How Gorilla Permits Actually Work

Everything else about a Rwandan trip is flexible. Lodges can be swapped, parks reordered, days added. The gorilla permit is the one thing that is not, and building an itinerary before you have one is the most common planning mistake we see.

How the allocation works

A strictly limited number of permits are issued for Volcanoes National Park each day. Each one entitles one person to one trek, with one habituated gorilla family, for one hour.

Permits are issued by the Rwanda Development Board. Groups are allocated to specific families at the briefing on the morning itself, not in advance — so you cannot book a particular family, though you can tell the guides about fitness concerns and they will take that into account.

On price

Rwanda's permit is significantly more expensive than Uganda's, and it is the single largest line item on most itineraries. Rates are set by the RDB and revised from time to time, sometimes with tiered pricing for Rwandan nationals, East African Community residents and foreign visitors.

We do not publish a figure here, because a stale number on a tourism site is worse than no number. We confirm the current rate for your nationality in writing before you commit to anything.

How far ahead to book

For travel in the dry months — June to September, and December to February — several months ahead is sensible, and for a group or a specific date, longer. Those months sell out first and they sell out completely.

The wet months are considerably easier and sometimes available at short notice. If your dates are flexible and your budget is not, March or November is worth considering for that reason alone.

Secure the permit, then book the flights. Not the other way round.

The order we work in

• You tell us your dates, or a range, and how many people.
• We check permit availability for those dates before anything else is discussed.
• If they are available, we hold what we can and build the itinerary around the trek day.
• If they are not, we tell you immediately and suggest the nearest dates that work.
• Lodges and transport are arranged once the trek day is fixed.

Things worth knowing

• There is a minimum age, enforced at the briefing rather than treated as guidance.
• Visitors who are visibly unwell may be turned back. Gorillas are vulnerable to human respiratory infections, and the rule protects them.
• A permit is for a specific date. Changing it is not always possible and is subject to RDB policy.
• Golden monkey trekking needs its own separate permit, and is a fraction of the cost.
• Trekking twice means two permits. Many people do it, and the second trek is often the better one.

Where the money goes

A share of permit revenue is directed to the communities around the park under Rwanda's revenue-sharing arrangement, funding local projects. The rest funds the rangers, the trackers and the veterinary teams that keep the population monitored daily.

That is the honest case for the price. The gorillas are still here because being worth more alive than dead turned out to be the thing that saved them.