Gorilla Trekking safaris In October – Budget and luxury Gorilla trekking holidays – Gorilla safaris with guaranteed trekking permits
Gorilla Trekking safaris In October – Great Adventure Safaris is an expert in organizing trips for visiting gorillas in October in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Rwanda in Volcanoes National Park and in DR Congo’s Virunga National Park respectively. Kindly let us know which country you would like to go gorilla trekking safaris in October and Great Adventure Safaris will help plan and book for you. On safari for visiting gorillas in October, you can as well include in a visit to other savannah national parks for wildlife viewing, boat cruises and cultural encounters.
October is the start of the short rainy season characterized by unpredictable weather patterns of rains. It is also the shoulder season for Gorilla Trekking In both Rwanda & Uganda. Unlike the long rains in March and April, showers are often in quick heavy bursts, and shouldn’t affect your day too much.
At the worst, you could get some thunderstorm too, which can be incredibly dramatic, especially if you get to watch from the comfort of your lodge.
With the extra rains, the vegetation starts to flower, making landscapes variedly greener and beautiful, the flowering of the plants is inviting to birdlife especially the colorful sunbirds that hop from plant-to-plant sucking out the sweet nectar. This in our opinion makes October an excellent month for gorilla trekking especially for passionate photographers who would love to capture the greener landscapes, and for birding.
Gorilla Permits for gorilla trekking safaris in October are generally available, and lodges will offer special discounts and rooms will readily be available and less competitive to book. Depending On when the rains start, the start of October could still be warm and dry making it an equally interesting time to go gorilla trekking. If going gorilla trekking In October, we recommend preparing for the rains; carry all relevant rain gear and trekking stuff.
The advantage of going gorilla trekking in October and November.
Gorilla permits are readily available. Unlike in the peak season months of December, January, Feb, June, July, and August when gorilla permits are very competitive to secure, October and November permits are often available and are less competitive to book. Gorilla trekking permits In Uganda cost USD800 per person to spend one 1 hour with a group of habituated gorillas in Uganda.
Great Discounts at Luxury lodges. To desire a nights’ stay at a luxury safari lodge is one thing, and to afford it is yet another. Luxury lodges like Mount Gahinga Lodge, Bwindi Lodge, Buhoma Lodge offer great shoulder season October discounts.
Crowd-free Travel experience. Fewer people opt to travel in October, however those that do choose to do travel enjoy an exclusive crowd-free travel experience with fewer tourists – we like to call this the Penniless Exclusive travel time for one to enjoy a 5-star Gorilla Safari at the price of a budget safari. Our previous clients have actually found themselves trekking a private gorilla family with just the two of them before the gorillas No other tourists around to compete for photography space.
The disadvantage of going gorilla trekking in October.
Obviously the first downside is that October weather is unpredictable as it can start to rain and the roads could be challenging to navigate. However, a good 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser, driven by a well experienced local driver guide is definitely the remedy.
Secondly, the trails in the forest could get a lot more slippery than in the drier months. However, if you bring with you a pair of decent hiking boots (waterproof), take a local porter to assist you on the trek, and borrow/make use of the traditional free-of-charge walking stick provided at every gorilla trekking briefing point for extra walking support, you’ll be just fine. While the local porter may cost extra ($15 – $20) they are remarkably necessary for two main reasons that we endeavor to explain below:
TAKE A PORTER: Reasons why we recommend taking a local porter if you go gorilla trekking In October.
Continued gorilla conservation. A great number of the local porters are reformed poachers (or Members of previously hunting families) who depended on the forest surrounding for a livelihood. This was however short-lived when the forest was gazetted as a national park. This then leaves them with not much to their livelihood. The $15 – $20 assists them with well-earned pocket cash to purchase household supplies like food etc, a gesture we like to think of as being a sustainable/responsible approach to conservation of the mountain gorilla and its habitat.
Local knowledge, and extra strength. They know the forest so well and have walked this terrain almost all their life. What better way to do this than use an experienced local guide who has walked the trails.
Discounted Gorilla Trekking Tours for visiting gorillas in October
October is always a low season and with this traveling, in this month you will benefit from discounts offered by the hotels and various service providers which makes most trips in October be budget friendly. Great Adventure Safaris organizes and has listed pocket-friendly gorilla trekking tours on our website. We have both short and long gorilla safaris visiting either Uganda, Rwanda or Congo for gorilla trekking, you can as well combine your tour and trek in all countries.
While most of our safaris start and end in Entebbe, you may choose to begin to end your safari holiday from Kigali and visit both Uganda and Congo. Some of our priced and listed Uganda safaris starting and ending in Kigali can be checked out here.
Where best to visit gorillas in Africa?
