What are the 4 Sectors of Bwindi?
Bwindi has 4 Sectors which are; Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija and Nkuringo. Gorilla Trekking is undoubtedly the most exciting activity to engage in on a Uganda Safari. The activity starts very early in the morning with a briefing from the Park headquarters, from here. You are assigned a ranger guide who guides you throughout the Trek and also a Gorilla Family to look out for. During your Trek, sounds of birds in the forest, colorful butterflies and also primates welcome you to their hood. And after locating your gorilla family, you are allowed to spend a full hour in their presence as you study their behaviours, see how they go about their day to day life and also take numerous pictures.
Buhoma Sector
Buhoma sector is located in the northern part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It is one of the 4 sectors of Bwindi where tourists start their daily gorilla trekking excursions to see the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Buhoma Sector also the first trailhead that was established in 1992 by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Attracting numerous numbers of tourists that have turned the small village trading center into a vibrant town.
Buhoma Sector boosts of harboring the first Habituated gorilla family known as Mubare, habituated in 1993. The sector known for having 5 Habituated gorilla families and are among the most trekked during Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi. These include; Mubare, Rushegura, Katwe, Habinyanja and Binyido gorilla families. Buhoma Sector is the best for those Travellers who would wish to combine Gorilla Trekking with Wildlife Viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Buhoma sector is also the best for those visitors who are looking to do guided nature walks or birding tours. This is because the sector endowed with interesting trails. To explore like River Ivy Trail, Munyaga River Trail, Rushura Hill Trail and also the Muzabajiro Loop Trail.
Gorilla tourism created all kinds of jobs for the local communities around this misty jungles. And also attracted infrastructure investors to change the face of Buhoma from a trading center to Uganda’s Premier Gorilla Town.
The Sector offers a variety of Accommodation options ranging from Luxury and Mid-range to Budget compared to other gorilla trekking sectors in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Example of these include; Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp, Buhoma Lodge, Mahogany Springs. Buhoma Haven Lodge, Buhoma Community Rest Camp, Bwindi Lodge, Engagi Lodge and Silverback Lodge among others.
Today, Buhoma sector boasts of some of the most exquisite wilderness safari retreats in Uganda. Mountain gorillas love to come out of their cold jungle to taste the luxurious plants in the sectors tastefully decorated camps and gaze at the smiley visitors that flock in from all corners of the World.
Rushaga Sector
Rushaga Sector is located in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It is located in Kisoro District neighboring the Nkuringo sector.
Rushaga sector in Bwindi has a total of 8 gorilla families. Making it the sector with the highest number of habituated gorilla families as compared to other sectors of the park. The gorilla families here include, Nshongi, Bweza, Mucunguzi, Bikingi, Kahungye, Busingye, Mishaya and Kutu. Rushaga sector is popular for research and it is the only sector in Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park. That offers Gorilla Habituation to visitors in the park. It is also the best option for those who want to combine Gorilla Trekking with Gorilla Habituation.
Rushaga Sector is also close to Rwanda therefore it can be easily accessed by those Tourists coming from Kigali, Rwanda. It is about 4 hours’ drive from Kigali. Visitors to this sector can also stop over at Lake Mutanda and enjoy a boat ride on this beautiful lake. Other Adventure activities like guided nature walks, birding, community encounters and also hiking the waterfalls.
In addition to having our closest cousins, the Mountain Gorillas. This remote village of Western Uganda shares the Albertine rift valley. Bisected by the Virunga massif and the Great East African Rift valley. Rushaga is a good natural home to the Albertine rift endemics and also the Mountain endemic bird life. Rushaga hosts a good number of forest elephants making it the only part of Bwindi forest. Where Mountain Gorillas live harmoniously with African Forest Elephants, Chimpanzees and the people.
Forest elephants being hard vegetarians, they pave way for plenty of Mountain Gorilla food. The contrasts is that Mountain Gorillas only depend on forest second growth. Therefore, the survival of African elephants into this southern part of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park has positively affected the number of Mountain Gorillas in Rushaga sector.
Accommodation options in Rushaga sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest include; Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge, Four Heights Gorilla Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Resort, Rushaga Gorilla Camp, Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Safari Lodge, Gorilla Leisure Lodge, Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge and Chameleon Hill among others.
Ruhija Sector
Ruhija Gorilla Sector is located in the eastern part of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. And the closest sector to Buhoma. Because of this, it is very possible for visitors to sleep in Buhoma sector and do gorilla trekking in the Ruhija sector.
The sector has 4 gorilla families available for trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable forest and they include; Bitukura, Kyaguliro, Oruzogo and Mukiza gorilla families. Ruhija sector is the quietest of the four gorilla trekking sectors in Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park. Hence providing visitors with the most private gorilla trekking experience.
For those visitors looking for a challenging trek during your gorilla trekking experience. Ruhija sector is the best option since this sector is situated on a high altitude of 2,350m above sea level. Ruhija sector offers the most strenuous and adventurous hiking trail to Rwamunyonyi peak. Which is 2,607m above sea level. This peak is often known as the “hill of many birds,” hence being the best option for visitors interested in hiking or guided nature walks in the sector. Rwamunyonyi is the highest and coldest point in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park with a vast swamp. Hence offering unparalleled vistas of forest crest after forest ridge all the way to the Virunga Mountains.
Ruhija sector in Bwindi has multiple activities which include; primate tracking, guided forest walks or hikes, birding and Batwa community tours. The Sector is also best in case you are looking to visit Lake Bunyonyi.
The Accommodations available in Ruhija sector include; Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge, Bakiga Lodge, Broadbill forest camp, Agandi lodge, Trekkers Tarvan Lodge and Gorilla Mist Camp.
Nkuringo Sector
Nkuringo sector situated in the southern portion of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It is incredibly one of the four primary gorilla trekking sectors in the park. Nkuringo sector is arguably one of the least popular areas. That provide unmatched gorilla trekking experiences to travelers on Uganda Gorilla Tours.
Nkuringo sector has the fewest number of habituated gorilla families, these are 3 in number. The first ever gorilla family habituated in this sector is the Nkuringo gorilla group which was led by Rafiki silverback who was later killed in June 2020 by prominent poachers. Other gorilla families include the Bushaho and Christmas Gorilla families.
Nkuringo sector is mostly popular for providing incredible views of Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Nyamuragira which are located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This sector recommended for visitors who love long hikes given that the sector’s terrains are not as steep as those in other sectors of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
Nkuringo is also the best option for those visitors looking to have a stopover at Lake Mutanda or Lake Mulehe in Kisoro district to enjoy a boat ride after a strenuous gorilla trekking activity. Other activities such as guided nature walks, community tours and bird watching tours.
Nkuringo sector is a great sector for visitors who want to do gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park from Kigali, Rwanda. This is because the sector easily accessed via the Cyanika border in Kisoro district taking about 5 hours.
The accommodation options available for visitors in Nkuringo sector include; Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, Virunga Campsite and also Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge.