How to Book a Uganda Gorilla Permit: Steps, Rules and Timing

To book a Uganda gorilla permit, you choose Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, pick a trekking date and a sector, and secure the permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) through a licensed tour operator, who usually handles payment and the details of your passport. The standard permit for foreign non-residents is widely reported at US$800, with a reduced low-season price announced for April, May and November, and a higher fee for the habituation experience. Reports disagree on the effective dates of the latest tariff, so always confirm the current price for your trek date with UWA or your operator.

This guide gives the seven steps in order, explains the common rules, and lists the mistakes that cost travellers their dates. We checked the details in October 2026. For the full cost picture, read how much it costs to trek gorillas in Uganda.

Uganda has two gorilla parks. Bwindi has four trekking sectors and the largest number of habituated groups. Mgahinga has one group and is smaller and quieter. Read is Bwindi or Mgahinga better for gorilla trekking.

Bwindi's sectors, Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo, sit in different parts of the forest, with different lodges, drive times and terrain. The sector you choose decides where you sleep and how far you drive. See the best gorilla trekking sector in Bwindi and how many gorilla families are in Bwindi.

The dry months, June to September and December to February, are the busiest and permits sell out first. The wetter months give lower demand, and UWA has announced a discounted permit price for April, May and November. Read the best time to visit Bwindi for gorilla trekking.

Foreign non-resident permits are generally booked through a licensed Ugandan tour operator, who checks availability with UWA and issues the permit in your name. Some reports say direct booking is possible in certain cases, but this is unclear, so ask UWA or your operator. Compare operators using our guide to how to choose a Uganda tour operator.

You need your full name, nationality, passport number, date of birth and trek date. Permits are issued in a specific name and the details are checked at the park, so errors can mean you are refused. The minimum age is 15.

Reports say the old seven-day unpaid hold has been removed in 2026, so payment is needed at booking. Confirm the terms with your operator. Ask for the permit confirmation and keep a copy.

Book lodging near your sector, arrange a vehicle and prepare for the trek. Read the gorilla trekking packing list and the Bwindi gorilla trekking guide. Our tours include the permit; see the 3-day Bwindi gorilla trekking tour and the 5-day gorilla trek and Queen Elizabeth safari.

These figures come from secondary sources, and they disagree about the dates when each tariff applies. The UWA publishes the official tariff, and your operator can confirm the rate for your date.

Groups are limited to eight trekkers per family. You stay one hour with the gorillas, at a respectful distance. No one with a cold or flu is allowed. You report to the briefing in the morning at your sector's start point. Read the rules in 10 gorilla trekking tips.

Plan around demand. For June to September and December to February, book three to six months ahead, and earlier for a group or for the southern Rushaga sector, where several families may be reserved by operators early. For the wetter months, April, May, October and November, one to three months is often enough, but the best lodges still sell out. The announced low-season permit price for April, May and November makes those months popular with price-conscious travellers, so do not wait for a late discount. Mgahinga has only one group, so its permits run out sooner than the number of daily permits suggests.

Send these details in one message: full names as in each passport, nationality, date of birth, passport numbers and expiry dates, preferred sector, trek date, your fitness level and any health condition, and the number of porters you want. The operator needs the passport details to issue the permit, and an error means the permit has to be corrected or reissued. If you are travelling with a teenager, include their date of birth, because the minimum age is 15. Tell the operator if anyone has mobility problems, so that they can request a suitable group.

• A flight is cancelled. Permits are generally not refundable, so ask whether your operator can move the date and what it costs.
• You catch a cold. Rangers can refuse you to protect the gorillas, so keep a spare day.
• The group crosses the border (Mgahinga). Ask what the alternative is before you book.
• The name is wrong. Check the confirmation as soon as you get it.
• Weather delays the road. Leave the day before the trek free for travel.

In Rwanda, the permit is issued automatically on the Rwanda Development Board portal once the application is complete, and the price is US$1,500 for foreign visitors. In Uganda, foreign non-residents are generally directed through licensed operators, and the price is widely reported at US$800 with discounts in some months. Read how to book gorilla trekking in Rwanda to compare the two processes and Rwanda vs Uganda gorilla trekking to decide between them.

Eat a full breakfast, wear your trekking clothes, and carry your passport and permit confirmation. You usually report to the start point of your sector early in the morning for a briefing, where rangers explain the rules, assign groups to gorilla families and offer porters. Bring water, snacks, a rain jacket and a camera without flash. Listen to the rangers, ask questions about the pace and tell them about any health problem. After the briefing, you drive or walk to the trailhead and begin the trek, led by a ranger and followed by an armed guard who watches for wildlife.

Tips are customary for trekking guides, trackers, porters and the lodge staff. Ask your operator for the recommended amounts, and tip in cash at the end of the day. A porter who has carried your bag and helped you on the slope earns a separate tip, and rangers appreciate a thank-you for the briefing and the hour with the gorillas. Keep small notes in your daypack so that you do not have to search for change.

• Travellers who want a lower permit price than Rwanda's US$1,500
• Visitors who also want chimpanzees, boat safaris and the Nile

• Travellers with a very short trip, since Bwindi is a long drive from Kigali or Entebbe
• Those who cannot manage steep, dense forest

• Waiting too long. June to September fills early.
• Typing the name wrongly. It must match the passport.
• Using old prices. Confirm the current tariff.
• Choosing a sector without checking distance. Drive times differ.

Three to six months ahead for the dry months, and sooner for groups.

Reports differ. Ask UWA or a licensed operator.

Fifteen years.

Generally not. Check the terms and buy insurance.

Yes. Reports of the 2026 and 2027 tariffs disagree on dates and discounts, so ask UWA or your operator to confirm the price for your trek date in writing before you pay.

It depends on the terms. Ask your operator before you pay, and consider insurance for the cost of changes.

Tell us your dates and the sector you prefer, and we will check availability and book the permit. Talk to Our Tour Specialist. For Rwanda, see how to book a Rwanda gorilla permit.

Source: Uganda Wildlife Authority.