Rushaga Region of Bwindi
Rushaga Region of Bwindi: Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is found in the south western part of Uganda, the park is home to 15 habituated mountain gorilla groups that can be trekked by tourists the first group to be habituated in the park was the Mubare gorilla group.
The Rushaga region is situated in the south western sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, this region has the highest number of habituated gorilla families numbering 5 in total the other regions are Nkuringo, Ruhijja and Buhoma.
Rushaga region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park offers panoramic views of the beautiful lake Bunyonyi and the back drop of the rolling Virunga massif volcanoes. The sceneries through are breathtaking revealing you to the endangered mountain gorillas.
The gorilla groups in the Rushaga area include:
Bweza gorilla family used to be part of the largest group Nshongi gorilla family however in 2010 the silverback Mishaya decided to break off to form his own family known as Mishaya gorilla family the family then split off again when Bweza walked away with 6 members to form his own family known today as Bweza gorilla family.
Busingye gorilla family
The Busingye gorilla family was formed when the silverback Busingye decided to break off from the Kahungye gorilla family to form his own group, the name Busingye means “peace” in the local language through the silverback doesn’t portray his name because he’s seen in fights always with other silverbacks.
Kahungye gorilla family
The Kahungye gorilla family was opened up for tourism in 2011 and the dominating silverback is called Rumansi. After habituation Busingye one of the silverbacks decided to break off to form his own family now known as Busingye gorilla family.
Mishaya gorilla family
The Mishaya gorilla family was formed when the silverback Mishaya broke off from the Nshongi gorilla family to form his own group Mishaya is known as a fighter always fighting other families to grab some for his group.
Nshongi gorilla family
The Nshongi gorilla family was the largest gorilla group to be habituated in Bwindi with 36 members at the time of habituation. The name Nshongi was derived from the river where the group was first seen and the group was opened for tourism in 2009. This group was led by the second youngest silverback in the group leading other 3 which is uncommon for gorillas, the group split two times to form the Bweza gorilla family and Mishaya gorilla family.
Gorilla permits in Uganda cost USD 600.
