Gorilla families in Rushaga sector

Gorilla families in Rushaga sector: There are about 700 mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest national and the highest population is found in Rushaga sector. Rushaga region is one of the four gorilla sectors of Bwindi located in the southern sector of the park. The gorilla trekking region boasts the highest number of mountain gorilla families in Bwindi. Rushaga is home to 8 fully habituated mountain gorilla families and 1 semi-habituated mountain gorilla family.

List of gorilla families in Rushaga

Bweza

Bweza gorilla family is one of the gorilla families that are found in Rushaga sector of Bwindi gorilla park. The gorilla family was the biggest at one time in Bwindi with over 21 members but due to fights between silverbacks, the family broke into two groups to form Bweza and then Nshongi gorilla family. Bweza is currently having about 11 members that are led by a silverback called Bweza.

Nshongi

Nshongi gorilla family is one of the families residing in Rushaga sector in the southern sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The gorilla family is led by a silverback called Kakono who is currently leading 13 members in the group. Nshongi is one of the gorilla families on Bwindi with newly born infants and the latest was from an adult Kebirungi on 9th May 2022.

Mishaya

Mishaya gorilla family is one of the families that live in Rushaga sector found in the south of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Mishaya was part of Nshongi gorilla family but after missing understanding, the silverback Mishaya went away with about 7 members of the group to form his own. Mishaya gorilla family is currently having 12 members who are led by a silverback called Mishaya.

Kahungye

Kahungye gorilla family is one of those you should visit while in Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The gorilla family has about 14 members that are led by a dominant silverback called Kahungye. The members would be more in this group but some left to join Busingye gorilla family.

Busingye

Busingye gorilla family is one of the 9 gorilla families in Rushaga sector of Bwindi and it’s always open for trekking every day. The gorilla family was open for trekking in 2011 and the embers are under the leadership of the founder called Busingye. Busingye gorilla family is one of the most peaceful gorilla families to trek with 10 members.

Bikingi

Biking is one of the famous gorilla families in Rushaga sector known for gorilla habituation in the park. Bikingi gorilla family began habituation in 2012 and since then it has been open for habituation purposes to enable travelers to spend more time with the mountain gorillas. Bikingi gorilla family is led by a silverback called Bikingi who heads about 15 members of which some were part of the Mishaya gorilla family.

Rwigi

Rwigi gorilla family was the sixth group to be opened up for trekking in Rushaga sector in the south of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The gorilla family came up as a result of a split of Kahungye members and it’s led by a dominant silverback called Rwigi who leads 6 members.

Mucunguzi

Mucunguzi gorilla family is one of the fully habituated gorilla groups found in Rushaga sector in the south of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The gorilla family is currently having 12 members and these are led by a silverback called Mucunguzi.

Kutu

Kutu gorilla family is among the newly habituated mountain gorilla families in Bwindi. The gorilla family is found in Rushaga sector which is in the southern side of the park. Kutu gorilla family is led by a silverback called Ndugu who currently leads a family of 21 members

The gorilla trekking experience in Rushaga

Just like any other sector, gorilla trekking in Rushaga sector starts early in the morning at the sector offices. The park wardens begin the activity by teaching trekkers about the rules and regulations of the gorilla trekking activity, forming groups not exceeding 8 people, and finding armed ranger guides to lead trekkers in the jungle.

The armed ranger guides communicate with the trackers to see where the mountain gorilla family is so that they use the shortest routes. The search for mountain gorillas in Rushaga can take 2-7 hours and this depends on the location of the gorilla family as well as the speed of trekkers. When a mountain gorilla family is spotted then armed ranger guides give trekkers 1 hour to be around the members and watch them do daily activities, take photos and learn more about their habits.

Gorilla permit for Rushaga sector

For any travelers to trek gorilla families for Rushaga sector, they must posses a gorilla trekking permit for Rusaga or a gorilla habituation permit. There are 8 gorilla families for trekking and 1 gorilla family for habituation in this gorilla trekking sector. Each gorilla permit for Rushaga sector costs $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 for East African citizens. Gorilla habituation permits go for $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East Africa.

When is the best time to visit Rushaga sector?

Are you questioning yourself about the best time to visit Rushaga sector? The answer is gorilla families can be trekked at any time of the year in this gorilla trekking sector. however there are months that are better than the rest. The dry months which occur from June to September and December to February is the best time to visit Rushaga sector because they are characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trekking trails stay dry, the vegetation is scattered and short with good views of the mountain gorillas while the roads leading to the park are passable.

Travelers can still visit Rushaga sector to encounter mountain gorillas in the rainy season of March to May and October to November and this favors budget travelers because the accommodation is at a discount. Travelers visiting Bwindi in the rainy season should note that the trekking trails are muddy and slippery due to too much rainfall, the vegetation is tall n thick with unclear views of the park animals and the roads leading to the park are impassable.

Accessing Rushaga sector

Rushaga sector can be accessed within a single day from Kampala or Kigali. The sector can be accessed by road transport or air transport based on your travel budget and choice. Using road transport from Kampala, travelers can access Rushaga sector by going through Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, and branching off the dirty road midway Kabale-Kisoro road west of Muko.

Travelers from Kigali can access Rushaga sector by crossing to Uganda using Cyanika border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale and then connecting to the gorilla trekking region in the southwestern part of the park. Luxury travelers can fly to Kisoro airstrip from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip and this takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. From the airstrip, they can connect to the sector in less than 2 hours using road transport.