Gorilla permit overbooking – Gorilla trekking safaris and tours.
More often than not, the Uganda Wildlife Authority sees gorilla permit overbooking in Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Combining the boost of twelve habituated mountain gorilla groups from Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks, a total of ninety-six visitors interested in gorilla trekking may be housed.
Still, there are certain seasons or areas when gorilla permits overbooking is reported. Mountain gorilla trekking laws and regulations state that gorilla permit overbooking is not allowed, as it would lead to more individuals than the legal limit of eight persons.
Naturally, this will lead to congestion during gorilla trekking, something that can imperil already threatened mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park.
Overbooking Gorilla Permission
Four gorilla paths in the East (Ruhija), North (Buhoma), South (Rushaga and Nkuringo) go through Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Although each of these areas or trail heads has separate gorilla families, distances separating them from lodges booked by guests may make it difficult for clients to get from one area to another when there is gorilla permit overbooking in one location as opposed to another.
For instance, you may find that gorilla permit overbooking has occurred in the Buhoma region, which is by far the best or preferred region visited by tourists. When this is found most especially on the day of the trekking, it is quite difficult for Uganda Wildlife Authority to transfer clients, let’s say to Rushaga, on that very trekking day due to the distance. Gorilla families in such an area will therefore be walked by more than eight persons.
Overbooking in gorillas may arise from many factors. The new system was showing availability of gorilla permits, but in an actual sense, they had been sold out since some booked gorilla permits stored in the old system were not captured when moving to the new system. Consequently, additional gorilla permits were offered to visitors and tour companies, leading to overbooking.
We should underline that Uganda Wildlife Authority encourages all individuals to report any overcrowding during gorilla trekking, most likely due to gorilla permit overbooking; it is not done deliberately by them. Uganda Animal Authority does not support operations meant to imperil all threatened primates and animals in Uganda’s protected regions, as it is dedicated to their protection. This article just highlights the occasional occurrence of gorilla permit overbooking.
