MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK
Explore a complete travel guide to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, one of the leading primate safari parks in Uganda, on your Silverback gorilla tour with Maranatha Tours and travel. –the Pearl of Africa. Get to know everything about Mgahinga with silverback gorilla tours, including general travel information, attractions, safari activities, gorilla permit rates, how to get there, different accommodations, and anything else you want to know. This travel guide to Mgahinga is ideal for all tourists who have plans to travel for the first time or even as repeat visitors.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park isn’t only popular for mountain gorillas or golden monkeys, but also for its striking features, especially the 3 conical volcanoes. Mgahinga is a compact Park lying in the Southwestern end of Uganda. The Park is located in Kisoro, just along the border area of Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda. It expands within the vast Virunga Conservation Area, which also encompasses other nearby Protected Areas like the Rwanda Volcanoes National Park and Virunga National Park.
General information about Mgahinga Gorilla National Park –facts
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park was declared a National Park in Uganda in 1991. This Park was created to offer refuge to the present endangered mountain gorillas. Mgahinga expands over a compact land area of 33.7 sq km and is strategically set in an area where you can also connect to places like Lake Mutanda, Lake Bunyonyi, Echuya Forest, and explore the 3 Virunga conical volcanoes.
Due to its geographical location in the Virunga region, Mgahinga is set on a high altitude, which ranges from 2000 to 4000m. The Park’s Virunga Mountains feature dense forest, and at the summits, you can find some streams flowing from craters, swamps, and Lakes. At the slopes of Mgahinga, you can explore scenic rivers such as Kabiranyuma, Nyabirerema, and Ntebeko.
What are the main attractions of Mgahinga National Park?
The key attractions to explore on Uganda safaris in Mgahinga include diverse wildlife, birds, and the Virunga Volcanoes.
The wildlife present
At Mgahinga, expect to explore abundant wildlife including the spotted hyenas, endangered golden monkeys, mountain gorillas, forest elephants, blue monkeys, bush bucks, buffaloes, leopards, red-tailed monkeys, bush babies, golden cats, vervet monkeys, African porcupines, patas monkeys, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys. The reptiles present in Mgahinga include chameleons, geckos, and snakes.
The bird species available
Over 115 species of birds live in Mgahinga, making it an important bird area in Uganda. The birds of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park include purple-breasted sunbirds, double-collared sunbirds, speckled mousebirds, African paradise flycatchers, yellow-billed kite, cape robin chat, handsome francolins, streaky seedeaters, white-necked raven, malachite sunbirds, Rwenzori batis, grey crowned hornbills, red-throated alethe, western tinker bird, Archer’s robin chat, bronze sunbird, and olive woodpeckers. Mgahinga National Park also supports birds such as the brown crowned tchagra, dusky crimsonwing, blue-headed coucal, red-faced woodland warblers, Rwenzori apalis, moorland chat, Kivu ground thrush, striped-breasted tit, scarlet-tufted malachite sunbirds, regal sunbirds, mountain masked apalis, and more.
The Virunga Mountains to explore
Mount Muhabura
Mt. Muhabura is one of the beautiful Virunga Volcanoes you can explore in Mgahinga National Park. Muhabura Volcano hikes take about 5 hours and trekkers conquer an altitudinal range of 1700 to 4100m.
The Sabyinyo
Sabyinyo (3669m) features 3 conical peaks and is set at the border of Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo. It is an extinct volcano and derives its name from the Kinyarwanda word -Iryinyo. This is one of the rugged volcanoes with peaks resembling an old man’s teeth.
Mount Gahinga
Lying in the Mgahinga National Park is a scenic Mt. Gahinga (3474m). This volcano takes its name from the word Gahinga, which in Kinyarwanda means a small pile of stones. The name is derived from reflecting the volcano’s rounded summit and gentle slopes.
