Bitukura Gorilla Family | Trekking in Bwindi, Uganda

The Bitukura Gorilla family is found in the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a home to the endangered mountain gorillas.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda. The park is home to 120 species of mammals, 350 bird species, 220 butterfly species, and more.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority is the governing body responsible for organizing tourist activities.

Bitukura is a dominant gorilla family and one of the latest in the eastern part of Bwindi.

The Bitukura gorilla family was habituated in 2007 and then opened for trekking in 2008. The family derived its name from the Bitukura River, where the members were first sighted.

The Bitukura gorilla family originally started with 24 members, but this later reduced to 13 members.

The group is led by Ndahura, a dominant silverback who took over from Karamusi, who died at the age of 40 due to old age.

The Bitukura gorilla family is known for being very close to the Kyaguriro family, with whom they have frequent gatherings, which has made the members easy to habituate.

Some of the members of the Bitukura gorilla family include Rukumu, Rukara, Betina, Ruhara, Kamuga, Ibia, Mugisha, Twakire, Kabandize, Kadongo, and Mubwindi.

Trekking Bitukura Gorilla Family

The Bitukura gorilla family is open for trekking to only 8 people per day. Gorilla trekking starts early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations.

Tourists are then grouped into teams of 8 people and head into the dense forest to search for gorillas.

Trekking can take from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on how long it takes to locate the gorillas.