MOUNTAIN GORILLA AND CHIMPANZEE TRACKING PERMIT RESERVATION GUIDELINES 2020

MOUNTAIN GORILLA AND CHIMPANZEE TRACKING PERMIT RESERVATION
GUIDELINES 2020
1. PREAMBLE
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) was established by the Uganda Wildlife Act Cap 200
with the mandate to protect and conserve wildlife sustainably for the benefit of the
people of Uganda. The Wildlife Act authorizes UWA to charge fees for the services it
provides and to develop policies and procedures to guide the sustainable utilization of
these resources. The Act further authorizes the Board of Trustees to guide the process
of sustainable utilization of the resources.
2. UWA MISSION AND CORE VALUES
UWA’s Mission is to conserve, economically develop and sustainably manage the wildlife
and protected areas of Uganda in partnership with neighbouring communities and other
stakeholders for the benefit of the people of Uganda and the global community.
The Core Values are:
i. Commitment to conservation;
ii. Team work;
iii. Customer Care and Quality service;
iv. Professionalism;
v. Integrity.
3. OBJECTIVES
The purpose of these guidelines is to assist UWA staff and clients in managing the gorillas
and chimpanzee tracking permit reservation process, from booking, payments and
refunds, cancellations and reschedules, in a timely and effective manner that serves
UWA’s clients better and reduces conflicts.
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The main objectives of the guidelines are:
i. To provide clear guidance to clients on the procedures for obtaining permits for
gorilla and chimpanzee tracking and habituation experience,
ii. To provide guidance to the management of emerging issues related to
cancellations, refunds and reschedules,
iii. To improve customer care and services to the clients
iv. To enable UWA to collect data on the visitors engaging in gorilla and chimpanzee
activities during the year.
Ultimately, the guidelines will lead to better customer satisfaction and better reviews
and recommendations which will further result into higher visitor numbers for gorilla
tracking and to the country’s protected areas.
4. PROCEDURE FOR RESERVING AND PURCHASING PERMITS FROM UWA
HEADQUARTERS AND OTHER RESERVATION CENTRES
UWA currently operates an automated system to manage the sale of gorilla and
chimpanzee tracking and habituation experience permits. The procedure below shall
apply for reserving and purchasing tracking and habituation permits for gorillas and
chimpanzees:
i) Reservations for gorilla tracking and habituation permits shall be done from any
of the following locations:
 The Reservations Office at the UWA Headquarters in Kampala.
 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP).
 Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP).
 Other Service/ Information Centres, as will be advised from time to time.
ii) Reservations for chimpanzee tracking and habituation permits shall be done from
any of the following locations:
 The Reservations Office at the UWA Headquarters in Kampala.
 Kibale National Park (KNP).
 Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) at Kyambura Gorge
 Other Service/ Information centres, as will be advised from time to time.
iii) Where a client chooses to purchase the permits at the Park, he or she shall, upon
receipt of confirmation of availability of permits, purchase permits at least seven
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(7) days before the date of the tracking. Such purchase will be with full payment
of the value of that permit. Part payment will not be accepted.
iv) UWA shall reserve and sell 80% of the daily permits through Uganda Registered
Tour Operators, with valid operating licences. Any unreserved permits will be
opened up to the public and walk-in clients 4 months to tracking. This provision
is subject to change upon review from time to time.
v) The remaining 20% of the permits from (IV) above will be sold to walk in clients.
Walk in clients shall be required to present their valid identification documents.
vi) A permit may be reserved in advance for a period not exceeding two (2) years
provided:
a) The client has made payment deposit of at least 30% of the value of the
permit(s) at the time of booking;
b) The balance on the booking or reservation shall be made not later than 90
days to the tracking date;
c) Where full payment has not been received 90 days to the tracking date, the
permit shall be automatically cancelled and the client shall forfeit 30% of the
total permit value.
vii) Payment(s) shall be done in full for all permits reserved ninety (90) days or less
to the tracking date. No part payments shall be accepted for such permits.
viii) Uganda Wildlife Authority reserves the right to amend these procedures from
time to time.
5. ONLINE BOOKING
Permits may be booked or reserved through the internet (online). The following terms
shall apply:
i) Tour operators registered with the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) shall be
eligible to book or reserve permits online.
ii) All payments for permits booked online shall be made within seven (7)
calendar days from the date of booking.
