Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Sectors – The Gorilla Regions of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi gorilla trekking sectors are four gorilla trekking areas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Each of these sectors has a given number of gorilla families under which the endangered primates are trekked. The four sectors or regions of Bwindi include Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors. Uganda with almost half the number of the world’s mountain gorillas offers the best opportunities of seeing the endangered primates in the wilderness. In case you planning to do gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda, you will trek the rare apes in any of the regions and allocated to any of the gorilla families found in Bwindi Forest. If you choose the best tour company to offer quality services, you will realize at the end of your trip that Uganda has the best gorilla tours in the region. You can enjoy gorilla trekking in Bwindi by starting the trips from Kampala, Entebbe or Kigali in Rwanda. When you choose to do gorilla trekking in Uganda from Kigali, you will visit gorillas of Rushaga, Ruhija and Nkuringo. These are the easily accessible sectors of the park from Rwanda. Buhoma sector is good when you are only doing a 3 days gorilla safari from Kampala or Entebbe by road or flying. Also a any trip package that involves activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park is ideal to add in Buhoma gorilla trekking.
The 4 Gorilla Trekking Sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
BUHOMA SECTOR OF BWINDI
This is found in the northern section of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with gorilla groups that include Rushegura family, Habinyanja group and Mubare gorilla family.
NKURINGO SECTOR OF BWINDI
Nkuringo gorilla section is found in the south of Bwindi forest. Nkuringo sector is among the most visited with gorilla families that include Bikingi, Nkuringo and Bushaho gorilla family.
RUHIJA SECTOR OF BWINDI
Ruhija is found in the Eastern side of Bwindi Forest. It has three gorilla groups which are; Bitukura gorilla group, Oruzogo Gorilla family & Kyaguriro group, mainly for research.
RUSHAGA SECTOR OF BWINDI
Found in the southern side of the park, Rushaga has the biggest number of gorilla families including Mishaya, Nshongi, Kahungye group, Busingye and Bweza gorilla family.
Gorilla Trekking in Uganda
To ease gorilla tracking in Bwindi, the Uganda Wildlife Authority divided the park into above regions which are distanced from each other. Each region has gorilla families under it and there is a given number for every family cluster. The park management assigns 8 visitors to track each gorilla group in Bwindi. The number of visitors is limited to 8 to create convenience on the side of visitors and create comfort to the endangered primates.
There are several accommodation/lodge facilities in Bwindi around every section where travellers on gorilla safaris stay for trekking adventures.
The gorilla trekking Rules and regulations plus guidelines that govern the wild exercise apply similarly is all the said regions. Geographically, Bwindi National Park is spread a wider area in the south-west of the country. The regions with their nearby lodge facilities help in bringing the tracking services closer to the visitors. Tourists don’t have to drive for long distances to arrive at their allocated gorilla groups.
Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi
Gorilla tourism in Uganda mainly thrives around the four regions. Mountain gorillas at these sectors are further divided into gorilla trekking families or groups for easy tracking. Out Uganda at present boasts of about 20 gorilla families spread across Bwindi forest except one Nyakagezi family found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. This means that out the 20 gorilla families, 19 groups are found in Bwindi forest. This makes Bwindi, a park of greater significance in the tourism sector of Uganda. Bwindi is a home to about 500 mountain gorillas which is half the number of the 1000 estimated gorillas remaining in the world today. Other parks in the region with mountain gorillas include Mgahinga in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park in Congo.
The gorilla trekking areas of Bwindi have got accommodation facilities ideal for gorilla safaris. The gorilla lodges in Uganda are closer or a reasonable distance away from such areas and they remain accessible by the visitors. To visit Bwindi forest, you are supposed to have a gorilla permit which is booked prior to the tour. Gorilla permits in Uganda secured from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a government body in charge of wildlife attractions in the country. The Uganda Wildlife Authority Gorilla Permits are issued according to the regions of Bwindi. On the day of tracking, tourists gather at the designated park offices for briefing followed by the trekking encounter into the forest.
Getting to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
To get to Bwindi forest, one may fly into Kigali in Rwanda and trek gorillas in Bwindi using road transport. Alternatively, you can reach Bwindi by starting the safari from Entebbe or Kampala city and transfer by road to the park. Gorilla trekking safaris by road transfers either from Kigali or Entebbe/Kampala to Bwindi constitute the biggest percentage of the gorilla trips. The third option of is by flying from Entebbe to Bwindi landing either at Kihihi or Kisoro Airstrips and then connect to the park. All gorilla trips from Entebbe by both road and flying take three days minimum. Whereas the gorilla trekking adventures in Uganda from Kigali may be for 1 day, 2 days or 3 days to be accomplished.
Some of the Gorilla Safaris in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park