“Gorilla permits are always in short supply. Do not waste time. Decide on tracking dates and pay a deposit for your permits”.
Gorilla tracking in Rwanda takes place every day, 365 days in a year. Tracking, trekking and hiking takes place in Volcanoes National Park (Parc Nationale des Volcans) from Kinigi Park headquarters. Trekking takes from 4-8 hrs. Any person of average fitness can track gorillas. Each day, there are a minimum of 64 gorilla permits available. Permits available daily depend on the groups available for tracking. By statistics, six (8) families are permanently settled in Rwanda. Sometimes these are joined by a migratory group from Uganda thus making more permits available.
Many people ask the question,“When do I book my gorilla tracking permit?” Alternatively what is the earliest date to buy a gorilla permit?
These questions are best answered by another question, “When do you intend to track? Which month?” – January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November or December?
By statistics, the months of June, July, August, September are high season. To get a permits in these months is difficult and sometimes impossible hence for those intending to track these months book as early as possible. Early as possible means even a year in advance. You can try your luck latest 6 months in advance. For the other months, book earliest 6 months in advance and latest 4 months in advance.
This does not mean you cannot get a permit a day in advance. You can always try your luck any time.
Valuable links
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking, Tracking, Hiking Safaris 