Uganda hosts half population of the endangered mountain gorillas in the wild, gorilla trekking in the country can be done at Mgahinga national park or Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Mountain gorillas can only survive in the wilderness not zoos the reason you have to visit the pearl of Africa to encounter your close relatives.
Uganda is also the only country in the world that allows you to join rangers and researchers in their daily work of gorilla habituation. Gorilla habituation can be described as the process of making mountain gorilla get used to human presence and this normally takes a period of 2-3 years before the family can be opened for trekking by tourists.
Rushegura gorilla family
Rushegura mountain gorilla family was formed when silverback Mwirima split away from his original group to form his own gorilla family, the break up was caused when his father Mukurisi died leaving the group under the leadership of two brothers that is Mwirima and Rwansigazi.
However the two brothers had their own differences in that Mwirima loved to forage within a small zone while Rwansigazi loved to explore a large home range. The breakup was peaceful and two families can still be seen along each other sometimes.
Rushegura mountain gorilla family derives its name from the place where the separation of the two families took place in February 2002, Mwirima worked so hard to enlarge his family in that by 2010 the number had increased from 8 to 19 individuals. He also sired a good number of offspring’s in his family.
The current dominating silverback of Rushegura gorilla family is Kabukojo who took over the group while he was still a black back after the unfortunate death of Mwirima. The group is one of the easiest groups to trek in Bwindi sometimes seen roaming at the park headquarters lessening trekking hours.
Gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking has become every travellers dream and Rushegura mountain gorilla family can be trekked from Buhoma sector of Bwindi national park, the activity starts early morning and a number of only 8 people are allowed to trek gorillas. The trek takes between 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on location of the family and phase of hikers. You will have one hour of observation and photography once you find Rushegura gorilla family.
What to carry
Gorilla trekking does not only require one to be physically fit but you should be aware that gorillas live in tropical rainforests whereby it can rain at any time even during dry season so you should pack water proof hiking boots, garden gloves, rain jackets, coats, warm clothing, during dry season you should pack plenty of drinking water, sun screen, sun glasses, insect repellents and energy snacks among others.
Best time to visit
The best time for trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda is from June to August and December to February when the roads leading to national parks are in good condition and the trekking trails are not muddy and slippery.
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