The Best Price for Gorilla Trekking in 2024 – 2026 and beyond is $1,180 per person based on 02 persons sharing a double or Twin room. The price ($1,180pp) includes; 01 gorilla permit for each participant, 02 nights accommodation with meals, transport in a 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser driven by a local English-speaking driver guide.
The Cost of Gorilla Trekking In 2024 – 2025 and beyond
The Price for Gorilla trekking revolves around three (03) major aspects; Price Of a gorilla Permit, price of a accommodation, and the cost of transportation to your assigned gorilla trekking location. During your planning sessions, you will need to get everything about these three aspects mentioned correct to save or enjoy an affordable gorilla Trekking Holiday.
Price of a Gorilla Permit:
Choose a place where gorilla permits are affordable for you. For instance, Rwanda charges $1,500 per person/permit, and Uganda charges $700 per person/permit or $800 per person/permit for booking after 1st/July/2024 – 2026. Look into your budget and decide if you want to Rwanda or Uganda.
Price of accommodation:
Rwanda has positioned itself as a Premium/luxury gorilla trekking destination in Africa. Their target is to lure rich travelers who can afford a budget of about $320 per night to stay at a midrange accommodation. With a higher budget of $15,000 onwards, one can get to stay at affluent lodges like One&only’s Gorilla Nest Lodge located at the foothills of the prestigious Volcanoes National Park, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge situated even closer to the “Furry Brothers of Man” – the mountain gorillas, or Singita’s luxurious Kwitonda Lodge & Kataza Exclusive House.
Uganda on the other hand offers a variety of affordable options ranging from budget (approx. $70 – $100 per night), Midrange ($120 – $350 per night), and luxury for a fair price of about $450 onwards.
Cost of transportation:
You might meet up (both en route or at the gorilla briefing points) with all sorts of vehicles including two-wheel drives, motorcycles, etc. We use/recommend taking only 4×4 vehicles. We have a preference for Toyota Land Cruisers for they have not let us down. These vehicles are reliable and a lot more comfortable (of course not as comfortable as your S-class Mercedes Benz) but will most importantly get you through to unimaginable places. Hiring a Landcruiser costs about $200 per day with fuel and allowances for a private local English-speaking driver/guide.
Why is gorilla trekking so expensive?
The high price for Gorilla trekking is set to facilitate the following;
- Research, monitoring, and safety
Because Gorillas are considered critically endangered, they require constant research studies and monitoring to ensure they continue to exist. Both Gorilla research and monitoring require a lot of money which is financed through the sale of Gorilla Permits thus making it expensive for one to go gorilla trekking.
In each gorilla country, bodies responsible i.e. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in Uganda and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in Rwanda hire personnel to monitor the whereabouts of the gorillas like; their movements, feeding, and ongoing health status. Every morning, an advanced group of trackers hikes into the forest to check on the gorillas. Similarly, tourism police and other armed rangers are hired to accompany tourists during their trek to see the gorillas. This is to ensure the client’s safety from any possible external attacks by either poachers or rebel groups from DR. Congo who in the past used the gorilla habitat as their hiding place.
- Limit human interference
One of the reasons gorilla trekking has been made expensive is to control or limit human interference. Mountain Gorillas are considered an endangered species with hardly 1,000 still surviving on earth. These can only be seen in three places; Uganda, Rwanda, and DR. Congo.
Rwanda & Uganda remain the safest places to see gorillas – click & read our blog; Why gorilla trekking in Congo is considered unsafe.
On a typical gorilla trekking day, only 08 persons are allowed to trek and visit a particular gorilla family. It is at this point that the high price charged on gorilla permits ($700pp in Uganda or $1,500pp in Rwanda) helps limit crowds. Not Many can afford it, meaning that there will be fewer people visiting. This, in turn, helps to minimize human interference and possible disease transmission from us, humans, onto the gorillas – remember they are endangered species and if we are not careful we could lose them completely.
- The livelihood of the communities living beside the gorillas
Gorilla tourism has become an indirect source of livelihood for the communities living besides the gorilla parks. Both governments have a standing revenue-sharing policy with the local communities in a bid to promote sustainable gorilla conservation. For example, In Uganda, the locals are entitled to 20% of the total revenue earned from the sale of gorilla permits. Revenue sharing with local people has created a positive attitude of local people towards gorilla tourism and conservation hence creating a conflict-free harmonious living between the locals and the management of respective national parks.
In a bid to continue conserving these endangered species, all governments have put up clear Gorilla Trekking rules and regulations for tourists to follow. We kindly request that you adhere to these regulations as they protect both you and the gorillas.
