How to Buy Gorilla Permits in Rwanda – Cost, How to Obtain and Booking Guide

A gorilla Permit/ Pass / is a document which clients receive after they have paid for their trekking spot to watch gorillas in Volcanoes national park / Bwindi national park / Virunga national park and Mgahinga national park. The above parks are the differen places where mountain gorillas can be found in Africa.

Gorilla permits in Rwanda cost 1,500 USD per person inclusive of park entry fees which should be booked in advance of at least 2- 3 months through the Rwanda development board reservations email about the availability of tracking dates. Alternatively you can purchase permits at the same cost with Rwandan tour operators who also arrange gorilla safaris and tours.

Note, however, gorilla permits tend to get finished quickly due to many visitors longing for gorilla tracking hence while booking you must ensure payment and confirmation of real tracking dates to a void inconveniences. It s not possible to book permits for specific gorilla families although you can negotiate when booking to give you groups that stay close to the tracking point in case you are not fit enough to go for longer treks.

8 visitors can see one group of gorillas which means a total of 80 permits are given out each single day.

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Accessibility of Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes national park is in the north east of Rwanda in musanze district and can be accessed using public transport or private vehicles on good paved roads.

From Kigali it takes one and a half hour drive to get to Musanze. Musanze is 12 km from kinigi the main tracking point you can hire a private vehicle or use your travel operator’s vehicle to get near kinigi at the park boundaries and then walk on foot to the visitors centre.

Visitors should organize their own transport means of getting them to kinigi the main tracking point, there’s a short distance from musanze town in case you had your overnight in the town.
Tipping guides, rangers or trackers is allowed if at all you have appreciated their guiding and experience, there is no limit to the amount you decide to tip your guide.

After tracking gorillas visitors might take walks in the communities and get a test of local lifestyles such as traditional dance performances of various cultural groups at volcanoes such as Rwanda dance troupe or visit iby’iwacu cultural centre to learn more about the history and cultural heritage of Rwandan people.
A visit to Dian Fossey tomb is also memorable to pay tribute to the pioneer of gorilla conservation, imagine if she had not intervened may be gorillas would be extinct. Golden monkey tracking is also available as well as volcano climbing