Situated in the southern part of the great Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Nkuringo sector is one of the most popular gorilla trekking regions in this park. There are about 3 gorilla families sheltered in Nkuringo gorilla sector including the famous Nkuringo gorilla family, Bushaho gorilla family and Bikingi. Bwindi impenetrable national park shelters almost half of the only remaining mountain gorillas in the world. There are about 400 gorilla individuals sheltered in the great Bwindi.
The park is the most popular gorilla trekking destination in Uganda followed by its counterpart Mgahinga National Park, one of the smallest national parks in the country. Bwindi impenetrable national park shelters about 17 gorilla group families and some of these include Mubare, Katwe, Nkuringo, Habinyanja, Rushegura, Binyindo, to mention but a few. While visiting Bwindi, visitors can track the endangered mountain gorillas in four tracking regions including Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija and Nkuringo. Buhoma gorilla tracking region is the most visited and popular gorilla tracking sector among all.
While visiting the Nkuringo gorilla tracking sector, visitors shall notice a lot of hills in the area as it derives from ‘rolling hills’. Nkuringo sector has always had a great impact on the surrounding communities since it was habituated to ensure no more crop destruction. There’s only one family gorilla group sheltered in the Nkuringo sector which is also known as “Nkuringo family”.
There are about 12 gorilla individuals in the Nkuringo sector and are led by a dominating male silverback known as Rafiki who succeeded Rafiki after the death of their father Nkuringo who died in 2008. The family has since reduced in number but the same year also looked like a blessing in disguise since the family had lost its leader, later in the same year it received a set of twins named Muhozii and and Katungi.
Visitors are advised to be in their best health while visiting this sector since it has one of the most challenging trails in the great Bwindi impenetrable national park. Aside from visiting the Nkuringo family in this tracking region, there are also other thrilling activities that visitors can enjoy while visiting this mighty family. Some of these tourism activities may include visiting the Batwa community and more.
Gorilla tracking in the Nkuringo gorilla tracking region and the entire Bwindi at large starts in the morning early hours at around 7:00 am with a small briefing alongside a simple briefing. The briefing is guided by the park rangers and tour guides who get to share all the informative knowledge and history about the destination and the mountain gorillas. The tour guides are also familiar with the precise location of the mountain gorillas and very knowledgeable on how to track and locate them.
Visitors are also issued of the dos and don’ts while gorilla trekking. The vital part of the park rangers is to ensure the safety of the visitors from unfriendly wild animals and other external threats like terrorists. After the briefing, visitors are then led to the wilderness of Bwindi in search of the mountain gorillas and it is at this point that they get to encounter other primate and wildlife species including duikers, bushbucks and more. Several stunning bird and butterfly species can also be encountered while tracking the primate species of mountain gorillas.
Gorilla tracking Nkuringo family can take about 2 to 6 hours depending on their location. Once this gorilla family is tracked and located, visitors are only limited to one full hour of encounter with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitats while learning about their history, survival instincts, common traits as human beings, feeding habits and how they care for their babies.
Watching the dominant male silverback and the group leader stand strong in the protection of his family is one of the most touchy yet exciting moments. One has to first encounter the dominant silverback and father of the family before encountering the family members.
