There are over 20 gorilla families in Bwindi National Park which can be trekked by tourist and are divided into 4 groups, Rushaga sector, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Buhoma sector. One to opt to trek mountain gorillas in Uganda especially in Bwindi National Park is required to obtain a gorilla permit. A gorilla permit in Uganda costs $ 600.00 per person per trek which is lower than the Rwanda gorilla permit which costs $ 1500.00 per person per trek. Maranatha tours and travel advice you to book a gorilla permit at least 6 months in advance be the date of trek, and these can be visited on a daily basis. Each gorilla family is visited 8 people per day, below is the gorilla families found in Bwindi National Park.

Nshongi Gorilla family

Nshongi Gorilla family is the largest gorilla family with 25 members and it’s under the leadership of 2 silverbacks. It’s located in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Nkuringo gorilla family

Nkuringo gorilla family has got 18 members with only two silverbacks. It’s located in the Nkuringo sector of the park. The group was opened for tourism in 2004 and Nkuringo is a Rukiga word for a round hill. The group was first spotted and targeted for habituation at a hill named Nkuringo.

Mishaya Gorilla family

Mishaya Gorilla family it has got 12 individuals with only 1 silverback. It’s located in the Rushaga sector of the park. It was formed after the silverback Mishaya left the Nshongi group with 9 members in July 2010 and formed the Mishaya family.

Bitukura gorilla family

Bitukura gorilla family is located in the northern part of the park and it’s the most recent habituated gorilla family in Ruhija which is part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It’s one of the most attractive groups in the region since it’s composed of four silverbacks with Ndahura the second youngest silverback as the leader. It has got 13 members with Ndahura being the dominant silverback.

Oruzogo gorilla family

Oruzogo gorilla family has got 16 members headed by 1 silverback, it’s located in Ruhija and it’s among the most recent groups habituated for gorilla trekking. The family is accessed between Buhoma and Ruhija under the leadership of the dominant silverback Tibirikwata.

Mubare gorilla family

Mubare gorilla family is the smallest gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with 6 members under the leadership of 1 silverback. The group is located near the park headquarters at Buhoma.

Habinyanja gorilla family

Habinyanja gorilla family has 20 members with 2 silverbacks and it’s located at the Buhoma sector. It’s among the three habituated gorilla families that can be trekked from Buhoma. The family was established in 1997 and the first group of tourists tracked the group in 1999.

Rushegura gorilla family

It has 20 members with 1 silverback and it’s located in Buhoma. The tourists start from the park headquarters to track this family but sometimes you will need to drive for up to 15 minutes for its trailhead in Mukono.

Christmas gorilla family

Christmas gorilla family is located in the Nkuringo sector south of Bwindi impenetrable forest, it has become a third gorilla family in this region alongside Nkuringo and Bushaho gorilla families. The family is headed by Christmas as the dominant silverback. It has 19 members including 3 adult females, 3 black backs and two babies.

Rwigi gorilla family

Rwigi gorilla family is located in the Rushaga sector in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Rwigi gorilla family is led by dominant silver bark with the other 6 members. The process of trekking Rwigi gorilla family requires you to book a gorilla permit which costs $ 600.00 per person per trek and the process begins in the morning and lasts 30 minutes to 6 hours.

Katwe gorilla family

Katwe gorilla family is located in the Buhoma sector north of Bwindi impenetrable national park. This family underwent through habituation process for 3 years which made it familiar to human presence hence guarantying the travelers of their security. It has got 8 members including 1 silverback.

Bushaho gorilla family

Bushaho gorilla family this group has got 9 members with one dominant silverback. It’s now open to tourists.

Kahungye gorilla family

Kahungye gorilla family is located in the Rushaga area of Bwindi. It has got 13 members with 3 silverbacks. The dominant silverback is called Rumansi followed by the other two old male gorillas named by Rwigi and Ruhamuka. It was opened to tourism in 2011.

Busingye Gorilla family

Busingye Gorilla family it’s another splinter group from Kahungye which broke away in 2012 and was as a result of the determined silverback called Busingye which means peace. It has got 9 members with one silverback, 3 infants, 2 adult females, and 3 juveniles. The family lives in the Rushaga area with the former group.

Kyaguriro group

Kyaguriro group this group is the only habituated group in Uganda reserved for research alone. It’s composed of 15 members and occupies the Ruhija area. It has been a good ally of Bitukura to the extent that some adolescent females have been reported to leave Bitukura for it. It has 15 members including 2 silverbacks and led by an aging silverback called Zeus.

Bikingi gorilla group

Bikingi gorilla groups its lead by Bikingi silverback and it’s located in the Rushaga area of Bwindi forest. The group commenced in early 2012 as a follow-up exercise of the dispersing members of the divided Mishaya family. The family is composed of 15 individuals including 1 silverback, 5 adult females, 2 subadults, 2 juveniles, and 5 infants.

Bweza gorilla family

Bweza gorilla family has got 7 members including 1 silverback. It’s located in the Rushaga area of Bwindi forest. It’s one of the Nshongi groups that used to be the largest ever habituated in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In 2010, Silverback Mishaya left the family leaving with many of them and formed his group called Mishaya.

Nkuringo Gorilla family

Nkuringo Gorilla family it has got 19 members including 2 silverbacks. It’s located in the Nkuringo sector. It was named after the Rukiga word for round hill and was launched in 2004. The family was led by the silverback Nkuringo who died in 2008, leaving behind 2 silverbacks in the group.

Mucunguzi Gorilla Family

Mucunguzi Gorilla Family is located in the Rushaga sector and it’s a new gorilla family found in the Rushaga region of Bwindi forest. Mucunguzi means Savior and was the third and youngest silverback of the Bweza gorilla group in the Rushaga region of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The family has got 9 members including 1 silverback. It was formed by a solitary silverback called Mucunguzi from which the name Mucunguzi gorilla family was derived.

Nshongi gorilla group

Nshongi gorilla group has got 7 members and its habituation started in 2006. The family size was large at 32 members with many males but with time intra male competition which has caused dispersals of individual members and fission. Recently Nshongi group is composed of 7 members with 1 silverback, 3 adult females, 1 sub adult, 1 juvenile and I infant. The family is headed by Bweza and is found in the Rushaga tourism sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.