Buhoma is the premier gorilla trekking sector in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, which is situated on the northwestern side of the park. This park is mainly found in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, which is largely found in Kanungu district. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park has got four sectors, but Buhoma was the first sector where the gorilla trekking activity was first announced.
This means that the popularity of gorilla trekking in Bwindi and entirely in Uganda started in the Buhoma sector, and this makes it a wonderful sector because of the history that is attached to it. The history of gorilla tourism has gotten its originality from the Buhoma since 1993, when the Bwindi forest was gazetted as a national park.
The Mubare Gorilla Family was the first habituated gorilla family in this sector, and it was the first gorilla family ever trekked and seen by visitors in Uganda. Therefore, you are right to say that in Bwindi Forest and Uganda in general, this section was a pioneer of gorilla trekking. When the Mubare gorilla family was opened for monitoring in 1993, the area was the first to welcome the first group of gorilla hikers. Rushegura, Mubare, and Habinyanja are three gorilla families that have been tracked in this area.
About the first gorilla family in the Buhoma sector
As I said, Mubare is the first gorilla family to be habituated and open for tourism in Uganda, and it is reported that at first, Ruhondeza Gorilla Silverback was the head of the family, and by then the group was composed of about 18 members. Ruhondeza later grew in age and couldn’t manage the family anymore. This led to the separation of the family, and by the time of Ruhondeza’s death, the Mubare gorilla family had only four members. However, the taking over of the leadership by the new silverback has secured the family and get other individual gorillas from other families, which have been added to the Mubare gorilla family, bringing the total to nine members, which is expected to grow over time. Rushegura, which began trekking in 2000 and now has a total of 16 members, and Habinyanja, which has a total of 19 members and was first opened for gorilla tracking in 1997, are the other two habituated gorilla families in the Buhoma area.
The fact that the sector has only got these gorilla families means that twenty-four gorilla trekking permits are presents every time and thus you need to book your tickets early to avoid inconvenience. Despite the fact that Buhoma does not have the largest number of gorilla families, it remains the busiest of the four Bwindi sectors because of the other attractions it offers in addition to gorilla trekking, such as;
Apart from gorilla trekking, there are other amazing activities in the Buhoma sector which you don’t need to skip, and these include hiking, mountain biking, and numerous cultural contacts. Additionally, tourists may see a variety of bird species, vivid butterflies, several tree species, other monkeys, and spectacular waterfalls while walking through the dense jungle. The Buhoma village walk is so experiential that it helps the visitors observe various cultural activities carried out by the Batwa and Bakiga communities, such as cultural performances in songs and dances that depict their past lives in the forest, meeting blacksmiths and traditional healers who treat the sick with herbal medicine extracted from plants, and observing various art and craft materials that are available.
Moving from Buhoma to other sections of Bwindi
Buhoma can easily be linked to other parts of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. For example, tourists can, for example, sleep in Buhoma after their gorilla walk and then drive two hours to Ruhija the next day for further gorilla trekking with the local gorilla families. Hiking through the impenetrable forest track known as the Nkuringo safari trek for around 3 hours will take you to Nkuringo in the south of Bwindi.
Additionally, Buhoma is near to other destinations in Uganda, which include, among others, the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mount Rwenzori National Park, and the Kibale Forest National Park, and thus, tourists and travelers can help and continue on to any of these nearby national parks for more tourism after completing gorilla trekking in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Ruhija, located on the park’s eastern boundary, is conveniently accessible to visitors on safari in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This means that visitors from other countries may still interact with and track gorilla families in Buhoma. It takes two hours to get from Buhoma to the Ruhija area. Tourists can also hike from Buhoma, in the heart of the forest, to the Nkuringo area in the park’s southern part. It takes roughly 3 hours to hike the Nkuringo safari walk trail.
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