Rushegura Gorilla family in Buhoma Sector
Rushegura Gorilla family in Buhoma sector, Gorilla trekking is the most attractive activity yearned for by most tourists right now and Bwindi impenetrable national park is among the only four national parks where gorilla trekking takes place. You will find the largest numbers of gorillas and gorilla families in the world in one of Africa’s oldest rainforests, Bwindi. the park is able to accommodate those large gorilla numbers because the park is large enough and it also has sections such as the Ruhija, Buhoma, Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors.
In Buhoma sector the first zone whose gates were opened for gorilla trekking, we come across the Rushegura gorilla family that was created in February of 2002 when it broke away from the Habinyanja gorilla.
The current leader Mwirima a strong silverback fought with Habinyanja in an area known as Rushegura, this is where Habinyanja was defeated and Mwirima created the current Rushegura, this is how it derived it names. Mwirima is known for always fighting other gorilla families that try to attack his family, he backs them off.
This group usually crossed borders, you could find it in Rwanda this week and later on find it in Uganda, however it now settled in Uganda where it roams around the Buhoma village and gorilla forest camp. This family passed the habituation process with flying colors and this can be depicted on how it behaves when humans visit it, it is one of the most friendly and best groups to visit in Bwindi.
Members of the Rushegura family are Kibande, Nyamunwa, Katabazi, Karungyi, Nyampazi, Ruterana, Busunza, Kabande, Kalembezi, mwirima Kafuruka, Buzinza and Kyirinvi totaling to 13 members made up of adult females, blackbacks, juveniles and infants.The group is now led by a strong blackback that over took leadership roles after the death of Mwirima in 2014.
Trekking the Rushegura gorilla family in Buhoma sector
Trekking this group is similar to trekking any other group in the park, however due to its known location, you can adjust your starting point from the park headquarters to the trail head located in Mukono which is a 15-minute drive from the headquarters. This adjustment depends on where the family is currently located as it moves from one place to another in search of better feeding and resting sites.
The trek starts between 7-8 am and lasts for about 5-6 hours and once you have met the gorillas you can spend an hour hanging out with them and observing their behavior, don’t forget to capture great moments with the gorillas using a camera without flashlights, these bright lights are unsettling to the animals. Other precautions you can take into account when meeting the gorillas is not having a direct eye contact with any of the gorillas, staying calm in case a gorilla charges towards you, not polluting the environment, wearing earth toned clothes and not feeding the animals.
Trekking one of the most friendly gorilla groups is an exciting adventure since some gorilla families tend to be aggressive and unfriendly. Ensure you have packed all the required items for your trek and if you need a porter, you can always hire one at the park’s headquarters to help you carry your luggage. Gorilla permits are required and this cost $700 and $600 per person for foreigners and residents respectively. They can be got from the Uganda wildlife Authority website, through your trusted tour operator but not at the park headquarters.
Besides gorilla trekking, visitors can also go for gorilla habituation process that involves the behind the scenes of how the gorillas are trained to get used to human presence. This activity costs $1500 and visitors spend more than 4 hours with the gorillas. But this experience only happens in Rushaga sector.
Other activities to enjoy are visiting Lake Bunyonyi where you can enjoy relaxing activities like canoeing, bird watching and visiting some of the 29 islands. You can also visit Queen Elizabeth National Park for activities like lion tracking and chimpanzee trekking.
Accommodation facilities near Buhoma sector are Buhoma lodge and Buhoma community rest camp, Silverback lodge, Mahogany Springs, Gorilla sanctuary camp, etc. Staying close to the gorilla group makes the trekking experience much easier.
Best time to visit Rushegura gorilla family in Buhoma sector
The best time to visit is during the dry season when the trails are dry and easily accessible compared to the rainy season when they get muddy and sticky making accessibility a struggle.