Gorilla Trekking is done in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo which host the four national parks that are home the only remaining mountain gorillas. These include Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in DR Congo. In Congo you as well have an opportunity to see the Lowland gorillas which are found in Kahuzi-Beiga National Park. In order to trek at any of the mentioned national park a gorilla permit is required for you to be allowed to go for gorilla trekking. With this once you have planned dates of gorilla trekking we recommend you start booking your gorilla trip immediately given the fact services and permits sell out very quickly especially if you plan to do the trek in the peak season of June to September, it is always better to book at least 5 months in advance prior travelling. Gorilla Trekking at the mentioned parks can be booked directly or through a trusted local Tour Operator.
Cost and Getting Gorilla permits in Uganda
The Gorilla permit in Uganda Costs $800 Per person per trek for the Foreign Non Residents, $700 Per person for Foreign Residents, $500 for Rest of Africa citizens and $90 for East African Citizens (Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan), this gives you an opportunity to spend one hour encounter with the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Uganda has 22 habituated gorilla family groups with 21 found in Bwindi and 1 in Mgahinga this means 176 Gorilla permits are available every day for gorilla trekking in Uganda. Gorilla trekking in Uganda also gives you an option to spend more time with the mountain gorillas through Gorilla habituation experience which is only done in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 per person giving you an opportunity to spend 4 hours encounter with the semi habituated mountain gorillas under the guidance of trackers and researchers as opposed to one hour for the normal trekking. Getting gorilla permits in Uganda can be done directly by booking them through Uganda Wildlife Authority or through a trusted tour operator in Uganda like Great Adventure Safaris.
Cost and Getting Gorilla Permits in Rwanda
The Gorilla permit in Rwanda Costs $1500 Per person per trek for the Foreign Non Residents, $500 Per person for Foreign Residents and $200 for East African Citizens (Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan), this gives you an opportunity to spend one hour encounter with the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda has 12 Gorilla families hence 96 Gorilla permits are available each day for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Getting gorilla permits in Rwanda can be done directly by booking them through Rwanda Development Board or through a trusted tour operator in Rwanda like Great Adventure Safaris.
Cost and Getting Gorilla Permits in DR Congo
Gorilla tracking in Congo is done in Virunga National Park for Mountain Gorillas and Kahuzi Beiga National Park for Lowland gorillas. A gorilla permit in Virunga National Park costs $400 per person per trek for the high season months of Mid-December to mid-march then June to October and then $200 for the low season months of mid-march to mid-May and then mid-October to mid-December every year. A gorilla permit in Kahuzi-Beiga National Park costs $400 for Foreign Non Residents, $200 for East Africa Residents and $20 national resident. Getting gorilla permits in Congo can be done directly by booking them through Virunga National Park or through a trusted tour operator like Great Adventure Safaris.
When booking your gorilla permit it is important to note that the gorilla permit price excludes accommodation, air tickets, ground transport, meals and other expenses, you will need to get more details of the package you are booking with your tour operator.
What is included in our Gorilla Trekking Tours and Safaris in October?
All Great Adventure Safaris gorilla trekking packages for holidaymakers are all-inclusive of gorilla permits, accommodation as well as the transport to and from Entebbe or Kigali to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. We prefer assisting with all components of the tour or your holiday so that while travelling with us in Africa, your holiday is stress-free having trusted the experts to do it for you. Let’s look at all individual components of our holiday gorilla trekking safari.
Transport to and from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Great Adventure Safaris operates a fleet of both Luxury Land cruisers for our high-end clients and Customized safari vans for those who want to spend less but travel comfortably. All our vehicles are 4×4 and are customized for the rough terrain in Africa. They come with drinking water and are driven by well trained and professional local driver guides. We will make sure that your travel with us is comfortable and foots the bill.
Flying to Kigali, Rwanda or Entebbe international Airport, Uganda
You will have an option of flying into Kigali or Entebbe to visit Uganda, Rwanda or Congo for gorilla trekking. Many people prefer flying into Kigali and trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi. The main reason for this is to avoid long drives involved from Entebbe. Check our Uganda safaris from Kigali and get back to us. Those that fly into Entebbe will enjoy a scenic drive that will see you stop at the equator crossing, a chance to have a look at the Ankole long-horned cows as well as the rolling hills of Kigezi. Whichever Airport you will use, we will assist in airport transfers as well as the transport to and from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Other than gorilla trekking in October, what more can I do?
October is a good time to combine gorilla trekking with the wildlife in Kenya, and it is the start of a period for great diving and snorkeling on the Kenyan Coast, so we’d definitely recommend Kenya if you are looking for a gorilla, wildlife and beach experience. If you want to combine Rwanda with Uganda, there may be the chance of seeing some lion vs buffalo action in the far-flung remote Kidepo Valley National Park, and the other wildlife in parks such as Murchison Falls National Park worthwhile a visit