Buhoma sector is located in the northern sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Buhoma is the oldest region of Bwindi national park with the oldest habituated gorilla family called Mubare group habituated in 1992.
Buhoma sector of Bwindi is also very easily accessible from Ishasha sector of Queen only four hours drive and 2 hours drive from Kibale town, its also near Kihihi airstrip for those who would like to use air transport. There also a lot of other activities like nature guided walks and cultural encounters to be experienced in Buhoma sector.
Habituated mountain gorilla families include:
Mubare gorilla family
Mubare mountain gorilla family derives its name from Mubare hills on Bwindi national park where they were first sighted by trackers and rangers. This is the oldest mountain gorilla family in Uganda found in Buhoma sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
The group was dominates by Ruhondeza the silverback at the time of habituation, Ruhondeza unfortunately died in 2013 after suffering from injuries caused in a fight between him and the silverback Kanyonyi who wanted to dominate the group.Ruhondeza was very ambitious known of fighting his rivals and also fought young males in his group in order to maintain his position.
Habinyanja gorilla family
Habinyanja mountain gorilla family derives its name from a local word “Nyanja” translated to mean a pool of water where the group was first sighted. The group was habituated in 1997 and opened up for tourism in 1999, the group was dominated by Mugurusiat the time of habituation living his two sons sharing the group dominance.
Mugurusi’s two sons Mwirima and Rwansigazi could not get along due to their differences where by Mwirima loved to rotate within the same area while Rwansigazi was an adventurer who loved go explore new places. This caused the group to split with Mwirima breaking away in 2002 and formed his own family now known as Rushegura gorilla family. Rwansigazi remained with Habinyanja family and later passed power to his son Makara who now dominates the family.
Rushegura gorilla family
The Rushegura mountain gorilla family also sometimes known as group R was formed on 2002 when the silverback Mwirima broke off from his family Habinyanja to form his own gorilla family.Mwirima died in 2015 and the group is now dominated by Kabukojo.
Accommodation in Buhoma sector of Bwindi
When trekking mountain gorillas in Buhoma sector of Bwindi national park, its advisable to book accommodation within Buhoma sector of the park and some of the hotels in Buhoma include; Buhoma community rest camp, Sanctuary gorilla forest camp, Mahogany springs, Trekkers tavern, Lake Kitandara Bwindi camp, Buhoma lodge, silverback lodge and Gorilla conservation camp among the rest.
Gorilla permits
Most people visiting Bwindi impenetrable forest national park prefer Buhoma sector so in most cases permits in Buhoma sector are scarce hence your advised to book your permit in advance of 3-6 months before coming to the country. Permits cost $600 per person per trek and gorilla habituation permits cost $1500 per person.
