The minimum age for Gorilla Trekking in Uganda is now 12 years

Are you planning to travel with Children on your gorilla trek safari to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, the minimum age for Gorilla Trekking in Uganda is now 12 years making it easy for you to trek gorillas with children. According to the new amendments by Uganda Wildlife Authority, there will be no more applications for underage gorilla trekking for children below 12 years.  

There are many reasons why children below 12 years are not allowed to trek with mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the fact that children tend to have communicable diseases which can easily be transmitted to mountain gorillas since humans and mountain gorillas almost share the same genes, diseases such as cough and flue can easily be transmitted. The other reason is that the trek can sometimes be hard as Bwindi is hilly, it can be slippery and the surface is rough which Kids may not be able to handle.

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi with children below 12 years

The minimum age for Gorilla Trekking in Uganda is now 12 years. Children who are minors can travel with their parents on safari and be left at the hotel or with the driver guide while their parents are on the trek. They can participate in nature walks and community walks.

There is no maximum age for gorilla trekking provided one can travel to the Park, though there are options to help the elderly to get to see the gorillas. You can opt to pay for a Porter who helps you carry your bag pack and also gives you a hand as you hike through the forest, there is also a sedan chair that helps to carry the elderly to see the gorillas, and this goes for about $300 per person be carried to and from the forest. We have had visitors aged 70’s and 80’s be able to trek and see the gorillas. Gorilla trekking is a lifetime experience that you shouldn’t miss out.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is located in the southern part of Uganda sharing a border with Congo, it is one of the only two national parks in Uganda where you can trek and see the magnificent Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat in the world, it is home to more than half of the only remaining Mountain Gorillas in the wild making it famous and best place to trek the Mountain Gorillas. Bwindi Forest National Park is divided into different sections/sectors where you can do the Gorilla tracking experience namely Rushaga, Buhoma, Ruhija, and Nkuringo sector.

Bwindi Forest National Park has different habituated gorilla families open for gorilla tracking experience, each gorilla family has different gorilla individuals, and each gorilla family is headed and controlled by the dominant male gorilla the Silver back. For you to go on the trek, you are required to have a Gorilla permit valid for trekking that day. Gorilla permits are limited in number per day given it is only 8 people allowed to trek per gorilla family per day in Bwindi Forest National Park.

Gorilla tracking is the primary activity to do and see the gorillas while visiting Bwindi. Bwindi Forest National park is a home to half of world’s remaining Mountain Gorillas in the world meaning your visit here you have 98% chances of seeing the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Mountain gorillas in Bwindi Forest National park are found in four different sections of the park that is Rushaga and Nkuringo in the south and Ruhija and Buhoma in the North East and East part of Bwindi National park respectively. Having a gorilla permit is the key priority for you to have a gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park from Entebbe. The gorilla permit has to be purchased in advance to secure a spot for your trek for any date depending on your travel dates and availability of the permits that day. Gorilla tracking is done in a group of eight people per gorilla family meaning eight permits only are available for each gorilla family, for you to secure a place for a day’s gorilla trek you will need to secure your gorilla permit in advance months or days prior visiting Bwindi Forest National park.

When you book an all-inclusive Gorilla road trip to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park from Entebbe with Eco Adventure Safaris, all you need to do is to send us your actual dates when you prefer trekking gorillas and we will check the availability of permits online. We will reserve your permit tentatively and send you a permit payment invoice. Once you make payment, we will go ahead and secure your permit and thereafter send you scanned copies of receipts from Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Where to stay in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Since Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four sectors for gorilla trekking namely; Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija and Rushaga, You will choose accommodation/Hotel depending on the sector you will trek gorillas from. When you check the availability of permits with us, we shall let you know which sector has permits available and also suggest the hotel in that sector. All these sectors have hotels/Lodges ranging from budget to midrange to luxury and to upmarket hotel with low season rates and high season rates. For example, In Buhoma sector you can stay at Buhoma community camp as budget hotel, Buhoma Havens lodge as Midrange hotel, Bwindi lodge, Mahogany springs lodge, Buhoma lodge, as Luxury lodge and Gorilla forest camp as the Up market hotel. In Rushaga, you can stay at Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla camp and four gorillas Lodge, in Nkuringo you can stay at Nkuringo Bwindi lodge, Clouds Mountain gorilla lodge.

Why book with us gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable Forest National Park?

Eco Adventure Safaris is experienced in organizing amazing gorilla trekking safari experiences to Uganda and Rwanda. We are also highly rated and reviewed on Trip Advisor. We combine gorilla trekking safaris with eco-friendly and unforgettable high-end adventure and wildlife safaris that help preserve biodiversity, conserve wildlife and uplift local communities, these include chimpanzee trekking, Big 5 safaris and game viewing, Mountain Hiking, Boat cruises excursions and Cultural encounters to give you a memorable and best African Safari experience including popular and great African safari destinations Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana and Namibia. Feel free to contact us for more information about the minimum age for Gorilla Trekking in Uganda is now 12 years.