Nkuringo sector is located in the western part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which holds half of the remaining mountain gorillas in the wild. The other gorillas live in the Virunga Volcanoes, which stretch across Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo.
Gorilla groups in Nkuringo sector of Bwindi
Below are some of the gorilla families in Nkuringo sector that you can trek during your visit.
Nkuringo gorilla family
The Nkuringo gorilla family was led by a silverback named Nkuringo, who died in 2008. After his death, the silverback Rafiki became the new leader. The name “Nkuringo” means “round hill,” which is where the group was first seen, near Nkuringo Hill.
This family was the first group to be habituated in the southern sector of Bwindi in 1997 and had 17 individuals at the time. The Nkuringo family is one of the few gorilla groups in Bwindi to have given birth to twins, which happened in 2004.
The Nkuringo group often used to move into nearby village farms, causing human-wildlife conflicts. Because of this, people living near their home range were later moved to reduce these problems.
After the resettlement, the gorilla family suffered from a scabies outbreak.
Bushaho gorilla family
The Bushaho gorilla family was formed when some members of the Nkuringo group left. Later, it was discovered that Bahati, one of the former silverbacks from Nkuringo, was leading this new group along with some unhabituated gorillas.
The name “Bushaho” comes from the name of the area where the group lives. The family now has 8 members: 1 silverback, 1 blackback, 3 adult females, 1 juvenile, 1 sub-adult, and 1 infant.
However, group numbers often change as gorillas join new groups, die, or are born.
What to do in Nkuringo besides gorilla trekking
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the only place in the world that offers the gorilla habituation experience. This process helps gorillas get used to humans so that they can later be visited by tourists.
Tourists who join the gorilla habituation can spend up to four hours with the gorillas, unlike regular trekking which allows just one hour. Only four people are allowed each day for this special experience.
Gorilla habituation is done in the Rushaga sector, just 30 minutes from Nkuringo.
The forest was once home to the Batwa tribe, who were hunter-gatherers before the park was created. The Batwa used to rely on the forest for shelter, medicine, and food. Visitors can meet the Batwa, learn about their traditions, eat local food, meet a traditional healer, and enjoy cultural music and dances.
Bwindi is not only home to mountain gorillas. The park also has other animals such as warthogs, forest elephants, bushbucks, buffaloes, African civets, African giant genets, and many types of monkeys like olive baboons, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and aquatic genets.
Bwindi can be reached in 9–10 hours by road from Kampala or 5–6 hours by road from Kigali, Rwanda. Tourists who prefer luxury can take a flight from Kajjansi Airfield or Entebbe International Airport, which takes about 2 hours.