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iii) Payments for the permits shall be made at the Reservations Office at UWA
Headquarters or any other place as UWA may determine. However, no
cheques, except bank drafts, shall be accepted.
iv) Where the Tour Operator fails to make payment for the permit within the
time stated in (ii) above, such booking or reservation shall be automatically
cancelled.
6. COLLECTION OF PERMITS
i) Tour operators shall submit details of their clients for the permits booked in
advance to the UWA Reservation Office to ensure that permits for these
clients are printed at least seven (7) days before the tracking date.
ii) All permits booked and paid for in advance shall be collected from the
Reservations Office at least 3 days before tracking.
7. LOCATION OF GORILLA FAMILIES AND CHIMPANZEE COMMUNITIES
Gorillas
i) Mountain gorillas in Uganda are currently found in BINP and MGNP. Although
the different gorilla families are given names for ease of identification for
conservation purposes, the booking of permits shall be made based on the
locations of the family, which currently are at Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija and
Nkuringo in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and at Nyakagezi in Mgahinga
Gorilla National Park.
ii) Other locations may be established taking into consideration the movement
of the gorillas within their habitat.
iii) Within the locations, visitors shall be allocated to track specific gorilla family
groups on the day of tracking taking into consideration the circumstances on
the ground.
Chimpanzees
1. Chimpanzee Walk or Chimpanzee tracking provides an opportunity to find and
observe chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Visitors can book and carry out this
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activity at Kanyanchu in Kibale National Park and Kyambura Wildlife Reserve in
Queen Elizabeth National Park.
2. Chimpanzee Habituation Experience, allows visitors to accompany researchers
and habituators into the forests for the purpose of participation in the process of
getting them accustomed to humans. Briefing is done at Kanyanchu Visitor
Centre.
3. Chimpanzee Habituation Experience starts at 6:00 am while chimpanzee tracking
starts at 8:30 am
Other locations may be opened and will be communicated by UWA management from
time to time
8. VISITOR CATEGORY
The prices for permits vary based on the residence status of the visitors. Currently the
three visitor categories are:
i) East African Community citizens (EAC): Citizens from the East African Community
(Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan).
ii) Foreign Non Residents (FNR): Visitors from outside Uganda and the East African
Community.
iii) Foreign Residents (FR): Foreign citizens, resident in the East African Community
States with valid work permits or resident visas/permits.
Visitor category shall be verified with the relevant documentation at the point of sale
and at check-in prior to departure for tracking.
9. PAYMENT METHODS
The acceptable payment methods are:
i) Debit/credit card payments
ii) Bank Transfers to UWA accounts (inclusive of bank charges) – Please contact
info@wildlife.go.ug or reservations@wildlife.go.ug for bank account details.
iii) Bank Drafts (including bank charges)
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iv) Any other payment method as UWA may determine and communicate from time
to time.
NOTE: UWA does not have any agents within and outside Uganda. All payments
should be made directly to the UWA bank account or through the reservations office
and service / information centres as will be advised from time to time.
10. RESCHEDULE OF PERMITS
A reschedule refers to change of dates and locations for tracking as provided for in this
guidelines.
i) Re-schedules for the booked permits for gorilla or chimpanzee tracking and
habituation shall only be permitted for only fully paid for permits.
ii) Where reschedules have been permitted, such reschedules shall only be made
once.
iii) Where a permit has been rescheduled before, no refund shall be permitted
against such a permit.
iv) Where requests for reschedules are received after a change in the cost of the
permits, such reschedules shall attract an extra cost up to the prevailing rate of
the permit at the time of rescheduling.
v) Requests for reschedules should be received eight (8) days to the tracking date.
Any requests received after this period shall attract a penalty of 25% of the cost
of a permit.
vi) Reschedules shall not be permitted for periods exceeding one year.
11. TRACKING AND VIEWING TIME LIMIT
Tracking time for the gorillas and chimpanzees includes the whole experience starting
immediately after the briefing up to the time of return for the debrief. It may take a
while to locate and view the primates.
Viewing time refers to the duration the clients stay with the primates after encounter.
