Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years and contains almost 400 species of plants. More famously, this “impenetrable forest” also protects an estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population, including several habituated groups, which can be tracked.

This biologically diverse region also provides shelter to a further 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. There are around 350 species of birds hosted in this forest, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics.                                                            

Gorilla trekking is done in four sectors in Bwindi Impenetrable national park with each sector harboring different gorilla families. The current recorded number of gorilla families in Bwindi is 40 of which 21 families are not habituated and are aggressive to humans while 19 are habituated and friendly.

Buhoma sector

Buhoma is the most developed sector in Bwindi. It is located in the northern region of the park and the most familiar sector to the visitors to Uganda. Buhoma Gorilla trekking is on high demand with the permits selling out quickly as compared to other sectors.

Buhoma was the first sector to be opened for gorilla tourism in 1993. There are 3 habituated gorilla families in this section namely; the Mubare family, Habinyanja family and Rushegura gorilla family.

Eight people per group are allowed to visit a particular group of gorillas per day meaning 24 gorilla trekking permits are available in a day. Make sure you book you book your trekking permit in time to avoid inconveniences

Ruhija sector

The Ruhija sector is situated in the Eastern side of Bwindi Impenetrable national park and it harbors three gorilla families namely; the Bitukura Gorilla family, Oruzogo family and Kyaguriro family.

Only 8 healthy right aged trekkers with valid permits are allowed to trek a particular family in a day with 24 permits available every day. Ruhija is not as busy as Buhoma and so trekking here will give the visitors ample time to do other activities like bird watching. The Bitukura gorilla family is believed the friendliest family and took the shortest time to be habituated to humans.

Though Ruhija is not as developed and has fewer gorilla families and few lodging options  than Buhoma, the region offers more ecotourism experience due to its location.

Rushaga sector

Rushaga sector is the most highly blessed sector with the highest number of gorilla families compared to other sectors. It is situated in the southern part of Bwindi in Kisoro district. Booking for a gorilla trekking permit should be done earlier so as to avoid interruptions during the trek with 40 trekking permits available every day at $700 throughout the year.

This sector harbors 5 gorilla families namely; Nshongi , Busingye, Kayungye, Bweza and Mishaya families. Trekking is done by 8 right aged healthy visitors in a group for a given gorilla family and one hour is spent with the apes minus the time taken to search for them.

Rushaga is well situated for gorilla trekking via Kigali, Rwanda through Chanika border. This is the greatest opportunity to trek gorilla in Uganda via Rwanda at a cheaper cost of $700 compared to Rwanda’s $1500 for a trekking permit.

Nkuringo Sector

Nkuringo Sector is one of the gorilla trekking sectors in Bwindi Impenetrable national park in southern Bwindi harboring three gorilla habituated families. Nkuringo is well situated for the spectacular views of the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira in Virunga National park of Democratic Republic Of Congo. This sector is also difficult to hike due to the rugged terrain and so physically fit trekkers are encourage to trek in this breathtaking view sector that cannot be fully described by words but experience.

The Nkuringo family which was named after the ‘rolling hills’ where the first sighted group and they have been proved by the visitors to be the most wonderful group to interact with. The family is composed of 12 members under the leadership of a silverback, Rufiki  who broke up from the Nshongi  family in Rushaga sector to form his own crew. The family was habituated in 2009 and that’s when it first received visitors

Other gorilla families in Nkuringo include the Bushaho and the Bikingi gorilla families. These groups are still trekked by 8 visitors per day and health status is valued as well as the age of the trekkers.

Gorilla habituation also takes place in Rushaga where two gorilla families are being trained to friendly to humans and visitors pay $1500 for the activity and spend 4 hours with the apes unlike the one hour spent with the gorillas during trekking.