Mountain gorilla trekking is every travelers dream when visiting Africa, mountain gorillas are an endangered species of apes sharing at least 95% DNA with humans making them close relatives like chimpanzees and bonobos. Bitukura gorilla family is one of the gorilla families you can encounter in the great Bwindi impenetrable forest national park found in Uganda.
Bitukura gorilla family
Bitukura mountain gorilla family can be trekked in Ruhijja sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, the habituation of this group took only 15 months unlike other gorilla groups that habituation took 2-3 years. Bitukura mountain gorilla family is derives its name from River Bitukura in Bwindi where the group was first sighted by trekkers.
Bitukura mountain gorilla family is dominated by Ndahura the second youngest silverback which is unusual with gorilla families as the oldest silverback is always the leader of the group and if he’s deprived off his roles his banished to another group or as a lone male. Ndahura took over leadership from Karamuzi who retied from power at the age of 42 years old.
Other gorilla groups in Ruhijja
Kyaguliro gorilla family
The Kyaguliro mountain gorilla family was habituated in 1995 and was preserved for research purposes in order to study and learn more about mountain gorillas. In April 2015, its unfortunate that Rukina the dominating silverback was strikes to death by lightening and the group was taken over by Mukiza.
Mukiza was later on ambushed by an adult silverback from Bitukura gorilla family known as Rukara and this led the group to split into two groups that is Kyaguliro group A dominated by Rukara and Kyaguliro group B dominated by Mukiza.
Oruzogo gorilla family
Oruzogo mountain gorilla family is one of the gorilla families in Ruhijja sector of Bwindi national park, the group is dominated by a silverback known as Tibirkwata leading 23 individuals. This group was opened up for tourism in 2011 and in 2012 the group was lucky to receive a set of twins from Kakoba the female gorilla.
Gorilla permits
Mountain gorilla permits cost $600 per person per trek and gorilla habituation permits cost $1500 per person. Gorilla permits mist always be bought in advance of 3-6 months before coming to the country due to high demand.
Where to sleep
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is made up of four sectors, tourists planning to visit the park must always book accommodation in the same sector where they have obtained permits from, some of the hotels found in Buhoma include; Mahogany springs, Trekkers safari lodge, Buhoma lodge, Buhoma community rest camp, Sanctuary gorilla forest camp and Lake Kitandara Bwindi among the rest.
What to bring
Trekking mountain gorillas will require tourists to hike to higher elevations and this will need physical fitness and preparation. Some of the things you will need include; garden gloves, water proof hiking boots, insect repellents, plenty of drinking water, energy snacks, sun screens, binoculars, hat and so much more. Gorilla trekking can take 1-7 hours depending on the location of the family and phase of the group.
