MUCUNGUZI GORILLA FAMILY IN RUSHAGA SECTOR

Mucunguzi gorilla family is one of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s newly habituated gorilla groups located in Rushaga region. Mucunguzi group is open to visitors intending to track mountain gorillas in Rushaga, the Southern section of Bwindi.

Mucunguzi is composed of 8 individuals of endangered mountain gorillas and is led by Mucunguzi silverback gorilla. The word Mucunguzi means ‘savoir’ and this family broke away from Bweza family which makes it one of the newest groups in Bwindi National Park. Mucunguzi silverback spent some time as a solitary silverback till he invaded Bikingi gorilla family and went away with females to start his own family.

Trekking Mucunguzi gorilla family in Bwindi

If you intend to explore more about Mucunguzi group, then you have every reason to book a gorilla permit for Rushaga sector. This gorilla family is found in Rushaga, the Southern gorilla trekking region in Bwindi and takes about 2-6 hours to trek through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in search for the family of endangered mountain gorillas in Rushaga sector. Upon locating Mucunguzi group, you have a maximum of an hour to enjoy up close and personal moment with this family, taking pictures and exploring in depth about how they behave while in their natural habitat.

A maximum of eight (8) guests are allocated to trek Mucunguzi and visitors are led by an experienced park guide. Gorillas perform different activities during the course of the day. Their day begins early morning with a search for what to feed on, relaxation in the afternoon, coupling, breastfeeding and nesting in the evening, etc.

While observing how members of Mucunguzi group behave, visitors are advised to keep a distance of 8-10m away from these apes to minimize any chances of them contracting infectious human diseases or disturbing their daily behaviors. When taking photos, non-flashlight cameras are more preferable. On returning to the briefing point at Rushaga, you will be awarded a gorilla trekking certificate that shows that you have successfully trekked gorillas.

On actual gorilla trek, briefing begins at 7:00am and it is during this period when you will have insight into the dos and don’ts for gorilla trekking. You begin navigating through the forest in search of Mucunguzi family at 8:00am with assigned park guide.

Aside from Mucunguzi, the other families worth visiting at Rushaga include Nshongi, Bweza, Kutu, Mishaya, Kahungye, Busingye, Bikingi, Rwigi and others.

Gorilla permits for Mucunguzi gorilla trekking

Mucunguzi takes 8 visitors per day translating into 8 gorilla permits. These can be booked by persons above 15 years and one valid gorilla permit is issued out at USD 700 per person. Your reliable and trusted local tour operator in Uganda can have your permit booked early enough prior to actual gorilla trekking date.

Best time to get there for gorilla trekking

Trekking Mucunguzi gorillas can be done at any time of the year, but the best time is the dry season –long or short dry months of the year. The longest dry season in Uganda runs from June to September while short dry season occurs starting from December, January to February.

Essentials to carry for Mucunguzi gorilla group trek tour

Packing list for Mucunguzi gorilla group trekking safari includes waterproof daypack, energy giving snacks, first-aid kit, cotton stocks, waterproof hiking boots/shoes, insect repellents, rain coat or jacket, bottled water, valid gorilla permits, a good camera, a sweater, long trousers, gardening gloves, and long-sleeved shirts.

Top lodges in and around Rushaga

Top accommodation options inside and around Rushaga sector consist of budget, midrange and luxury. They include Nshongi Camp, Four (4) Gorillas Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Resort, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge, Gorilla Valley Lodge, Bwindi Jungle Lodge, and others.

Getting to Rushaga for gorilla trekking

It is a must to travel to Rushaga if you intend to track Mucunguzi family group. You can drive from Kampala to Rushaga for 8-10 hours via Masaka-Mbarara-Kabale route or leave Kigali city via Katuna/Chanika border to Rushaga sector. By air, you can spend a short as 2 hours on flight from Entebbe airport to Kisoro airstrip where you can be picked up and dropped off to the lodge for a night stay.

Sándor Jakubinyi

14:31 22 Feb 24

2019 megigazulás

12:45 21 Feb 24

We went on a two-week trip with my family, organised by Coleb from Standard Safaris.

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09:38 08 Jan 24

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00:41 15 Nov 23

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18:31 27 Oct 23

Very organized travel operator who chose awesome guide to make our trip wonderful.

We booked a nine days trip with Standard Safaris and all was perfect from start to finish. Coleb was very prompt at replying and easy to liaise with ahead of the trip. We had done a lot of research and had an itinerary in mind and Coleb helped us to put everything together to make this happen for a very reasonable price.  On the trip we had a private vehicle for the whole tour which was exactly what we wanted. Bryan was our driver and an amazing guide - really friendly and knowledgable, working hard to find the things that we wanted to see and quickly understanding what was of interest to us/how much information to give.

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MUGAIGA KENNETH

18:01 27 Oct 23

The company has very courteous tour guides with wide knowledge of fauna and frola in the whole of East Africa.
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Almost The whole of September I was traversing through DRC, Uganda,and Rwanda on a gorilla tour and wildlife expedition.
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travel uganda

16:35 27 Oct 23

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