The best gorilla groups for trekking in Rwanda

The best gorilla families to trek in Rwanda Volcanoes national park range on person to person depending on the needs and abilities of each client. Good hikers will find the furthest gorilla group the most interesting while moderate trekkers will love to hike the moderate and slow hikers the easiest gorilla groups.

Rwanda is said to be the most thrilling gorilla trekking destination in East Africa of the 3 countries where mountain gorillas are thriving. Perhaps its because of her high price tag on the gorilla permit has makes one think that, a higher price means better service, better gorillas and better management. Volcanoes national park is a second smallest gorilla national park, Mgahinga national park being the smallest and with the least gorilla family numbers. Volcanoes national park offers a total of 10 habituated gorilla families open for tourists to visit.

Volcanoes national park offers a well-organized gorilla safari adventure professionally set to offer tourists the exact gorilla adventure they are dreaming of. At Volcanoes national park, there is a hike for every traveler! For slow walkers, elderly trekkers, disable hikers you will find the perfect hike in Volcanoes national park and you will definitely love it.

With the different encounters of gorillas by different people, there are split tales about the experiences and this has pushed people to ask “what is the best Rwanda gorilla families to trek?” This is a very complex question to ask since people have different taste and preferences and all I can say the gorilla trekking experience is almost the same only that the gorilla families differ in character, size, dominance, locale and also sometimes the mood of a given day.

As mentioned above that one cannot tell the best Rwanda gorilla families to trek since it depends one’s taste and preference.  So below we list the popular gorilla families in Rwanda with a brief description about their formation and habitats and way of living, this can act as basis to know which family is best to trek for people of different nature.

1. My best is the Sabyinyo gorilla group

Let by Guhonda the oldest alpha male silverback in Volcanoes national park, Sabyinyo gorilla family is the group for every trekker to find and enjoy! Situated at the lower slopes of mountain Sabyinyo, this group is names as easy and near to find. The group has a total of 8 mountain gorillas with 1 silverback Gahonda and 3 blackback females and a number of adult males and babies. As toy trek to this group, you will see all 8 gorillas and enjoy the 1 hour observing them.

2. Susa family (Susa A)

This is the most popular gorilla family in Rwanda. It was the first habituated family in volcanoes national park and the habituation was done by Dian Fossey during her time. This used to be the largest gorilla group in Rwanda with a huge number of 42 members until recently when some members broke off to make another family. Now they are only 23 members in the group with two leading silverbacks. The popular location of Susa is the lower base of Mount Karisimbi. The highlight of this group are the twin gorillas which are always together all the time.

3. Titus Family

This family roams around at the feet of karisimbi and Visoke. The group named after the silverback Titus that was brought up by Dian Fossey at Karisoke research center. Unfortunately, Titus’s initial family was murdered by heartless poachers and it took him time to get back to normal. However after a while he gathered up himself and got mates and it became of the most popular and dominant silverback to ever live in the volcanoes national park.

4. Amahoro Family

This has a total population of 18 members and it is the most gentle and peaceful family. Its name Amahoro is a Kinyarwanda word that means peace. Due to its peaceful traits, the aggressive silverback looking to make a family or expand raid it to take some of its members. This family lives around mountain Visoke and it is one of the hardest group to track. However, due to its peaceful and welcoming nature many trackers love to be allocated to it for gorilla trekking.

5. Karisimbi Family

This was previously known as Susa B since it broke off from the legendary Susa but it changed to Karisimbi. It now has 16 members with one silverback leading the family.  This family leaves in the higher places of mountain karisimbi so anyone interested in a high challenging gorilla trekking experience, this is the ideal group for you.

6. Umubano Family

After lots of force and fighting of Charles and Ubumwe the two then silverback with in the Amahoro group, Charles decided to breakaway and form its group the Umubano family. This consists of 13 members with 2 silverbacks. Umubano means ‘living together’ and this name was derived from this group living in the same territory with the Amahoro group the family it broke away from.

7. Kwitonda family

This lives at the slopes of mountain Muhabura and one of the largest family in Rwanda with 23 member including 4 silverbacks. This was named after the late silverback in the group Kwitonda. The late is remembered for his humbleness. The group initially lived at Virunga slopes on the Dr. Congo side and crossed to Rwanda on the slopes of Muhabura.

8. Hirwa family

Hirwa mean lucky one in the local language of Rwanda. This is a group that has twins and it is a deal to have twins among the gorillas and thus being named Hirwa (lucky one). This family is an amalgamation of Sabyinyo family and group 13 and more have been added to the group making a family of 16 members. It used to inhabit at the slopes of Mount Gahinga and Sabyinyo. This group has recently crossed to Uganda in Mgahinga national park but preparations are being made to retrieve it to its usual locale.

9. Ugenda family

Ugenda means mobility implying that this family keeps moving from one place to another it never settles. It lives now at Mount Bisoke but hard to trek sometimes since it keeps moving. It is composed of 11 individuals with 2 silverbacks. This is still a group for trackers that are in for an adventure.

10. Agashya Family

This was famously known as group 13 because it started with 13 individuals and eventually it has expanded. The group was formerly led by Nyakarima who was later dethroned by another alpha male called Agashya. This subsequently led to the change of the name of the group from group 13 to Agashya, the name of the alpha male that had taken over the group. The group has increased in population with now 27 individuals to its name. This group forges its living around the slopes of Mountain Sabyinyo make it a neighbor to Sabyinyo family.

11. Bwenge Family

This has the most humbling background. It formed by bwenge the silverback that was joined by other individuals from other groups in 2007. Bwenge witnessed the death of six infants which was a very trying moment for the family. It is one of the most easily trekked group of gorillas in Rwanda. It is recommended for lazy trekkers. It is found on the slopes of Mount Visoke.

With the description and the background given to you about the popular group families in Rwanda, the onus is on you to choose the best gorilla families to trek in Rwanda.