Congo gorilla trekking permit

3 Days Gorilla Trekking from Kigali

Congo gorilla trekking permit

Congo gorilla trekking permit: A gorilla trekking permit is a card or document that is issued to any visitor above the age of fifteen allowing him or her to visit a habituated gorilla family in either Virunga national park of Kahuzi Biega national park.  Gorilla trekking is a major activity that is carried out in Democratic Republic of Congo which allows visitors to move into the dense tropical forests in search of the habituated gorilla families and once found spend one hour with them in their natural habitat.

Gorillas in Congo are found in two national parks namely Virunga national park which harbors the endangered mountain gorillas and Kahuzi Biega national park which harbors Eastern lowland gorillas, the lowland gorillas are unique from the mountain gorillas in that they are larger and in Africa they can only be found in Kahuzi Biega national park.

Cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Congo      

For any visitor that wants to trek the endangered mountain gorillas in either Virunga national park or Kahuzi Biega national park he or she is required to have a valid gorilla trekking permit which costs $400 for foreign non-residents.

However, Democratic Republic of Congo offers a discounted gorilla trekking permit during the low season from 15th March to 15th May and 15th October to 15th November. The cost of a gorilla trekking permit during the low season is $200 for foreign non-residents and $ 150 for Congo nationals.

Democratic Republic of Congo is the only gorilla destination that offers a cheap gorilla trekking permit compared to other countries like Rwanda where a gorilla trekking permit costs $1500 per person for all nationalities and Uganda where a gorilla trekking permit costs $600 per person for foreign non-residents, $500 per person for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for East African citizens.

How to book a gorilla trekking permit in Congo

Booking a gorilla trekking permit is easy as long as you follow the right procedure and there are two options of booking a gorilla trekking permit in Congo for example booking directly through Virunga foundation and this can be done by contacting the offices via email or telephone calls.

Another option of booking a gorilla trekking permit is through contacting a trusted and reliable tour operator like Achieve Global Safaris. When booking through a tour operator you will follow various steps such as

  • Contacting us with the date, month, year and national park where you want to trek the endangered gorillas.
  • After contacting us we will check for availability of the permits depending on your dates and when the permits are available, you will be asked to make a deposit for the permit on our bank accounts.
  • Once the deposit has been made, you will be asked to send a scanned copy of your passport with details like your names, nationality, date of birth, passport number among others.
  • When we receive the money transfer which takes about 2 to 3 working days, we will acquire the gorilla trekking permit which will later be reserved based on mutual trust because unlike Uganda and Rwanda where we send a scanned copy of the receipt as confirmation, in Congo a permit is reserved based on mutual trust.

When to book a gorilla trekking permit

A gorilla trekking permit in Congo should be booked at least 4 months in advance before the trekking date because the permits are competitive and get sold out quickly especially during the peak season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February therefore for timely planning and to avoid last minute disappointments, you are advised to book in advance.  Booking gorilla trekking permits in advance mainly applies to Virunga national park because it receives many visitors compared to Kahuzi Biega national park where you can even book a gorilla trekking permit at the last minute.

What is included in a gorilla trekking permit?

A gorilla trekking permit in Congo includes the one hour spent with the endangered mountain gorillas in Virunga national park and eastern lowland gorillas in Kahuzi Biega national park. During the one hour you will get an opportunity of learning about the lifestyle of the gorillas, behaviors, habits, take photos and record videos to show people back home.

A gorilla trekking permit also includes the services of a park guide who is well conversant with the gorilla trekking trails in either Virunga national park or Kahuzi Biega national park, services of trackers who move to the forest early in the morning to look for the gorillas and once found communicate with the park guides.

A gorilla trekking permit in Congo also included park entrance fees, security of the armed park rangers among others.

Gorilla trekking in Congo

Gorilla trekking is a major tourism activity in Congo which gives you an activity to move deep into the tropical forests in search of the habituated gorilla families and once found spend one hour with them in their natural environment. Gorilla trekking in Congo is carried out in two destinations which include

Virunga national park, Virunga is located in the northeastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo bordering Uganda and Rwanda and it’s the most visited national park in Congo because it harbors the endangered mountain gorillas. Virunga national park is a home of about 8 habituated gorilla families which implies that there are about 64 gorilla trekking permits that are available on a daily basis.

Kahuzi Biega national park, Kahuzi Biega national park is another gorilla destination located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo and borders with Rwanda. Kahuzi Biega national park harbors the eastern lowland gorillas which are unique species of the gorillas that are larger than the mountain gorillas. The national park is a home of about 5 gorilla families which implies that there are 40 gorilla trekking permits available daily for visitors who want to spend time with the gentle giants.

Gorilla trekking in both destinations starts in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters where after you will be grouped into 8 people and allocated a gorilla group to trek. Grouping of individuals is done according to age, personal preferences and physical fitness therefore visitors who are not physically fit are advised to communicate with the guides so that they are allocated a gorilla family that is near to trek.

Trekking of the gorillas in Congo is done with a park guide who will be showing you the trails to follow and also sharing information about the gorillas and trekking takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on the location of the gorillas. Once the gorillas are found, you will spend one hour with them in their natural habitat learning about their habits, behaviors, lifestyles, taking photos and recording the moments.

A gorilla trekking permit in Congo is the major essential for gorilla trekking therefore book in advance for timely planning of a gorilla trekking safari in either Virunga national park or Kahuzi Biega national park which will offer you breathtaking and lifetime experiences.