February gorilla permits in Bwindi sell out faster than any other dry-season month — here’s how the calendar actually moves
Of the six dry-season months Uganda gorilla trekkers compete for — January, February, June, July, August, and December — February is consistently the first to clear out at the Uganda Wildlife Authority booking desk. By the time most travellers start their “where shall we go in February?” Pinterest research, the Bwindi permit calendar for February is already three-quarters spoken for. This guide explains why bwindi gorilla permits february 2026 behave the way they do, what the live availability typically looks like at four-month, two-month, and four-week lead times, and what your realistic options are if February is your only travel window.
This is a booking-availability post, not a weather post. For the seasonal weather and packing read on February, see the existing Gorilla Trekking in February overview — it covers conditions and gear. This page covers the permit calendar mechanics.
Why February sells out first
Three forces compress demand into February in a way that does not hit the other dry months:
- School-holiday overlap. February 14 falls inside US Presidents’ Day weekend in many years, the UK February half-term, and Northern European mid-term breaks. Families with one trekker over 15 and younger non-trekkers can structure a 9-day Uganda trip without anyone missing school.
- The “best weather” reputation. February is the driest month on the long-term Bwindi rainfall average. Travellers who only get one shot at gorilla trekking optimise for trail conditions, and they have read the same articles. Whether February actually has the best weather is more contested than the consensus suggests, but the demand follows the consensus.
- Aerolink schedule density. Aerolink Uganda’s domestic schedule runs at full frequency in February — daily flights to Kihihi and Kisoro both ways. Honeymooners and short-window trekkers self-select for February because the fly-in option works seven days a week.
The compounding effect is that February permit demand starts climbing in August of the year before, peaks in October-November, and produces a near-zero availability state by mid-December.
How the UWA permit calendar actually releases
The Uganda Wildlife Authority does not release permits in a single annual drop. The mechanic is rolling — at any given moment the calendar is open roughly 18 months ahead, with new dates added on a rolling weekly cadence. UWA also holds back a small allocation per family for last-minute UWA-direct bookings, and tour operators with a track record (volume + on-time payment) get an informal first-look on the rolling release. The practical implications:
- Permits for February 2026 first became bookable in roughly July 2024.
- By February 2025 (one year out), the dry-season weeks of February were already 30–40% spoken for.
- By August 2025 (six months out), most of February 2026 was 75% booked.
- By December 2025 (two months out), February 2026 was effectively closed except for the last-minute UWA holdback.
The pattern is consistent year to year. June, July, and August follow the same compression curve but lag by 4–6 weeks, which is why “I’ll just trek in July instead” is a common second answer when February closes — and why July fills next.
Bwindi gorilla permits february 2026 — what live availability looks like right now
As of early May 2026, with February 2026 in the rear-view mirror, the relevant question for most readers is February 2027. February 2027 began booking last summer. Live availability will sit somewhere in the 50–60% range right now, with the second half of February (the half that overlaps US Presidents’ Day) tighter than the first.
| Lead time before February trek date | Approximate Bwindi permit availability | Realistic chance of choosing your sector |
|---|---|---|
| 14–18 months out | ~95% | Any sector, any family |
| 10–12 months out | ~70% | Most sectors, family of UWA’s choice |
| 6–8 months out | ~40% | Buhoma or Rushaga only, family of UWA’s choice |
| 3–4 months out | ~10–15% | Whichever sector still has a slot |
| 4 weeks or less | <5% (UWA last-minute holdback only) | Cancellation or hand-back only |
Numbers are observational, not from a UWA dashboard — the authority does not publish real-time availability. They reflect what tour operators see across the booking window in a typical year.
The pricing reality you need to plan around
February is not a low-season month. The standard gorilla permit price applies: USD $800 for foreign non-residents, USD $700 for foreign residents, and UGX 300,000 for East African Community citizens. The discounted USD $600 low-season permit applies in April, May, and November only; February does not qualify. The Gorilla Habituation Experience in Rushaga remains USD $1,500 in February — and confusingly, Rushaga GHEX permits actually have more February availability than standard $800 permits, because the price tag puts off the casual booker. If your budget allows, GHEX is the workaround for sold-out standard February.
Mgahinga’s single habituated family (Nyakagezi) is also $800 and the permit is much easier to land in February — Mgahinga sells maybe 8 permits a day versus Bwindi’s roughly 100, but visitor demand is a smaller fraction. If you only need to see a habituated family, not specifically a Bwindi family, Mgahinga in February is a real fall-back.
What to do if you’ve left it late for February
You have four realistic options, in roughly the order most travellers should try them:
- Switch sector, keep dates. If you wanted Buhoma but Buhoma is closed, ask your operator to query Ruhija or Nkuringo for the same dates. Ruhija often has daylight-hour availability when Buhoma does not, because the Ruhija drive is harder and Western trekkers self-deselect.
- Switch family, keep sector. Operators can lock a sector and submit “any family” — UWA assigns at the morning briefing. You give up family preference but you keep the sector and dates.
- Switch to Mgahinga. If Bwindi is closed, Mgahinga’s Nyakagezi family is a same-Uganda-trip alternative. Add a day to climb a Virunga rim while you’re there.
- Switch to GHEX in Rushaga. The four-hour habituation experience often has February slots when standard permits do not. Cost is $1,500 vs $800 but the experience is qualitatively different — you spend the morning with a semi-habituated family and the rangers actively involve you in the habituation work.
The option not on the list, intentionally, is “wait for a cancellation.” UWA does process cancellations and refunds but inside 30 days the cancellation window narrows to 25% refund, which means released-back permits inside one month are rare. Plan for an alternative, do not plan to wait.
The booking sequence that works for February
- 14–18 months out: Pick travel dates. Email your operator with sector preference and “any family” flexibility. Pay the 30% UWA permit deposit.
- 10–12 months out: Confirm Aerolink seats Entebbe–Kihihi or Entebbe–Kisoro. Reserve a Buhoma sector lodge with a refundable deposit window.
- 6 months out: Pay the permit balance. Confirm international flights to Entebbe.
- 2 months out: Travel insurance with $50,000+ medevac. Final lodge balance.
- Trek week: UWA emails permit confirmation with sector and family assignment 48 hours before trek date.
What this means for you
If February is your only realistic gorilla-trekking window — because of school terms, work calendars, or Northern Hemisphere weather — start the booking process 14 months ahead, not 6. The bwindi gorilla permits february 2026 (and 2027) calendar rewards lead time more harshly than any other month on the year. If you are reading this inside 6 months of your target February trek, your operator’s first call is to UWA for any-sector availability; their second is to Mgahinga; and the option you will eventually take is whichever opens first. The trek itself is the same in any sector — but the trip planning is the part that decides whether you trek at all.
