How to get trekking permit to Congo

How to get trekking permit to Congo: If you are thinking about gorilla trekking, its better you first think about the trekking permits. The fact is, you cannot do gorilla trekking, not only in Congo but also in Uganda and Rwanda. In fact, gorilla trekking is one of the most exhilarating experiences you can ever have in Congo. This country is basically a home for two species of gorillas, the lowland eastern and the mountain gorillas. Virunga National Park is a major home for the endangered sought after mountain gorillas.

The park has over eight habituated families of mountain gorillas which are available for trekking and visiting. Many visitors visit Congo for gorilla trekking in two major destinations; Kahuzi beiga national park and Virunga national park. Kahuzi beiga national park is basically a home for the commonly known eastern lowland gorillas. These are different from the endangered sought after mountain gorillas which are located in Virunga national park.

What are gorilla trekking permits?

The gorilla trekking permits are legal documents issued by government nature conservation bodies. Generally, this allows a visitor to engage in the gorilla activities in different gorilla safaris destinations in Africa. The permit in Congo will allow you to enjoy the exhilarating mountain gorillas in Virung and the eastern lowland gorillas in Kahuzi beiga national park. Note that, the gorilla permit can be a gorilla trekking permit or a gorilla habituation permit. The gorilla habituation permits differ from the gorilla trekking permits in terms of cost and duration of validity within the wilderness.

Eastern lowland gorilla permits in Kahuzi beiga national park

The gorilla trekking permits for Kahuzi beiga are issued by the government body of the democratic republic of Congo. It is also known as the ICCN which is “institut Congolais pour la conservation de la nature”. Kahuzi beiga national park is famously known for having about 6 families of lowland gorillas. And these are open for visiting by the travelers to the democratic republic of Congo. The permits for the eastern lowland gorillas in kahuzi beiga national park are charged usd400 per person. Each person, along with his or her permit is allowed to have a one hour interaction with the eastern lowland gorillas. The one hour interaction with these gorillas is worthy since it allows you to learn about these species. These include; feeding patterns, socialization, copulation, not to mention but a few.

Mountain gorilla trekking permits in Virunga national park in Congo

Virunga national park is one of the famous places in Africa where mountain gorillas can be trekked. The park is also the only place in the democratic republic of Congo where you can find the mountain gorillas. Just like the other parks, gorilla trekking here is only possible if you possess a genuine gorilla trekking permit. There are a lot of local tour operators that can help you book your permit in Virunga national park. Besides, Virunga foundation together with the government of Congo offer discounted gorilla trekking permits. However, this is only for the trekkers to Virunga national park in Congo. Just like Kahuzi beiga national park, your gorilla trekking permit costs usd450 in Virunga national park.

What you have to know about gorilla trekking permits in Congo

Here, permits are highly competitive probably this is because they are the cheapest among all the gorilla trekking destinations. The gorilla trekking permits to Virunga national park are offered on the first come first serve basis. This is greatly attributed to the competitiveness of these cheap trekking permits. There is no much promise that you can find the permits available for you on a day you require to book for your trekking safari. For this reason, it is better you book your Virunga national park mountain gorilla trekking permit just in time.

It is best for you to book for your mountain gorilla trekking permit about 3-4 months before the actual trekking day. This is especially in the peak seasons whereby trekking permits might be hard to acquire. Note that, the peak season is experienced from late December, through January to February, and from June through July to August. However, no cancellation policy is attached to the gorilla trekking permit in Virunga national park. Additionally, no money is refunded for any case of cancelling your gorilla trekking permit to Virunga national park.

Steps for booking a gorilla trekking permit in Congo

You have to contact a tour operator since it is always good if you use the local tour operators. In fact, they have the most updated information about the release of the mountain gorilla trekking permits.
Secondly, the tour operator will let you know about the feedback, such as the free days you can trek or else confirm choice. After giving you the feedback, you can also confirm with the tour operator and he books the permit tentatively.
Afterwards, the tour operator can send you the bank details on which you can complete your payment. Its good to take caution on this, there are many frauds that can make use of your information to drain your bank account.
The payment will be mature within 3-4 days after submitting in. Make sure that the payment you sent includes the cost of the permit and the bank charges as well. Therefore, your tour operator can help you with the summation.
After the payment, you are required to send your passport details. It is the passport details that are used by the ICCN to make for you the gorilla trekking permit.

How to get trekking permit to Congo