The Christmas gorilla group is one of the more recently habituated families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s Nkuringo region. Despite its remoteness and lower visitor numbers compared to other Bwindi sectors, Nkuringo has become one of Uganda’s most sought-after gorilla trekking regions since it opened in 2004, following the successful habituation of its first family, Nkuringo. Bwindi as a whole protects roughly 379 mountain gorillas, one of the largest concentrations of the species anywhere in the world, spread across four distinct trekking sectors.
How Christmas Was Formed
The Christmas family takes its name from dominant silverback Christmas, who broke away from the original Nkuringo family to establish his own group within the same wider territory. Because the members who left with him were already accustomed to human presence from their time in Nkuringo, no separate habituation process was needed. Rangers instead monitored the group closely as it settled into its own permanent territory, a considerably faster path to becoming trek-ready than most newly forming families require.
Family Structure
Christmas has 9 members in total, though typically only 6 are visible to trekkers on a given day: 1 silverback (Christmas), 3 adult females, 1 blackback, and 1 infant. The remaining members tend to stay further back in the group’s territory and are less consistently seen during a standard trek.
Trekking the Christmas Family
The addition of Christmas to Nkuringo’s trekking roster came as demand for permits in the region grew, doubling the sector’s daily permit allocation from 8 to 16. Christmas brought Nkuringo’s total number of gorilla families to 3, alongside Nkuringo itself and Bushaho, which remains under habituation and closed to tourism for now.
Permits and Booking
Christmas can be trekked year-round, with a standard permit costing $800 per person, the same rate that applies across all of Bwindi’s gorilla families regardless of sector. Given Nkuringo’s more remote location and smaller daily permit allocation compared to sectors like Rushaga, booking ahead is still worthwhile even with the expanded permit numbers.
As one of Nkuringo’s newer families, Christmas offers a quieter, less crowded gorilla trekking option in one of Bwindi’s more remote regions. Book your gorilla trekking permit with our team today, and we’ll help you plan the trek alongside the rest of your Bwindi itinerary.
