Mgahinga national park is deep in the Virunga ranges that cut across three countries including Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo lies the smallest national park yet one of the most popular in Uganda, Mgahinga national park. Situated in the South western part of the country, Kisoro District, the park covers about 33.9kms and harbors some of the most popular volcano peaks in Africa and the whole world at large alongside the key attraction as mountain gorillas that have made the park popular.
These volcanoes include Mount. Sabinyo, Mount. Gahinga and Mount. Muhabura. Mgahinga national park is among the only few national parks in the world that harbors the rare primates of mountain gorillas. The rest are Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Established in 1991, Mgahinga national park is also among the few national parks where golden monkeys can be trekked. Aside primates, there are also about 39 mammal species sheltered in Mgahinga making a spot for various wildlife activities. These may include duikers, elephants, buffaloes, forest hogs, bush bucks, to mention but a few. About 115 bird species are also sheltered in the same park hence open for birding activities.
Other activities in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Apart from mount gorilla trekking as the main tourism activity carried out in Mgahinga national park, there are also other exciting tourism activities that makes the whole visit to Mgahinga national park an unforgettable one. These activities may include;
Golden monkey trekking. The smallest park in the country is a unique spot in a way that it is the only national park in Uganda where visitors can track both golden monkeys and mountain gorillas in one particular place.
The same process of mountain gorilla tracking can be done for golden monkeys and these primate species can also be tracked between 30 minutes and 3 full hours depending on their location.
Unlike the mountain gorillas, golden monkeys tend to live in lower areas and therefore their trekking can be easily done by tracing with their left overs of bamboo shoots since the tricky primates never leave out any clear evidence of their previous location.
How Gorilla Trekking is done in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park?
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is such a lifetime experience and can be carried out in guidance of tour guides and park rangers. For a full thrilling remarkable gorilla trekking adventure in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, visitors are advised to keep a great communication with the tour guides and make a good use of them.
This is because having a well versed and experienced tour guide gets half the work done since they are familiar with the location spots of the mountain gorillas, their reaction to human presence and key facts about these primates. It should be noted that there is only one gorilla family in Mgahinga national park known as Nyakagezi and only a group of eight visitors can access this charming gorilla group family.
Once the family group of Nyakagezi is tracked and located, visitors can only spend one full hour with the gorilla family. This is yet an opportunity to learn more about these enticing primate species of mountain gorillas, their feeding habits and how they care for their young ones. Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park starts in the morning hours around 7:00am with a simple briefing where tour guides get to set out rules and regulations to be observed by visitors.
After the briefing, visitors are now led by the tour guides and park rangers to the wilderness of Mgahinga in search of the mountain gorillas. Depending on the location of these primate species as they tend to move for longer and deeper distances in search of food, gorilla trekking in Mgahinga can take about 30 minutes to 7 hours of tracking.
GORILLA TREKKING PARKING LIST.
While visiting Mgahinga national park for gorilla tracking, certain tools for a less stressful experience can be carried and these may include comfortable hiking shoes, gloves, jackets and loose clothes. Cameras to carry out great memories, mosquito repellents for safety can also be put on visitors’ packing list.
When to do Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park?
The best time to visit Mgahinga national park and have a remarkable gorilla trekking experience is the dry season of the year. Uganda experiences two dry seasons in a year including one that starts from December to February and June to September and this is the best time to participate in this thrilling activity.
Given the hilly nature of Mgahinga National Park, gorilla trekking in wet rainy season can be absolutely challenging and stressful as a result muddy and slippery tracking trails alongside heavy bush that makes the accessibility of these trails a hurdle. It’s in the dry period that these trails are dried up easing the activities like hiking while providing clear views of the tracking trails and other attractions in the park.
Visitors are therefore advised to visit Mgahinga National Park and Uganda in particular for gorilla trekking activities during the two dry seasons of the year.
