Rushaga gorilla trekking takes place in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, located in the southwest of Uganda.
Rushaga is one of the four sectors of Bwindi where tourists can trek mountain gorillas.
Mountain gorillas are endemic to the Virunga region and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas nearly faced extinction in the 19th century.
However, Dian Fossey’s conservation efforts for mountain gorillas made their extinction unlikely.
She brought human attention to this ape species, dedicating her life to studying and conserving mountain gorillas until her murder by gorilla poachers in 1985 at her research facility, Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda.
You can also explore Buhoma gorilla trekking, Ruhija gorilla trekking, and Nkuringo gorilla trekking.
Let’s take a look at some of the gorilla groups you might encounter during your Rushaga gorilla trekking experience.
Rushaga Gorilla Families
Gorilla Groups Available for Trekking in Rushaga
- Busingye Gorilla Family. The Busingye gorilla family is a splinter group that separated in 2012. The family consists of 9 members, including 5 blackbacks, 3 infants, and 1 silverback. The name “Busingye” means “peace” in the local language. The group is led by a silverback called Busingye, who is known for being peaceful but also aggressive when it comes to fighting other gorilla groups, both habituated and wild, to acquire more females for his family.
- Nshongi Gorilla Family. The Nshongi gorilla family is located in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi. This group gets its name from the “Omushongi Gwoboki” river, which has a honey-like color and is where the group was first sighted. This family was opened up for trekking in 2009 and initially had 36 members dominated by Nshongi. However, Nshongi wasn’t the oldest silverback and took over the group’s leadership after his father, Mishaya, passed away. The group later split, and other silverbacks formed their own families.
- Kahungye Gorilla Family. Kahungye gorilla family is one of the gorilla families in the Rushaga sector. The group is named after a hill in Rushaga where they were first sighted. It was opened up for trekking in 2011 with 27 individuals but later split to form the Busingye gorilla family, leaving Kahungye with 17 members. The group is led by Rumanzi, the silverback, with two other silverbacks, Rwigi and Ruhamuka.
- Bweza Gorilla Family. Bweza gorilla family is dominated by Bweza, who split from the Mishaya gorilla family, taking 6 members with him. This split happened when Mishaya had just split from the Nshongi gorilla family, taking away 10 members in 2010. The Bweza gorilla family was opened up for trekking in 2012 and now consists of 9 members, still led by Bweza.
- Mishaya Gorilla Family. The Mishaya gorilla family split from the Nshongi gorilla family when Mishaya took some members to form his own gorilla family. Currently, the Mishaya gorilla family consists of 7 members, with a silverback named Mishaya as the dominant leader. This family is known for being fun to trek in Rushaga, Bwindi.
Where to Stay
There are various accommodation options available in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, catering to various budgets and trekking areas.
If you choose to trek in Rushaga, you can consider staying at lodges like Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, and Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, among others.
Best Time to Visit
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be visited year-round, but the best times are during the dry seasons of June to September and December to February when the weather is favorable.
Rushaga can be reached in 4 hours from Kigali and 9-10 hours from Kampala.
Tourists also have the option to fly from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi airfield to Kisoro Airstrip or Kihihi Airstrip in 1-2 hours.
