Where to encounter mountain gorillas in Bwindi: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is one of Uganda’s most protected areas in the southwestern part of the country. The national park is famous for being one of the habitats of mountain gorillas in the world. Bwindi is more popular than other mountain gorilla destinations because it has the highest population of these apes. More than half of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world are found in the thick impenetrable forest of Bwindi.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a 321 sq. km piece of land harboring mountain gorillas. The park was divided into 4 sectors where different mountain gorillas are living. Two sectors Ruhija and Buhoma are in the north of the park and two sectors are in the south of the park Nkuringo and Rushaga. Tourists can visit fully habituated mountain gorilla families in different sectors of the park as we are to explain below.
Where to encounter mountain gorillas in Bwindi
Rushaga Sector
Rushaga sector is located in the southern sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It is known for having the highest number of mountain gorillas and also having a semi-habituated mountain gorilla family that is open for habituation. Rushaga has 8 mountain gorilla families fully habituated and one mountain gorilla family semi-habituated.
Fully habituated mountain gorilla families are Busingye, Kahungye, Mucunguzi, Kutu, Posho, Bweza. Mishaya, and Nshongi. These mountain gorillas are fully habituated and tourists are allowed to visit them every day for a maximum of 1 hour. The other mountain gorilla family living in Bwindi is Bikingi which is currently going through habituation.
Buhoma Sector
Buhoma is a sector of Bwindi located on the northern side of the park. Buhoma is the first sector of the park where mountain gorilla habituation was done in 1993 when the park had just been gazetted. Mubare is the oldest mountain gorilla group in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and it is found in Buhoma sector of the park.
Buhoma sector of Bwindi has the highest number of gorilla families so far habituated in Bwindi. The sector has 6 fully habituated mountain gorilla families and each group can be trekked by a maximum of 8 people in a day. Trekking gorilla families of Buhoma will enable to trek any of the families which are Muyambi, Mubare, Katwe, Rushegura, Buyindo, and Habinyanja.
Ruhija Sector
Located in the northern sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park next to Buhoma sector is Ruhija. This sector is another place where tourists can see mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. Five mountain gorilla families are habituated in this sector and they are Oruzogo, Kyagulira A, Kyagulira B, Bitakura, and Mukiza. Tourists who are interested in visiting Ruhija sector of this park will be able to see members of any of the families mentioned.
Nkuringo sector
Nkuringo sector is located in the southern sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The sector is known for being at a high altitude and its trekkers fit enough who need to visit this sector. Nkuringo sector so far has 3 mountain gorilla families all fully habituated and open for tourists to visit. The sector has families named Bushaho, Nkuringo, and Christmas.
Best time to visit Bwindi and see mountain gorillas
The driest months of the year are the best to visit Bwindi and see mountain gorillas. June to September and December to February are the best times when tourists can see the mountain gorillas. These months are characterized by little or no rainfall and they do have plenty of sunshine. The activities are not affected by weather since the trekking trails are dry and easier to go through. Tourists also find the vegetation short and scattered with good views of the mountain gorillas.
Tourists can also visit Bwindi during the rainy season which happens from March to May and October to November. This is a rainy season period and tourists intending to visit the park should know that the trekking trails are muddy and slippery which affects the movement of trekkers in the jungle. The vegetation is tall with unclear views of attractions and roads leading to the park are in poor condition.
Getting to Bwindi Forest National Park
Tourists can get to any of the sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park using road or air transport. Air transport is the quickest way to get to the park for it takes 2 to 3 hours while road transport takes 9 to 10 hours. By air transport, tourists can fly from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kihihi Airstrip or Kisoro Airstrip where they later connect to the park.
By road transport, driving to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park takes 9 to 10 hours from Kampala/Entebbe and 3 to 4 hours from Kigali. From Kampala, tourists drive through Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, or Kisoro to the park. From Kabale, tourists can drive to Rushaga, Ruhija, or Buhoma, and from Kisoro, tourists can drive to Rushaga and Nkuringo sectors.