Gorilla Sectors in Uganda

Gorilla sectors in Uganda are areas within the national park where mountain gorillas live. Bwindi and Mgahinga, the mountain gorilla national parks of Uganda are often vast with many gorilla families. The sectors help to locate different gorilla families hence easily the entire trekking experience. For instance, if visitors are trekking gorillas from a certain sector, you would tell the families that are there, and if they are habituated. Gorilla sectors also help in easing the counting process because it is a matter of knowing how many gorillas are in each sector and adding up. Uganda as a country is home to more than half of the world’s population of individual mountain gorillas. The four gorilla sectors of Uganda located in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have distinct uniqueness that vary between location, history, and also number of mountain gorillas in each sector. The following are the gorilla sectors in Uganda.

Nkuringo sector

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Nkuringo sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the northwestern part of the park. It is below the Buhoma sector close to the border with Congo. Nkuringo sector offers the utmost adventure of any gorilla trekking experience. This is because of its steep nature which tests nature lovers and gorilla enthusiasts as they attempt to maneuver it. The sector harbors gorilla families like the Bushaho and Nkuringo gorilla families among others. The sector also offers beautiful views of the Virunga mountains in Congo. The Nkuringo sector also is the best place for Batwa community tours as it once hosted the Batwa ethnic group before Bwindi was gazetted. Batwa ethnic group is one of the oldest ethnic groups in Africa. This cultural encounter will expose visitors to their cultural dresses, and ceremonies and listen to their ancient history in the forest of Bwindi. Batwa people are known to be the forest keepers since they lived and survived in Bwindi before its establishment.

Buhoma gorilla sector

Among all the sectors in Bwindi, Buhoma was the first sector to be formed. This was shortly after the first gorilla family Mubare was first sighted in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Buhoma sector with this prestige has elevated it to be the most popular in the entire park. This factor has thus led to its development in terms of infrastructure such as roads and accommodation facilities. These lodges range from luxury to midrange, and budget, and travelers have a wide range of lodges to choose from. Buhoma sector is located in the northern part of Bwindi and harbors other gorilla families like Habinyanja, Rushegura, and Katwe to mention but a few.

Ruhija gorilla sector

The Ruhija sector located in the eastern part of Bwindi offers amazing views of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The vegetation in this sector is very dense compared to the other sectors. Ruhija sector terrain is relatively steep but navigable as it allows visitors interested in gorilla trekking to move through the terrain and vegetation for a glimpse of the endangered primates. This sector has several gorilla families including Mukiza, Oruzogo, and Kyaguliro among other gorilla families.

Rushaga gorilla sector

Among all the sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Rushaga is the largest. The Rushaga sector just like Nkuringo has a steeper terrain than the other sectors. The Rushaga sector is the largest in all the sectors of Bwindi. It is because of this size that it hosts most gorilla families in the park. The sector is located in the southern part of the park offering beautiful views of Lake Bunyonyi. This lake is a crater and is the deepest lake in the country. Rushaga sector also gives stunning scenes of the Virunga Mountain ranges. This sector is also well developed with modern accommodation facilities and close to the community. Some of these accommodation facilities are also owned by the locals and give a chance to visitors to visit the local communities and bond. The gorilla families in the Rushaga sector include Bweza, Busingye, Nshongi, Kahungye, and Mishaya gorilla families. The gorilla sectors in Uganda vary from each other regarding the uniqueness of location, history, and number of gorillas in the sector as we shall see below.

Location

Location is a very key factor when planning a gorilla trekking experience in Uganda especially in Bwindi. Each gorilla sector in the park is strategically located offering unique views of the surrounding and the endangered mountain gorillas. As you are preparing to trek the mountain gorillas, in mind that the sectors are located in different directions. Nkuringo and Rushaga have stunning views of the Virunga mountains and additionally, from Rushaga, you can view Lake Bunyonyi. Travelers can access the park from the compass direction depending on where they are coming from for instance travelers coming from Queen Elizabeth National Park can easily access the Buhoma sector from the northern side.

History

History is another distinct factor of the gorilla sectors in Uganda. The Buhoma sector was the first sector in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to be formed. This rich history of the Buhoma sector has made it the most popular sector in Bwindi. The Buhoma sector is also the most developed in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with modern infrastructure.

Number of gorillas

Buhoma sector has the greatest number of gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Though other sectors also have a reasonable number of mountain gorillas. In Uganda, as mentioned earlier Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has the greatest number of mountain gorillas in the country. Uganda boasts harboring over half of the entire mountain gorillas in the world.