Visit the Nkuringo Sector in southern Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to track and see any of its 4 gorilla families in 2024. The Nkuringo sector became a gorilla trekking site in 2004, a few years after the Buhoma sector. The Nkuringo sector gets its name from the Nkuringo gorilla family, which was headed by the dominant silverback, Nkuringo at the time. This is the first gorilla family to be habituated here. The Nkuringo sector has received numerous visitors who have tracked and spent an hour with any of the habituated gorilla families found there.
Though their numbers fluctuate due to various factors, such as migrations to other families, the habituated gorilla families found in the Nkuringo Sector are described as follows.
Nkuringo gorilla family
This first-ever habituated gorilla family in the Nkuringo sector consists of 14 members and is headed by the dominant silverback, Rwamutwe. The family has 2 silverbacks, 2 blackbacks, 5 adult females, 1 sub-adult, and 5 younger gorillas. The Nkuringo gorilla family spends much of its time foraging beyond the park boundaries. Therefore, the Uganda Wildlife Authority created a buffer zone to prevent conflict with the local communities. A gorilla trek on the Nkuringo sector is mostly done on rugged land which makes it quite thrilling.
Posho gorilla family
This is a newly habituated gorilla family that was named after the founding dominant silverback called Posho. This family was formed after Posho broke away from the Nkuringo family under the leadership of Rafiki. Posho is the name of the food that trackers used to eat during the habituation period. Currently, Magara is the dominant silverback, who guides a total of 17 individual gorillas. These individuals include 1 silverback, 8 adult females, 2 sub-adult females, 2 juveniles, and 4 infants.
Christmas gorilla family
This is a habituated gorilla family in the Nkuringo sector and is composed of 8 members, led by the tough dominant silverback, Christmas. As the name suggests, the silverback was born on Christmas day. The members constitute 1 silverback, 2 adult females, 1 sub-adult female, 2 juveniles, and 2 infant gorillas. The Christmas gorilla family was established primarily by members who broke away from the Nkuringo gorilla family. Therefore, the family did not have to undergo the usual habituation process before being available for gorilla trekking tours.
Bushaho gorilla family
The Bushaho gorilla family is still under habituation and has 12 members. The name Bushaho is derived from ‘nothing here’ from the place this group used to forage. These are led by Bahati, a dominant silverback after breaking away from the Nkuringo gorilla family. Besides Bahati, the family has 1 blackback, 5 adult females, 1 sub-adult female gorilla, 2 juvenile gorillas, and 2 infant gorillas. The dominant silverback is very entertaining, and it is believed that the first members were attracted to join this group because of that.
Tracking gorilla families in Nkuringo Sector 2024
Tracking gorilla families in the Nkuringo Sector in 2024 will require you to have good stamina. You should also be in good health since you will walk on rugged terrain with the most challenging gorilla trails found throughout Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. A gorilla trek in the Nkuringo sector starts at around 7:00 AM. This is started with a briefing by a park ranger, who will communicate the rules and regulations for you to follow while in the dense forest. They will then divide the visitors into groups of 8.
Each group is given a gorilla family to trek. You are also accompanied by an armed ranger and an experienced tracker. This is to ensure that everyone is safe while locating the gorilla family in a dense forest full of dangerous wild animals. The gorilla trek in Nkuringo will offer you 2 to 6 hours of fun, depending on the location of the gorilla family you are looking for. Once you find the gorilla family, you are offered an hour to have more fun observing and taking photos of the gorilla family. Then you will trek back to the trailhead to end your gorilla trek.
When to go tracking gorilla families in Nkuringo Sector 2024
Tracking gorilla families in the Nkuringo sector is available throughout the year. The gorilla trek is however much more enjoyable during the dry season. This season is experienced in the Nkuringo sector from June to September and December to February. The dry season offers you warm and dry weather patterns. During this time, the gorilla trails in the Nkuringo sector are also dry and less muddy to offer fewer challenging treks. The rainfall is also reduced therefore chances of interruptions are much less compared to the wet season.
How to travel to track gorilla families in Nkuringo Sector 2024
Traveling to the Nkuringo Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is done either on the road or by air transport. By road, you will have to move from Kampala to the Nkuringo sector in Bwindi which covers a road distance of about 530 kilometers to the southwest. This is a 10–11-hour scenic journey on a comfortable 4×4 safari vehicle.
By air, you will have to board a flight from Entebbe to Kisoro Airstrip. A chartered flight provided by Aerolink takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. You will enjoy aerial views while traveling. When you reach Kisoro Airstrip, you will be transported to the trailhead or your accommodation by road, preferably by a reputable tour operator like us.
