Buhoma sector
Buhoma sector is the pioneer or the first mountain gorilla trailhead for gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable national park. Buhoma sector, for many years, has and still is the leading gorilla trekking section in bwindi impenetrable national park. Buhoma is liked by many tourists that come to uganda for wildlife safaris because it is close to queen elizabeth national park, especially for the visitors from Queen Elizabeth National Park or those who plan to go for a game drive after the mountain gorilla trekking session in bwindi impenetrable national park.
Buhoma sector is located in the south western part of uganda, within bwindi impenetrable national park; bwindi impenetrable national park is famous for being the home for almost half of the world’s remaining population of the endangered mountain gorillas. The opening of gorilla trekking in bwindi impenetrable national park started with mubare gorilla family in 1993, and this opened the buhoma sector to the tourists since mubare gorilla family roams the forest part in buhoma sector.
Buhoma sector is found in the northern region of bwindi impenetrable national park; buhoma is the most developed section of bwindi impenetrable national park with over four mountain gorilla families ready to be trekked. The mountain gorilla families in the buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park include three habituated mountain gorilla families; the mubare family is the pioneer gorilla family in bwindi impenetrable national park, habinyanja family and rushegura gorilla family among others.
The fame of the buhoma, besides being the first trailhead for mountain gorilla trekking, is attributed to geographical factors like low terrain which makes it so easy to hiked, unlike the other sectors. Also, the proximity to Queen Elizabeth National Park and kihihi airstrip makes the buhoma sector in bwindi impenetrable national park the closest and also much accessible than the other trail heads for mountain gorilla trekking.
What to do in buhoma sector
Definitely, mountain gorilla trekking is very interesting from the buhoma and is one of the first activities you can enjoy on this side of the bwindi impenetrable national park. Buhoma sector is the leading trailhead for mountain gorilla trekking in bwindi impenetrable national park. Buhoma is known for being a home for over three habituated mountain gorilla families; mubare family, rushegura family and habinyanja family. The habituated mountain gorilla families are interesting to visit because the habituation process makes them familiar to human encounters so it reduces the negative response when they see humans.
Buhoma sector is also renowned for the indigenous batwa people; they are a primitive group of people that live in the forest of central Africa in congo and south western uganda. The batwa trail is a famous activity known for bwindi and mgahinga national park, in bwindi impenetrable national park is carried out in Buhoma sector. Visiting the batwa communities in buhoma will give you such an insight into the African old tradition and culture since the batwa culture has stayed authentic for a long time. You can learn a lot from the batwa women like how to cook and prepare local foodstuffs among others, plus being entertained the traditional dances and performances from the batwa people.
You can also enjoy the nature walks in the buhoma forest side. The nature walks are done inside the forest, led by an experienced guide who is well equipped with the forest tactics and the mountain gorilla behavior because it is easy to find a group of mountain gorillas inside the forest during the hike in buhoma. The nature walk in the buhoma sector gives you a chance to other forest creatures like baboons and monkeys such as the red tailed monkeys, the blue colobus monkeys, plus many bird species and old trees with very big trunks, and butterflies, amphibians and a few reptiles among others.
You can also enjoy Bird watching in Buhoma sector of bwindi impenetrable national park. Bird watching in the buhoma sector is one of the activities that supplement a great experience of bwindi impenetrable national park. Bwindi impenetrable national park is a home for over 370 bird species, and buhoma is the best area to enjoy birding in bwindi impenetrable national park. During the buhoma forest walk, you can spot a lot of birds like the cuckoos, flycatchers, dark caped bulbul, red-headed blue bill, warbler among others.
Getting to buhoma sector in bwindi impenetrable national park
Buhoma sector is one of the most accessible sections of bwindi impenetrable national park; it is located in the south western region of Uganda in Kanungu district. Getting to Buhoma sector it is very easy; the drive to the buhoma sector takes you through ntungamo and through rukungiri, connecting with Butogota and then buhoma where the main office for bwindi and the main entrance are found.
Buhoma is found in the northern side of bwindi impenetrable national park, from Entebbe international airport, the drive to bwindi impenetrable forest is a full-day journey. However, it only takes about 6 hours to reach Buhoma sector if at all you are connecting from Lake Mburo national park in western uganda. Queen elizabeth national is the closest protected area to buhoma sector of bwindi impenetrable national park, and it is just about 2 hours’ drive if at all you are connecting from queen elizabeth national park.
However, you can also reach buhoma by air transport, but it is expensive in terms of money although it saves time. There is a scheduled flight twice a day which lands in kihihi airstrip; it only takes about 90- 120 minutes from kihihi to reach the buhoma sector by road, basing on the season because of the rainy season makes the roads muddy and some sections slippery for some vehicles. However, a 4wd vehicle is appropriate to use for the journey to bwindi impenetrable national park.
When to visit buhoma sector in bwindi impenetrable national park
Definitely, you can visit the buhoma sector of bwindi impenetrable national park when your gorilla family is located near the area. However, you can also visit buhoma forest if at all you tell your tour operator to include it on your bwindi impenetrable itinerary for activities like birding, batwa trail, nature walks and community visit among others.
However, the best time to visit the buhoma sector in Bwindi impenetrable national park is dependent on the tourist seasons which are determined by the weather or the climate. The rainy season in bwindi impenetrable is a free season in bwindi impenetrable national park; the rainy season in bwindi impenetrable national park is experienced in March through April to May and in November through to early December. Despite this, you should take note the bwindi impenetrable national park experiences an equatorial kind of climate, so showers are expected any time of the year.
The rainy season makes the trail heads in bwindi impenetrable national park slippery and almost hard to pass through, so it is not good to do gorilla trekking in the rainy season for those who don’t like the wet season. However, the national park is so free in the wet season, so it is the best time for those who want some privacy.
On the other hand, the dry season is the best to visit Bwindi impenetrable national park. The dry season is experienced with little or no rainfall; it is experienced in the months of December through January to February and June through july. The dry season is the best season to visit the Buhoma sector for activities like the batwa trail tour, nature walks, birding and forest guided nature walks among others.
Besides, bwindi impenetrable national park is open all year through and you can choose to visit buhoma any time of the year. You should also make a note about the mountain gorilla family you book for; the mountain gorilla family should be near buhoma so that you can enjoy the buhoma sector experience. You should also take note about the accommodation facility you book for, it should be near your allocated gorilla family, to avoid inconveniences.
