Trail to Udugu

The Trail to Udugu is an event that takes place in the Pride Lands. It is a ritual that strengthens the bond between the children of the monarch.
==Concept==
The Trail to Udugu is an event in which the queen of Pride Rock leads her cubs on a short journey on which they must learn to depend on each other and work together, thus "finding Udugu," or "kinship." All children of the monarch must undergo this ritual at some point before adolescence, as Simba and Nala determine that Kiara and Kion are ready for the trial when they observe that Kiara's tracking skills are improving.
==History==
===Kiara and Kion's Trail to Udugu===
One day, Simba and Nala informed their children, Kiara and Kion, that it was time to go on the "Trail to Udugu." Led by Nala, Kiara and Kion embarked on the journey. However, they both believed Udugu to be a physical location and thus fought one another to reach the supposed destination first. Because of their recklessness, both cubs ended up dangling from a cliff, forcing Nala to help them and reprimand them for their hastiness.
Nala led Kiara and Kion to a thorn bush and advised them that there was a way to pass through the thorns without getting hurt. To prove her point, she lifted a branch of thorns, allowing her cubs to slip into the patch unharmed. However, neither Kiara nor Kion understood the significance of Nala's action but continued to race one another through the thorns, with Kiara trying to walk on top of them and Kion attempting to wiggle beneath. Neither method was successful, and amidst the cubs' frustration, Nala slipped away unnoticed, remarking that they were now truly on the trail to Udugu.
Once free from the thorns, Kiara and Kion searched for Nala in vain. Just then, Kiara caught their mother's scent, and the two cubs tracked it to a trail of paw prints that led to a high ledge. Both cubs unsuccessfully tried to leap up to the ledge on their own before Kion suggested working together to reach the top. Admitting that Kiara was the better tracker, Kion volunteered to lift his sister so that she could climb up first, to which Kiara responded by pointing out that Kion was the one who found Nala's paw prints. 
With Kion supporting her, Kiara ascended the ledge, expressing surprise when she reached the top. When Kion inquired what she found, Nala appeared over the rim of the ledge. Nala then explained the true purpose of the trail to Udugu and asserted that Kiara and Kion found Udugu when they realized that they needed to work together to find her. Back at Pride Rock, Simba and Nala explained to their cubs that the that the lesson they learned on the Trail to Udugu would one day help them when they governed the Pride Lands.
==Appearances==
* The Lion Guard
** "The Trail to Udugu"
==References==
Category:Canon articles
Category:Culture