Top 5 things to do in Mgahinga gorilla national park

2 Days Gorilla trekking from Kigali

 Top 5 things to do in Mgahinga gorilla national park

 Top 5 things to do in Mgahinga gorilla national park: Mgahinga gorilla national park is the smallest protected area in Uganda located is southwestern region in Kisoro district bordering Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo. The national park covers a total area of 33.7 square kilometers and was gazetted in 1991 mainly to protect the endangered mountain gorillas. Mgahinga gorilla national park harbors other primates like golden monkeys, dwarf galago, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, l’hoest monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, chimpanzees, animals species like bush pigs, south African porcupines, buffaloes, forest elephants, bushbucks, golden cats and bird species like black kite, double collared sunbird, speckled mouse bird, white necked raven, crowned hornbill, handsome spurfowl, Rwenzori turaco among others.

Top 5 things to do in Mgahinga gorilla national park

  1. Gorilla trekking

Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the gorilla destinations in Uganda apart from Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Gorilla trekking is the major activity carried out in the park which allows visitors to move into the dense tropical rainforests in search of the habituated gorilla families and once found spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. Mgahinga gorilla national park is a home of two habituated gorilla families namely Nyakagezi which was the first gorilla family to be habituated in the park and Hirwa gorilla family which migrated from Volcanoes national park in Rwanda.

Gorilla trekking in the park starts in the morning with a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations at the park headquarters. After the briefing, you will be grouped into 8 people and allocated a gorilla family to trek. Trekking of the mountain gorillas in Mgahinga gorilla national park starts at around 8:00am with a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the forest and the mountain gorillas.

During trekking you will follow various trails in the jungle where you will be able to view other primates like the monkeys, bird species and trekking takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on the location of the gorillas.  Once the gorillas have been found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat as you learn about their behaviors, habits, take photos and record the moments. Visitors interested in visiting the endangered mountain gorillas are required to have a valid gorilla trekking permit which costs $600, 500 and UGX 250,000 per person for foreign non-residents, foreign residents and East African citizens respectively. Uganda however increased the price of its gorilla trekking permit by $100 effective 1st July 2020 therefore foreign non-residents will be paying $700 and $600 for foreign residents.

  1. Golden monkey trekking

There are over 2500 to 3500 golden monkeys living in the Virunga conservation area and Mgahinga gorilla national park is the only destination with golden monkeys in Uganda. Golden monkey trekking is the second best done activity in the park after gorilla trekking. Trekking of the golden monkeys in the park starts in the morning with a briefing at Ntebeko park headquarters. After the briefing you will be grouped into 6 people allocated a golden monkey trek and a guide who knows the trails to follow during trekking. Golden monkey trekking starts at around 8:00am and hiking is not strenuous because the golden monkeys live in lower areas.

Trekking of the golden monkeys takes about 30 minutes to 3 hours depending on their location because they like to move from one area to another in search of food. When the golden monkeys are found, you will spend one hour with them in their natural environment taking photos, recording videos to show people back home and learning about their lifestyle, habits, behaviors, watching them jumping from one tree to another among others. Visitors interested in visiting the golden monkeys are required to have a valid golden monkey trekking permit which costs $50 for foreign non-residents, $50 for foreign residents and UGX 20,000 for East African citizens.

  1. Bird watching

Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the best birding destinations in Uganda in that it harbors over 180 bird species including migratory birds, Albertine rift endemic species, forest birds among others. Birding areas in the park include bamboo forest, Rugezi swamp, Sabyinyo gorge, Montane forest among others. bird lovers in Mgahinga gorilla national park should look out for bird species like dusky turtle dove, brown crowned Tchagra, Rwenzori batis, bronze sunbird, blue headed sunbird, black headed waxbill, red faced woodland warbler, bush shrike, cape robin chat, streaky seedeater, African paradise flycatcher, black kite, pin tailed whydah, Archers robi chat, olive woodpecker, Rwenzori nightjar, alpine swift, African olive pigeon, scarlet tufted malachite sunbird among others.

  1. Mountain climbing

Mountain climbing is one of the top 5 things to do in Mgahinga gorilla national park. The national park is a home of three of the eight Virunga volcanoes and they include

Mount Muhabura, the mountain stands at an elevation of 4127 meters above the sea level and it’s the third highest peak in the Virunga volcanoes. The mountain derives its name from a local name which means guide. Hiking mount Muhabura takes about 6 to 7 hours with great views of animals like buffaloes, elephants, bird species, primates and amazing views of the Rwenzori Mountains, Lake Edward and George in Queen Elizabeth national park and Bwindi impenetrable national park.

Mount Sabinyo, the mountain stands at an elevation of 3645metres above the sea level. The mountain derives its name from a local term which means old man’s teeth. When hiking mount Sabinyo you will pass through handmade ladders which will assist you in climbing steep slopes and hiking takes about 8 hours that is four hours climbing and four hours descending back.  during hiking you will pass through vegetation ranges of bamboo zone where you will have views of the primates like the golden monkeys, animals like buffaloes, bird species among others and on top of the mountain peak, you will be standing in three countries that is Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mount Gahinga, this mountain stands at an elevation of 3474 meters above the sea level and it lies between mount Muhabura and mount Sabinyo. Mount Gahinga is the smallest of the three mountains and the name Gahinga means a pile of stones. Hiking mount Gahinga takes about 6 hours to reach the summit where you will have great views of a large shallow crater swamp with unique sub-alpine plants like lobelia and views of other volcanic mountain peaks.

  1. Batwa trail experience

Batwa trail experience is one of the top 5 things to do on your safari in Mgahinga gorilla national park. The Batwa are the first people that lived in the forest of Mgahinga before it was gazetted into a national park in 1991. During the Batwa trail experience you will be guided by the Batwa guides through the forest who will be sharing information on how they used to live in the forest. The Batwa were hunters, gathers and fierce warriors who depended on the forest for food, shelter, medicine among others therefore during the trail experience you will get an opportunity of learning their hunting and gathering skills. You will also visit the sacred Ngarama cave where the former Batwa king used to stay and the cave also acted as the law court, food store, hiding place among others. You will also be able to listen to the sorrowful songs and dance songs from the Batwa women. Batwa trail experience takes about 4 hours and costs $80 per person and part of the money paid is used to support Batwa projects like constructing schools and the other is paid to Batwa guides.

When to visit Mgahinga gorilla national park

Mgahinga gorilla national park can be visited anytime throughout the year though the best period is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. During the dry season there is less rainfall in the forest therefore many activities like gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, mountain climbing and Batwa trail experience will be successful because the forest trails will be dry and passable compared to the rainy season when the trails are muddy and slippery.