Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Trek Rwanda Gorillas is the gorilla trekking brand of Maranatha Tours & Travel, a tour operator licensed by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB Licence No. RDB/TL/2019/07/TO/10116) and the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB Licence No. UTB/RTT/TT/2024/101151), with offices in Kigali, Rwanda and Kampala, Uganda.

In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean Maranatha Tours & Travel, trading as Trek Rwanda Gorillas. We are the data controller for personal information collected through trekrwandagorillas.com and through our bookings.

We handle personal data in line with Uganda's Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, Rwanda's Law No. 058/2021 relating to the protection of personal data and privacy, and, for travellers in the European Union and United Kingdom, the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

Card payments: if you pay by card, the payment is processed by our payment provider or bank. We do not store your full card number on our website.

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, we and our service providers may collect your IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, time on site and the website that referred you. This is collected through cookies and similar tools (see section 9).

Information from others

If someone books a trip for you, such as a family member, group leader or travel agent, they will give us your details. We ask them to share this policy with you.

3. How we use your information

• To answer your enquiries and send you quotes and itineraries
• To book gorilla and chimpanzee permits, park entry, lodges, flights and transport
• To take payments, issue invoices and keep financial records
• To arrange border crossings between Rwanda, Uganda and other countries
• To keep you safe during your trip, including in medical emergencies
• To send booking updates, travel documents and pre-trip briefings
• To send occasional newsletters and offers, only if you have agreed (you can unsubscribe at any time)
• To improve our website, tours and customer service
• To meet our legal, tax and licensing obligations in Rwanda and Uganda
• To prevent fraud and protect our business and customers

4. Legal basis for using your information

• Contract: to plan, book and deliver the safari you ask for.
• Legal obligation: to provide permit details to RDB and UWA, keep tax records and comply with tourism licensing rules.
• Consent: for marketing emails, and for any health information you choose to share. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Vital interests: to share information with doctors or emergency services if your life or health is at risk.
• Legitimate interests: to improve our services, keep our website secure and prevent fraud, where this does not override your rights.

5. Who we share your information with

We share your information only when it is needed to deliver your trip or required by law:

• Permit and park authorities: the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), and, for Congo trips, the Virunga National Park authorities.
• Travel suppliers: lodges, hotels, domestic airlines, transport partners and local guides involved in your itinerary.
• Immigration and border officials: where needed for visas or border crossings.
• Payment providers and banks: to process your payments.
• Insurers and medical providers: in an emergency, or if you ask us to help with an insurance claim.
• IT and service providers: our website host, email provider, contact-form tools and analytics providers, who process data on our behalf under confidentiality obligations.
• Authorities: police, courts or regulators, where the law requires it.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

6. International transfers

Your trip may cover more than one country, and some of our service providers (such as email and website hosting) are based outside Rwanda and Uganda. Your information may therefore be transferred to and stored in other countries. When this happens, we take reasonable steps to make sure it is protected, for example by using reputable providers with appropriate security and contractual safeguards.

7. How long we keep your information

• Enquiries that don't lead to a booking: up to 2 years, then deleted.
• Booking, payment and permit records: as long as tax and tourism laws in Rwanda and Uganda require (usually up to 10 years), then securely deleted.
• Passport copies and health information: deleted or anonymised once your trip and any related claims are complete, unless the law requires us to keep them.
• Marketing: until you unsubscribe.

8. How we protect your information

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections on our website, password-protected systems, limited staff access, and sharing passport details only with the suppliers who need them. No system is completely secure, so please share passport copies with us only through the channels we provide, and contact us immediately if you think your information has been misused.

9. Cookies and analytics

Our website uses cookies, which are small files stored on your device, to:

• make the site work properly (essential cookies)
• remember your preferences
• understand how visitors use the site, for example through Google Analytics (analytics cookies)
• show embedded content such as YouTube videos, maps and TripAdvisor reviews, whose providers may set their own cookies

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. If you block essential cookies, some parts of the site, such as the contact form, may not work.

10. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete
• ask us to delete your information, where we don't need to keep it by law
• object to, or ask us to limit, how we use your information
• withdraw consent, for example to stop marketing emails
• ask for your information in a portable format
• complain to a data protection authority

To use any of these rights, email in**@****************as.com. We will reply within 30 days. We may need to confirm your identity first.

Complaints: you can contact the Personal Data Protection Office (PDPO) in Uganda, the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) in Rwanda, or the data protection authority in your own country. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern first.

11. Children

Our website is not aimed at children, and the minimum age for gorilla trekking is 15. When families book trips that include children, we collect children's details only from a parent or guardian, and only as needed for permits, lodges and travel.

12. Third-party links

Our website links to other websites, such as TripAdvisor, WhatsApp, social media, RDB and UWA. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their privacy policies.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it was last changed. If we make important changes, we will tell customers with active bookings by email.

14. Contact us