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i) Tracking of gorillas and chimpanzees shall be done within the timelines stated
hereunder;
a) Gorilla Tracking – From 8:00 am to the time when visitors return to base
for debriefing.
b) Gorilla habituation Experience – From 7.00 am to the time when the
visitors return to base for debriefing.
c) Chimpanzee tracking – From 8.00am (for morning tracking) and 2.00pm
(for afternoon tracking) to the time that the visitors return to base for
debriefing.
d) Chimpanzee habituation experience – From 6.30 am to the time when the
visitors return to base for debriefing.
ii) The viewing time for gorillas and chimpanzees shall be as follows:
a) A maximum of one (1) hour viewing for normal tracking of both gorillas
and chimpanzees
b) A maximum of four (4) hours for the Chimpanzee habituation experience.
c) A maximum of four (4) hours for the gorilla habituation experience
d) Any other duration that UWA may from time to time authorise.
The viewing time shall commence from the time the clients reach the viewing point
identified by the guiding officer.
12. MINIMUM AGE LIMIT
i) The minimum age limit for tracking and viewing gorillas in both BINP and MGNP
is 15 years.
ii) The minimum age limit for tracking and viewing chimpanzees in QENP at
Kyambura Gorge and Kibale National Park is 12 years.
13. CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS
i) Except as provided hereunder, UWA shall not make any refunds of money paid
for gorilla and chimpanzee tracking or habituation experiences.
ii) The Executive Director may, upon receiving a written request, authorise
cancellation of a fully paid permit on the following terms:
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Failure to view Gorillas/Chimpanzees
a) Where the client, upon tracking for a whole day, fails to see a gorilla(s)
or chimpanzee(s), the Executive Director may authorise rescheduling of
the permit to the following day subject to availability of slots.
b) Where there are no available slots for rescheduling the permit, the
Executive Director shall authorise cancellation of the permit and a refund
of 50% of the permit value upon certification/confirmation of the inability
to access gorillas/chimpanzees by the respective Chief Warden/ Warden
in Charge
Illness and accidents
a) A visitor who may develop or shows signs of illness before tracking shall not
be allowed to visit the gorillas or chimpanzees. Such a client shall be referred
to the nearest health facility to ascertain the extent of his illness and his
inability to track.
b) The illness shall be confirmed by a medical report. The cost of diagnosis shall
be borne by the client.
c) The Executive Director shall authorise cancellation of the permit and
processing of a refund of 50% of the permit value to a visitor declared unfit
to track gorillas or chimpanzees due to illness.
d) This cancellation policy shall only apply to visitors already in the Park to track
gorillas and chimpanzees but develop or show signs of illness before tracking.
e) The Executive Director shall authorise cancellation of a permit and processing of a
refund of 50% of the permit value to client who fails to track gorillas or chimpanzees
due to an accident sustained in the Park before tracking.
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Double or Over Payments
i) The Executive Director shall upon receipt of a written request, authorise
refund of 100% to a client that presents evidence of a double payment or any
payment over and above the prevailing permit value payment.
ii) The Executive Director may also authorise utilisation of any funds confirmed as a
double payment or over payment to another tourism activity.
General cancellations
i) The Executive Director may authorise cancellation of a permit for other
reasons, other than those specified above on the following conditions;
a) Any request for cancellation within eight (8) days to the tracking date,
shall attract no refunds.
b) A client that requests for cancellation of a permit between nine (09) to
forty-five (45) days to the tracking date shall be entitled to 25% of the
permit value.
c) A client that requests for cancellation of a permit between forty-six (46)
to ninety (90) days to the tracking date shall be entitled to 50% of the
permit value.
d) A client that requests for cancellation of a permit ninety-one (91) days
and more to the tracking date shall be entitled to 75% of the permit value.
ii) All requests for cancellation of permits shall be made in writing and addressed
to the Executive Director, Uganda Wildlife Authority.
While considering any request for cancellation of a permit, the Executive
Director shall consider the date of receipt of the request as the date of
cancellation for purposes of determining the refund.
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14. UPGRADE OF PERMITS
Upgrade of payments from chimpanzee and gorilla tracking to habituation experience
shall be permitted. A request for the upgrade shall be made in writing by the visitor (or
Tour Operator) and payment of the difference in cost shall be made by the person who
made the reservation. This will be subject to availability of the requested permits.
15. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM ONE ACTIVITY TO ANOTHER
Funds meant for one activity may be allowed to fund another activity or product outside
the scope of the activity that was paid for in instances of cancellations and claims for
refunds. Such requests may be considered subject to availability
16. CONTACT DETAILS
For further inquiries, please contact
Head of Reservations
Uganda Wildlife Authority
P. O. Box 3530, Kampala
Plot 7, Kira Road, Kamwokya
Tel +256 414 355 000 /405/409/410
Email: reservations@wildlife.go.ug.