Buhoma Sector is the pioneer of the gorilla trekking activity and it was the first sector to be visited by the travellers in Bwindi Impenetrable national park among other three sectors such as Rushaga in the south, Nkuringo sector in south and Ruhija in East. The sector is located in the northern part of Bwindi national park in Kanungu district of Uganda. Being the most visited region it is commonly known that when travellers are booking for their gorilla permits in Uganda they first ask whether there is a possibility of trekking in Buhoma. Buhoma sector has an amazing history of being the first sector to be opened for tourism in regards to be the first visited gorilla group to Bwindi Impenetrable national park. However, Buhoma is home of the eldest gorilla family known as Mubare which was habituated in 1993. Buhoma sector is the most visited sector in Bwindi Impenetrable national park compared to other sectors thus a desire for all travellers.
Buhoma sector offers three gorilla groups and each has its own history but all being a home of mountain gorillas.
Mubare gorilla family: This is one of the first gorilla families in Bwindi that were habituated in 1991. Mabare gorilla group was the first in the region to be opened up for tourism in early 1993. Before the family had twelve family members in this group and when their leader Ruhondeza died, the group remained with only five members. In 2013, they discovered that more mountain gorillas joined the group to represent 9 family members including one silverback, one adult female and two juveniles. This gorilla group is easier to trek because some time gorillas are used to live closer to the park headquarters. To note, visitors who engage in gorilla trekking in Uganda can spend 2 to 8 hours trekking in the family with a limited number of 8 people to participate in this awesome activity.
Rushegura gorilla group-group: This group is one of the largest gorilla families in the park hosting 16 members led by silverback Kabukojo, 4 adult females, 4 black back, 4 infants and 3 juvenile. This group broke away from Habinyanja gorilla family after the death of their leader silver back Mugurusi Rushergura, in 2002 it’s when the group opened up for tourism and within the same year, it received a number of tourists. Trekking in this group takes a few hours to allocate to gorilla members because some time they tend to live near the park headquarters. Sometimes they can move out of the park’s boundary and in case tourists fail to find them they can camp or sleep to nearby lodges where they can get a chance to view them in the following morning. Rushegura gorilla group is the most perfect and amazing group to trek in because of the huge group.
Habinyanja gorilla group-group: Habinyanja gorilla group was habituated in 1997 as a family to mountain gorillas and in 1999 it was officially visited by the tourists. This group is among the first habituated gorilla families in the Buhoma region. The group is composed of 18 members with 2 silverbacks and the newly born babies. It was discovered around the swamp in Bwindi national park and the name Habinyanja means Nyanja ‘Lake’. For all along, this group has been visited with a number of visitors all over the world. To trek in this group, it takes almost a day since the family is large.
Apart from engaging in gorilla trekking in different gorilla groups in Buhoma, there are also other activities you can participate in.
Buhoma sector offers various activities and attractions for visitors and these include visiting the Batwa pygmies the first people to leave in the area who are good in storytelling. They demonstrate their lives on how they used to live in the forest with mountain gorillas and you can also do community walks to the adjacent communities of Bakiga. Tourists can also engage in local communities like preparing local food, digging, brewing local beers, collecting fruits as well as visiting the three waterfalls such as Rosharon hill trail, Muzabababiro loop trail, River Ivi trails. Visiting all these attractions can give you a memorable experience about mountain gorillas and other activities you can engage in.
Buhoma sector can be easily accessed by car from Kampala the capital city of Uganda passing Mbarara town via ishasha sector in the south of Queen Elizabeth national park using this route to the panoramic view of wild animals, rolling hills are rewarding. The drive can take 6 to 7 hours up to Bwindi. You can decide to use Air transport from kajjansi Airstrip along Entebbe road in Kampala to Kihihi Airstrip lasting for only 1 hour 40minutes by Air.
Buhoma sector offers a variety of comfortable lodges ranging between luxury, mid-range and budget and these include Buhoma sector lodge, Silverback lodge, Bwindi forest lodge, Trackers safari lodge and many more others beautiful accommodation facilities.
Buhoma sector offers a great Uganda gorilla tour in one of the top-visited National Parks in Uganda famously known as Bwindi Impenetrable national park.
