Cancellation Policy

If you need to cancel your confirmed journey, the following terms apply based on notice given before departure:

Uganda Wildlife Authority operates an official, tiered refund framework for gorilla trekking and habituation permits, based on how far ahead of your trekking date you cancel. Broadly, cancelling 91 days or more before the trek attracts a 75 percent refund, 46 to 90 days a 50 percent refund, 9 to 45 days a 25 percent refund, and 0 to 8 days no refund. UWA can revise these tiers, so we confirm the terms in force with your proposal.

In many cases a permit can be rescheduled or extended to a later date rather than cancelled, subject to UWA approval and a surcharge of around 30 percent. We always explore this option first, because it usually recovers more value than a late cancellation. For the full picture, see our gorilla permit cancellation and refund guide.

We reserve the right to cancel or significantly modify itineraries due to circumstances beyond our control, including national park closures, government travel advisories, severe weather, or wildlife safety concerns. These situations are rare but they do occur.

In such cases, we will offer a full refund or alternative travel dates at no penalty to the guest. We will never cancel a journey for commercial reasons.

If you need to change your departure dates after confirmation, please inform us as early as possible. We will make every effort to accommodate the change. Date changes may incur UWA permit rebooking fees where applicable, and any differential in lodge pricing between seasons.

Every guest who books a Bwindi House Gorilla Safaris journey should hold travel insurance with trip cancellation cover, emergency medical cover, and medical evacuation cover. See our Travel Insurance page for details on what to look for. We cannot carry the financial risk of uninsured cancellations, and we will not be able to offer refunds beyond those stated above.