Why trek mountain gorillas of the Rushaga sector: Rushaga is one of the sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in southwestern Uganda. Bwindi is a mountain gorilla national park harboring the highest population of these apes in the whole world. Rushaga is located in the southern part of the park with the highest number of mountain gorilla families. The sector is home to over 8 mountain gorilla families one of which is going through the habituation process.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has four trekking sectors namely Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija, and Buhoma. All of these sectors are homes to different gorilla families that are open for visits every day. Rushaga, in the southern sector of the park, is the sector with the highest number of mountain gorilla families.
Why trek mountain gorillas of Rushaga sector
Highest number of gorilla families
Rushaga sector has the highest number of mountain gorilla families in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The sector alone has 9 mountain gorilla families that are available for visits a day. Eight mountain gorilla families are fully habituated and open for trekking every day and one is semi habituated and only open for habituation exercise. Tourists who visit Rushaga have several gorilla families to choose to trek.
Availability of gorilla permits
Rushaga sector has the highest mountain gorilla permits in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This is because the sector has the highest number of gorilla families open for visits. Tourists need to visit Rushaga sector because of the highest number of gorilla permits available in a day. Even though the sector has a lot of gorilla permits, tourists are advised to make advance bookings to avoid disappointments especially during the high season.
It’s the only place to habituate mountain gorillas
The population of mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park increases every and this creates more mountain gorillas that are after habituated to allow tourists to visit them during trekking exercises. Apparently, Rushaga is the only gorilla sector that has a mountain gorilla family that is open for habituation in Bwindi.
By visiting Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, tourists will be able to be part of the 4 hour gorilla experience once they purchase a gorilla habituation permit. Bikingi mountain gorilla family is currently open for habituation which allows trekkers to be part of the activities that make the members get used to human presence around them.
Getting to Rushaga to trek mountain gorillas
Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is located in the southern sector of Bwindi and can be accessed using both air transport and road transport. The quickest way to access the sector is flying to Kisoro airstrip and driving for a few hours to the sector but still tourists can use road transport and be there in a single day.
By air transport, different airline companies within the country can help in flying travelers to Kisoro airstrip. Flights begin from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kisoro Airstrip which is the closest to the sector. Tourists who use flights to Rushaga access the region within 3 to 5 hours.
Tourists who are okay with road transport and those who can’t afford air transport can move to Rushaga by road. The sector can be accessed from Kampala/Entebbe and Kigali Rwanda. Getting to Rushaga from Kigali is very quick for travelers to cross to Uganda using the Kyanika border in Kisoro and then drive to the sector. From Kampala/Entebbe it’s about 9 to 10 hours of tourists driving through Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, and Kisoro to the sector.
Trekking mountain gorilla of Rushaga sector
Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park has gorilla families open for trekking and one open for habituation. These activities start early in the morning at the park headquarters where trekkers for the day gather and get briefed about the dos and don’ts of trekking. Once the briefing is done, armed ranger guides are chosen to lead the trekkers into the jungle.
Gorilla trekking is done for 1 hour by a maximum of 4 people while gorilla habituation is done for 4 hours by a maximum of 4 people. From the briefing point, trekkers are driven to the starting points of the trek where they are left to go into the jungle with the armed ranger guides. In the jungle, different trekking trails are used to locate the mountain gorillas.
Searching for a mountain gorilla family in the Rushaga sector can take 2 to 5 hours and the time taken depends on the location of the family and the speed of trekkers. While searching for the assigned mountain gorilla group, trekkers get to see some of the wildlife living in the park and other attractions like the water sources and vegetation covers.
When the fully habituated mountain gorilla family is spotted, trekkers get to have one hour around the members and this time comes with an opportunity to learn their habits, see them do daily activities, take photos, and record videos. For gorilla habituation, trekkers are allowed to be around the members for 4 hours and in that period they are allowed to be part of the activities that make the apes get used to human presence around them.
When to visit the Rushaga sector of Bwindi
Tourists can visit Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park at any time of the year however some months are better than others. The driest months of the year which run from June to September and December to February are the best to visit Rushaga because they do have good weather. These months have little rainfall and too much sunshine which is perfect weather for trekking activities.
During the dry season, tourists get to find the trekking trails dry and easier to pass through, the vegetation is short with clear views of mountain gorillas and other wildlife species while the roads leading to the park are in good condition. Tourists can still visit Rushaga in the rainy season for the park is open but they should know that it’s a period when the region is receiving plenty of rainfall and little sunshine.