitants and visitors. They coordinate with other Uganda security agencies to keep law and order in the wilderness.

Tourists must attend briefing before the gorilla tour adventure so that they are given guidelines on how to behave while in the forest. Each person must religiously hold these rules so as not to agitate the mountain gorillas.

Personal safety is necessary so tourists should not walk into the forest without an escorting ranger guide.

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