Activities to do in Mgahinga
Gorilla trekking
At Mgahinga, gorilla trekking is the main safari activity you can engage in. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park offers intimate gorilla trekking adventures. The park features only one fully habituated gorilla group –Nyakagezi, which only takes a maximum of 8 visitors as per the gorilla trekking standards. If you are interested in gorilla trekking free of crowds, then Mgahinga is the right place to visit for your gorilla tour.
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park introduces you deep in the jungle to look for a family of mountain gorillas with the park ranger guide present to accompany you. A total of about 2-6 hours can be spent while searching for the Park’s gorillas, but covers a maximum of 1 hour for up close and personal encounters with these unique apes.
Tourists can track gorillas in Mgahinga, provided they have a valid gorilla permit, which can be secured for USD 800 per person. Like other destinations, only tourists above 15 years old stand a chance to engage in the trek in Mgahinga National Park.
Golden monkey treks
Mgahinga is referred to as the only place in Uganda where gold meets silver. The Park holds both mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, making it an ideal spot to engage in golden monkey and gorilla tours. Golden monkey trekking is a unique adventure that allows you to explore more about how golden monkeys behave and take pictures. A normal golden monkey trek can take about 2-4 hours, inclusive of one hour with a troop of golden monkeys which range around the Park’s lush bamboo forest.
Golden monkey habituation
Visitors can also participate in golden monkey habituation, where they spend longer hours following the semi-habituated troop of golden monkeys. This primate adventure is ideal for researchers or scientists, whereby you embark on a journey to explore more on the golden monkeys and their behaviors. A valid golden monkey permit for Mgahinga can be booked by primate adventure seekers at USD 100 per person.
Volcano climbing
At Mgahinga, expect to also engage in the volcano hiking adventure. This involves exploring the 3 volcanoes, including Gahinga Volcano 3474m, Muhabura, and Sabyinyo Volcanoes. These Virunga Volcanoes come with unique features at the summits.
Birding with a Uganda bird guide
A birding tour in Mgahinga offers you a chance to identify the diversity of birds. The birds to find in Mgahinga National Park include the bronze sunbirds, blue-headed sunbirds, black kites, montane double collared sunbirds, red-faced woodlands, streaky seed-eaters, alpine chat, handsome francolins, dusky turtle dove, cape robin chat, and more.
Batwa trail experience
Any safari activity in Mgahinga can be combined with a cultural experience. The Batwa trail experience offers tourists a special opportunity to learn more about the Batwa pygmies and their distinct traditions and cultures. Tourists on the Batwa trail experience are led by the Twa local guide with vast knowledge about Batwa cultures, lifestyles, traditions, and practices.
When to visit
Mgahinga National Park is open all year round, but the dry season offers more favorable weather conditions. On the travel calendar of Mgahinga, the dry season occurs twice, with the longest recorded around June to September and the short dry months, which run from December to February. These are the special months of the year for you to experience the best of the Virunga volcano hike, gorilla trek, or golden monkey tracking.
As an all-year-round destination, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is also open for visitors on Uganda safaris even during the rainy months. The park can also be visited in the wet season, which attracts budget offers
The top accommodation to stay
The safari lodges and camps present in and around Mgahinga, worth considering for your overnight stay, range from budget to luxury. They include Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp, Mount Gahinga Lodge, Mgahinga Gorilla Triangle Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Kisoro Tourist Hotel, Mutanda Lake Resort, Ikaze Cottages, Gahiza Island Retreat, Traveler’s Rest Hotel, Ntebeko River Camp, and others.
How to reach Mgahinga for a holiday
By road –You can choose to travel to Mgahinga starting from Entebbe or Kampala, or starting from Kigali City. Traveling by road to Mgahinga all requires a 4×4 tourist vehicle, and setting off from Kampala takes about 9-10 hours, while from Kigali, you can spend 4-5 hours. From Kigali, you can cross the borders like Chanika or Katuna to connect to Mgahinga.
By air –The domestic flights are available for fast transfers. On landing, you can meet a local guide who then transfers you to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.