Day: November 22, 2019

Do you want to trek gorillas in Uganda? Book a Uganda gorilla tour and get a chance to trek one of the 17 gorilla families in Uganda with Gorilla Safaris in Africa. The pearl of Africa is home to half of the world’s mountain gorillas habituated into 17 gorilla groups. Uganda gorillas inhabit the rain forest of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga gorilla national park both located in southwestern Uganda. The 2018 gorilla census indicates that Uganda is home to over 600 mountain gorillas, which make it a premier gorilla safari destination in Africa. With the high cost of Rwanda gorilla tours, Uganda remains your ultimate gorilla tour destination offering affordable gorilla safaris with no difficulty. Uganda gorillas in Bwindi forest are spit into four sectors namely Buhoma in the north, Ruhija in the east, Nkuringo and Rushaga gorilla sectors in the southern region of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park. In addition, Uganda is home to 2 more gorilla families undergoing the habituation process in Rushaga sector. In gorilla trekking, each gorilla family is visited by a group of 8 people while in habituation, four people a day visit a gorilla family. Uganda gorilla groups in Bwindi forest and Mgahinga gorilla parks are:
1. Mubare gorilla family

Mubare Gorilla family in Bwindi Forest

Located in Buhoma sector north of Bwindi forest, Mubare gorilla family is the oldest gorilla group that was habituated in1991. Mubare was the first gorilla group to be visited by the first set of gorilla trekkers to Bwindi. In October and November 2019, Mubare has been blessed with 2 baby gorillas which give hope for sustainable gorilla tourism in Bwindi forest and Uganda as a whole. Mubare gorilla family is headed by Kanyonyi, a dominant silverback who took over the group after the death of Ruhondoza silverback. Mubare is locally translated as “Amabare” where this gorilla was first sighted.

2. Habinyanja gorilla family
Also located in Buhoma sector, Habinyanja is a group you ought to visit. The family was habituated in 1997 and is one of the most visited gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable forest National park. The family has 17 members comprised of the silverback, adult females, black backs, juveniles, and babies. The gorilla family was named after the watery swamps where it was first sighted.

3. Rushegura gorilla group
Formerly part of the Habinyanja gorilla family, Rushegura is yet another gorilla family in the Buhoma sector north of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park.
The family split from Habinyanja group in 2002 when Mwirima decided to leave his gorilla family and decided to take some adult females with him. Mwirima fought hard to expand the size of his family and he is undeniably the strongest silverback in Bwindi Forest.

4. Bitukura Gorilla Family

Named after the Bitukura river where the family rivers, Bitukura gorilla family is trekked in Ruhija sector east of Bwindi Forest National Park. formerly Bitukura had over 30 members most of which have been lost in fights and external attacks from wild gorilla families. Currently, Bitukura gorilla family has 14 members who include silverbacks, adult females, black backs and babies.

5. Oruzogo Gorilla group

Also located in Ruhija sector east of Bwindi forest National Park, Oruzogo is a big gorilla family comprised of over 25 members. Bakwate is the reigning dominant silverback gorilla family leading the other 5 adult females, infants, juveniles and blackbucks within the group. The group is located in a hilly area hence quite difficult to trek.

6. Bitukura Gorilla Family
Comprised of 13 members, Bitukura gorilla group is an interesting gorilla family to visit in Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park. Bitukura is one of the peaceful gorilla families in Bwindi, a not miss for every traveler. The playful juveniles keep the family lively and worth visiting. Ndahura is the dominant silverback who leads the other 4 silverbacks, 5 adult females, juveniles and infants.

7. Kyaguliro family in Ruhija sector
8. Nkuringo gorilla family in Nkuringo sector
9. Nshongi gorilla group in Rushaga sector
10. Mishaya family in Rushaga sector
11. Kahungye gorilla group on Rushaga sector
12. Busingye family in Rushaga
13. Bweza family in Rushaga
14. Katwe gorilla family in Buhoma sector
15. Christmas gorilla family in Nkuringo
16. Nyakagyezi gorilla family in Mgahinga Gorilla National park

The gorilla families undergoing habituation experience are Bikyingi and Bushaho all located in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park. A single gorilla habituation permit costs $1500 but the magical experience achieved is worth it.
In general, an encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas remains the best wildlife experience in the world. Book a Uganda gorilla trip today, trek any one of the habituated gorilla families in Bwindi Forest/Mgahinga gorilla national parks and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience with African Apes Holidays

A gorilla family in Bwindi Forest

Whereas an encounter with gorillas is restricted to an hour, the length of trekking before meeting mountain gorillas is a different case. The hike to see gorillas can be as short as 30 minutes or else a full day depending on several factors some of which are natural and unpredictable. At times, travelers booking gorilla safaris ask how long is a hike to see mountain gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo? Well, there is no specific answer to this question, it remains unpredictable. It uncertain to specify how long the trek to see gorillas will until you go for a gorilla tour yourself. However, from the experience of our past travelers, African Apes Tours & Travel gives you a guide on the anticipated length of gorilla trekking hike. The factors that determine the length of a trek to see gorillas include among others:

Location of a Gorilla Family

The trekking time will depend on the location of the mountain gorilla family you are allocated. Some gorilla families are located close to the park headquarters while others live uphill. For this reason, gorilla treks have been categorized into short, medium and long treks based on the ease and difficulty of trekking it. In the Bwindi forest, gorilla families are split into four sectors i.e Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. Buhoma and Rushaga are believed to have the easiest to trek gorilla families, while the hilly Nkuringo is not for the faint-hearted. Therefore the location of a gorilla family you are trekking determines the time you are likely to spend in the jungle.

Speed of gorilla movements

The speed of gorilla movements will also determine how short or long a gorilla trek may be. At some times, a gorilla family keeps moving whenever travelers come to get closer to them which lengthens the trek. As wild as they are, gorillas will not settle for travelers to see them but rather they keep moving at their own pace. However, a gorilla family with babies normally walks at a slow speed which is an advantage for the trekkers.

Traveler’s physical fitness

Trekking through the jungle

Your physical fitness and hiking ability will determine how long your hike to see gorillas will be. Fast travelers quickly find their allocated gorilla families while the physically challenged find it difficult. For that matter, travelers are always asked to disclose their physical abilities to park rangers so as to get suitable gorilla families during gorilla family allocation at the start of the trekking day. During gorilla family allocation, aged and physically unfit are given short and medulla treks while the young, energetic and physically fit given long gorilla treks.

The weather of the day

On a sunny day, hiking is less difficult making it easier for travelers to trek through and find gorillas easily. On the other hand, a rainy day makes gorilla trekking much more difficult. The slippery muddy grounds associated with rain make it difficult to trek through the jungle forest resulting in longer hiking hours. Due to the unpredictable forest weather, travelers are advised to carry rain jackets for the rain showers. Also, hiking boots, gardening gloves, and a hiking stick will ease your gorilla trekking session.

An hour with the gorillas

An encounter with gorillas

Despite the many hour’s travelers spend in the jungle, the actual time to spend with the gorillas is strictly an hour. This hour is counted from the time travelers set their eyes on the gorilla family. When this hour comes, travelers are advised to keep calm, stay close, take a picture, capture videos and utilize this short precious time. do not panic, take your time, observe and admire the social characters of gorillas and enjoy this magical encounter with African Apes Tours & Travel

In conclusion, the length of a hike to see gorillas is not certain. However, travelers are 99.9% sure of the meeting the endangered gorillas at the end of the trek.