To ask this question of how long it takes to see mountain gorillas, one should first find out the overview of these endangered primate species. By understanding this overview, one would then tell the exact time to spend with these mountain gorillas and how long it takes to trek them.

Uganda boasts of harboring the largest mountain gorilla population in the entire world with more than half of the entire mountain gorilla population living in the country. In Uganda, mountain gorillas are only found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These two national parks are located in the Virunga Conservation Area. This conservation area is the only place in the entire world to spot the endangered mountain gorillas. These mountain gorillas are considered endangered because they are not anywhere else in the world other than the Virunga Conservation area. This area stretches from Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo through Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks in Uganda to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda on the rim of the Rift Valley. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of Africa’s most ancient wildlife habitats dating to over 25000 years ago. It was established in 1992 from a forest reserve after mountain gorillas were spotted in the area. It covers an area of over 321 square kilometers with an altitude of over 1160-2607 meters above sea level. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was later in 1994 recognized as a World Heritage Site in Uganda by UNESCO.  The park is now under the control of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a one-stop center for encountering the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. It harbors the largest population of these endangered primates in the country. There are over 50 gorilla families or groups in Bwindi however only 24 gorilla families are habituated and open to trekking. These gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park live in different sectors scattered across the park. These include the Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija, and Rushaga gorilla sectors.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the smallest national park in Uganda. It has a land mass of about 33.6 square kilometers. It is located in Kisoro district on the border with Rwanda. The park has over 100 mountain gorillas with only one habituated gorilla family, Nyakagezi.

What are gorilla families or groups one may ask? Well, mountain gorillas just like most other primate species are social animals that live in groups known as gorilla families. These families are important as they help in nurturing the young ones and offer protection. Each gorilla family is fiercely protected by a dominant male gorilla known as a silverback. Silverbacks are very territorial and will defend their family against intruders to death. There could be more than one silverback in a family however there is one dominant one. The following are some of the mountain gorilla families in the country.

Nyakagezi Gorilla family

This family is located in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in the southwestern part of Uganda. This family was formed in 1991 after the park was established. This family was habituated for over three years and after it was trekked in 1994. By the time it was formed, it was under the leadership of Bugingo the Silverback. He was later succeeded by his son Mark after he grew old and was unable to defend the family.

Mark leads the family side by side with his brother Mafia. Although Bugingo is no longer the dominant silverback, he still stays with the family even in his old age, unlike other families where overthrown silverbacks are banished from the family. There are over 10 members in the Nyakagezi gorilla family including 5 silverbacks, 2 adult females, and 3 juveniles.

Mubare Gorilla family

This family was the first family to be discovered in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It was named after the Mubare Hills where it was first cited and in 1998 it was habituated. The Mubare family went through a lot of ups and downs after its formation due to the various internal fights in the family at the time. The former 18 members of this family by the time of its formation, divided and remained with only 5 individuals. However, it has now grown to over 12 members.

Katwe Gorilla Family

Katwe Gorilla Family is located in the Buhoma sector in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It comprises 9 members including 1 silverback, 2 blackbacks, 4 adult females, and 2 infants. It is the newest habituated gorilla family having gone about 3 years of habituation. In August of 2018, the Katwe gorilla family was opened for regular trekking.

Bushaho Gorilla family

The Bushaho family is located in the Nkuringo region of Bwindi and it consists of 9 individuals. It was formed after it broke away from the Nkuringo family because of misunderstandings. The dominant silverback Bushaho decided to divide from the Nkuringo family and went with a sizeable number of females to start up his own family.

Those are some of the few gorilla families among the many that reside in the country both in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

How long does it take to see gorillas?

Mountain gorilla trekking as an activity takes an hour upon the location of the gorillas. However, trekking involves much more before locating the primates as it can take you some time to reach their habitats depending on the sector and family you are tracking. Mountain gorillas are massive beings who rarely move for long distances and spotting them can be very easy with the help of an experienced ranger guide. These primates do not usually move and can only move for food or migration for just a few hours like two.

In the case of habituation, visitors can spend a maximum of four hours in the presence of these mountain gorillas. Gorilla habituation refers to gently introducing mountain gorillas to the presence of humans. These mountain gorillas that are habituated are usually not familiar with humans and this process helps in bridging that gap.