Nkuringo sector is one of the four gorilla trekking sectors found in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable national park in Uganda with other three gorilla trekking sectors being Rushaga, Buhoma, and Ruhija.
Nkuringo sector is home to the Nkuringo gorilla family which offers the most interesting gorilla trekking experience to visitors. Those who have ever participated in trekking mountain gorillas in the Nkuringo sector can prove to you that the Nkuringo gorilla family is the most wonderful family to visit. Nkuringo gorilla group is led by one silverback known as Rafiki and composed of 12 members splint into 1 black back, 2 sub-adults, 2adult females, two infants, three Juveniles. Nkuringo is a local word that means rolling hills where the first group was sighted from.
Besides doing gorilla trekking in the Nkuringo sector home of mountain gorillas and can easily be accessed on foot. The activities to be done along here in the Nkuringo region include the forest walk, birding and culture encounter.
Forest walk: A forest walk in Nkuringo is quite interesting and as the traveler engages in, they can have a great view of green vegetation as well as having high opportunity of seeing other animals like forest pigs, monkeys, baboons as well as listening to the sweet melodies of birds hence making your tour more gorgeous.
Bird watching: This is an exciting activity done in the morning hours and we advise a traveler who comes for gorilla trekking tours in the Nkuringo sector not to leave the sector without spotting beautiful birds along here. Such birds include white tailed blue flycatcher, short-tailed warbler, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, black bee eater, gamer warbler and many more. we recommend you when you go on gorilla tours you should carry binocular to help you in viewing closer birds. Bird Watching safaris are quite interesting.
Visiting the local community: Travelers get a chance of visiting the local people and can be allowed to engage in local activities such as preparing local food as well as the local people entertaining with the traditional dances, songs, and narrating to them poems which is a way of welcoming them to their community.
However, the Nkuringo sector can be easily accessed from Kampala Capital City as the starting point of the journey passing Kabale district via Buhoma to Nkuringo region which takes 7 to 8 hours by road or else travelers can drive directly to Kisoro the nearby town and connect to Nkuringo sector. Alternatively, a traveler can fly from Entebbe Airport using Aero Link Airline to Kihihi Airstrip lasting for only 1 hour 40 minutes.
To engage in activities offered within this sector it requires a visitor to be in good health so that you’re highly determined to experience the life-changing memories.
The best time to visit the region is in dry seasons when the montane rain forest is out of water i.e. from June to mid-September and December to February. Some may wish to visit in the wet season which starts from March to May and October to December because hotel rates can be cheaper and the possibility of trekking gorillas is high due to the small number of visitors who visit the gorillas in low season.
Accommodation in Nkuringo Sector
If a traveler chooses to trek mountain gorillas in the Nkuringo sector, you shouldn’t get worried about where to stay because the sector offers nice lodges with delicious food, easy location, ranging between luxury, mid-range, and budget lodges which have been built in Nkuringo. Some of these lodges include Nkuringo gorilla campsite, Nkuringo gorilla lodge, Clouds mountain gorilla lodge, and many more other good lodges. But the price for each lodges differs depending on the quality of service offered and location of the lodge. To be part of gorilla trekking you need to buy a gorilla trekking permit in advance which costs USD 600 per person in a single day but by 2020 gorilla permits will be at a fee of USD 700.
