Gorilla families in Rushaga sector.
Gorilla families in the Rushaga Sector: The endangered mountain gorillas are found in the Rushaga sector of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Rushaga sector is situated in the southern region of Uganda’s most popular gorilla location, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
The southwest region’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is well-known for being home to the greatest number of mountain gorillas. Eight habituated mountain gorilla groups may be found in the Rushaga area, where daily hiking is possible.
The only area in Bwindi’s impassable national park that provides gorilla habituation—wherein the untamed mountain gorillas get acclimated to human presence for trekking—is Rushaga. In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, there are other gorilla trekking areas in the north (Buhoma), south (Nkuringo), and east (Ruhija).
Families of gorillas in the Rushaga area
The Gorilla Family of Nshongi
The Nshongi River is the source of the name for the Nshongi family of gorillas, which is found in the Rushaga area. Because the river’s water has a honey-like appearance, it was given the name Nshongi, which translates as Omushongi Gwoboki in the native tongue.
After becoming acclimated in 2007, the Nshongi gorilla family became accessible for hiking in September 2009. The Nshongi gang had 26 members when Silverback Mishaya left it in 2010 to start his own family with 10 members. The Bweza group split off from the family in 2013, and there are presently seven members of the Nshongi gorilla family.
The Mishaya family of gorillas
One of the gorilla families in the Rushaga zone that is accessible for hiking is Mishaya. Tinfayo, a dominating silverback, is the head of the gorilla family. Following a conflict between the Mishaya silverback and the dominant silverback in the Nshongi group, the Mishaya gorilla family split off from the Nshongi family.
The Mishaya silverback, one of the ten gorillas in the group when it was founded in 2010, passed away on February 3, 2014, from intestinal blockage. Since there was no adult male to take the family’s place after Mishaya Silverback’s death, some of its members joined other gorilla families, such as Bweza and Bikingi.
The dominant silverback Tinfayo, who was once a member of the Shongi family and fled the Mishaya gorilla family in 2012 with an adult female named Shida and a baby named Rotor was found by park workers in May 2018. There are presently eight members of the Mishaya gorilla family: one silverback, five adult females, one adolescent, and one baby.
The family of Kahungye gorillas
Named after Kahungye Hill, where it was first observed, the Kahungye are a family of gorillas in the Rushaga area. 2009 saw the beginning of the Kahungye gorilla family’s habituation, and in 2011, trekking was permitted. Up until March 2013, when he suffered a brain injury after falling from a tree, Ruhemuka Silverback led the 27-member gorilla family during the period of habituation.
The park rangers discovered him dead after the fall caused severe bleeding in his brain. Later, the Kahungye gorilla group split in two and became the Busingye, leaving the Kahungye with only 17 members. There are presently 13 individuals of the gorilla family, including the submissive Rumanzi and the dominating silverback Gwigi.
The family of Busingye gorillas
Another gorilla family in the Rushaga district is the Busingye. Named after the dominant silverback Busingye, the family split off from the Kahungye gorilla family in 2012. The gorilla family, which consists of nine members—three adult females, two juniors, three newborns, and one silverback—is well-known for foraging in the park’s interior.
The family of Bweza gorillas
Another family of gorillas in the Rushaga area is the Bweza. The dominant silverback Bweza, who split from the Nshongi gorilla family in 2012 to start his own group, is the reason the gorilla family was given its name. There are now twelve members of the Bweza gorilla family, which includes two silverbacks, three adult females, one subadult female, four blackbacks, and two newborns.
The Bikingi gorilla family
Another group of gorillas in the Rushaga district is the Bikingi family. In 2012, the Bikingi gorilla troop began to be habituated. Bikingi Silverback, a once powerful gang leader, is the source of its moniker. Following a confrontation with a lone guy, Biking Silverback passed dead. The other members scattered, with some joining other gangs such as Kahungye. There are twelve members of the Bikingi gorilla family: two silverbacks, five adult females, one adolescent, and four newborns.
The family of Rwigi gorillas
One of the newest gorilla families in the Rushaga area is Rwigi. The Rwigi silverback had a miscommunication with a strong silverback in the Kahunge group when the gorilla group split from the Kahunge family. The Rwigi gorilla family, which includes one silverback, five females, two adolescents, and two newborns, was named after the dominant Rwigi silverback.
The Mucunguzi family of gorillas
Another gorilla family, the Mucunguzi, is found in the Rushaga area of the impenetrable national park of Bwindi. The gorilla family gets its name from a silverback Mucunguzi, and the term Mucunguzi is a native word meaning rescuer.
The gorilla family broke away from the Bweza family, and during the period of habituation, Mucunguzi, who had previously been the youngest member of the Bweza family and had been chasing after a fight, led the gorilla group. The Mucunguzi gorilla family has twelve members.
Gorilla trekking in the Rushaga sector
At the park headquarters, gorilla trekking in the Rushaga area begins very early in the morning with a briefing on the laws and regulations to be followed. Following the briefing, you will be split up into groups of eight, each of which will be assigned a habituated gorilla family to travel with and a knowledgeable park guide who is familiar with the gorilla trekking routes.
Because mountain gorillas like to roam about in search of food, trekking with them in the Rushaga area may take anywhere from two to seven hours, depending on the gorillas’ location. After locating the mountain gorillas, you will have the opportunity to spend an hour with them in their natural environment, where you can observe their daily activities, such as feeding, grooming young, playing, and nursing, as well as take pictures and videos to share with family back home.
The best time to visit Rushaga Sector for gorilla trekking
Although gorilla trekking in the Rushaga sector is possible throughout the year, the best time to go is during the dry or peak season, which is June, July, August, September, December, January, and February.
This is because there is less or no rainfall in the park during these months, so there is less vegetation, giving visitors a clear view of the mountain gorillas. Additionally, access roads and gorilla trekking trails are dry and passable, making trekking easier.
The price of a permit for gorilla trekking in the Rushaga area
In Rushaga Sector, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a gorilla trekking permit costs 700 USD per person for non-resident foreigners, 600 USD per person for locals, and 250,000 UGX per person for inhabitants of East Africa.
Directions to Rushaga Sector
In order to reach Rushaga Sector, which is situated in the southern region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, visitors must travel from Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, and Kabale. The trip takes around eight to nine hours in a four-wheel drive safari vehicle.
Travelers may also take scheduled or charter domestic flights with Aerolink Uganda or Bar Aviation from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield to Kisoro Airstrip, and then take a road connection to the park headquarters. This is another way to get to the Rushaga area.
Rushaga sector is also accessible from Kigali, Rwanda, where visitors fly to Kigali International Airport and then drive for four to five hours to reach Rushaga sector via the Cyanika border in Kisoro or the Katuna border in Kabale.
