Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is part of the wider Virunga conservation region that also includes the volcanoes national park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park is located on the south-western corner of Uganda in the town of Kisoro. Mgahinga was upgraded from a game reserve into a full national park in 1991 mainly to protect the mountain gorillas that were in frequent conflicts with humans living within and outside the park.

Mgahinga is the smallest national park in Uganda and covers an area of 34 square kilometers. The park gets its name from a Kinyarwanda word “Gahinga” referring to the small lava stones common in gardens at the foot of the mountain.

Why visit Mgahinga national Park?

Though a small park, what really sets Mgahinga apart is the natural beauty. The park is characterized by Savannah grasslands, woodlands, tropical forests, montane forests, marshes/swamps, bamboo forests, Afro-montane forests, bogs and semi-alpine vegetation. The most prominent features in the park are the three inactive volcanoes – Mount Gahinga, Mount Sabyinyo and Mount Muhabura. These mountains form part of the great Virunga ranges of mountains that include Karisimbi, Bisoke, and Nyiragongo among others. Because of the three mountains much of the park lies on high altitude of between 2,000 to 4,000 metres.

Things to do in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

There are several activities that travelers can engage in while at Mgahinga Gorilla National Park including gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, mountain climbing, nature walks, cultural visits and bird watching among others.

Gorilla tracking

About 80 mountain gorillas are found in Mgahinga National Park. Because they stay in high altitudes, the gorillas in Mgahinga have developed more fuzzy coats than those in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Only the Nyakagyezi gorilla group is open to tourism in Mgahinga. The Nyakagezi group is one of the two largest habituated mountain gorilla groups in Uganda, Congo and Rwanda.

Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga starts at 8 am with briefing. After the briefing, visitors are led by the park rangers to find the group. While tracking the gorillas expect to encounter pristine forest, primates, birds and other forest creatures.

Golden Monkey Tracking

Golden monkeys are subspecies of blue Monkeys. The primates are endemic to the Albertine Rift and Virunga ranges in Uganda, Rwanda and The Democratic Republic of Congo. They look cute with beautiful golden coats. Golden monkeys are rather small monkeys with an adult weighing about twenty pounds. They are very playful and active primates living in large groups that can contain 80 individuals. They spend most of their time on top of trees feeding off bamboo shoots or insects on the slopes of the volcanoes. Their chief predator is the African Eagle.

Golden monkeys are one of the most sought out primates by tourists in Africa. It is only Rwanda (Volcanoes National Park) and Uganda (Mgahinga National Park) that have habituated groups open to tourists. Golden monkey tracking takes between thirty minutes to three hours. The activity starts at 8am with briefing.

Mountain climbing

One of the attractive activities in Mgahinga is climbing one of the three volcanoes found in the park – Sabyinyo, Gahinga (3474m) and Muhavura (4127m). Sabinyo is thought to be the oldest and Muhavura the youngest. These three volcanoes sit at the borders of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. At 3669 meters high, Mount Sabyinyo is the most popular volcano among hikers. Reaching the summit of Mount Sabyinyo provides a unique opportunity of standing in Uganda, Congo and Rwanda at the same time. The easiest climb is Mount Gahinga taking about six hours.

It is possible to hike to the top of all the three volcanoes in a period of three days. Climbing to the top of the three volcanoes will reward hikers with amazing views of all the three countries, the Virunga ranges of mountains, crater lakes, swamps, rare alpine vegetation, the Rwenzori Mountains, Bwindi impenetrable forest and Lake Edward. One needs to be mentally prepared and in good shape to complete hiking any or all of the volcanoes. Seasoned hikers may find hiking to the summit of these mountains easy but inexperienced hikers need to be well prepared.

Bird Watching

Mgahinga National Park is one of Uganda’s best birding spots. Over 110 species of birds can be found in the caves, forests, lakes and mountains of Mgahinga National Park. The best time for birding in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is during the months between April and May and October to November. Most of the birds nest from November to April while the migrants from Europe come around November to April.  Among the species to look out for are the Yellow-Vented Bulbul, yellow-throated long claw, White-starred Robin, White-necked raven, White-naped Raven, White-naped Raven, White Starred Robin, Western Green Tinker bird, Wax Bills, Thrush and Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Striped breasted Tit, Streaky Seedeater, Stray seedeater, Stone Chat, Speckled Mousebird, Southern Red Bishop and others

Nature walks

The pristine forests, lakes, rivers, swamps and mountain slopes of Mgahinga National Park offer perfect spots for nature walks. One of the walking trails lead up to the beautiful village plantations for a close encounter with some of the local folks like the Batwa.

The border trail on the slopes of Mt. Sabyinyo leads to a point where the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo meet. The trail takes about five hours to complete going through different vegetation types providing opportunities to see primates like the golden monkeys and the caldera on the Gisozi hill. The top of Gisozi hill also offers great views of the park, Bwindi impenetrable forest and the greater Virunga ranges of mountains. Some of the trails like the 5 hour Sabyinyo gorge walk are strenuous. This trail leads to steep areas of the park and will require good fitness levels to complete. The Sabinyo gorge involves completing a meandering walk on the slopes of Mount Sabyinyo to marvel at the different vegetation zones, birds and the volcanoes.

The Batwa Trail and Cultural Visit

The Batwa Cultural trail is an immensely enriching experience and a chance to encounter a true indigenous African tribe. It is supported and encouraged by organizations like USAID. During this cultural experience, visitors get to learn about their past way of life and current challenge of dealing with a new life outside the safety of the forest. The Batwa Trail in Mgahinga is more comprehensive than the visit in Bwindi. It is led by the Batwa themselves and within the forest. These Batwa guides will endeavor to explain their history by taking you to the forest to understand how they used to live in the forest as hunters, warriors and gatherers. They will take you to the ancient Ngarama caves where their leaders held war meeting and made sacrifices to their gods.

After exploring the forest, you are led to their community for cultural entertainment including listening to sorrowful songs about their lost life, fading culture and an unfamiliar new world. Being with the Batwa can be very touching and may make you question whether their resettlement was well managed.

Where to stay in Mgahinga National Park?

Mgahinga National Park is a neighbor to Bwindi Forest and thus there are several hotel and lodge options. These lodges offer services that cater for budget, mid-range and luxury travelers. Thee lodges are built in form of basic campsites, bandas or standard cottages. Some of the hotels and lodges in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are: Chameleon Hill Lodge, Mount Gahinga Rest Camp, Mount Gahinga lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla lodge, Traveler’s Nest Hotel, Virunga Hotel, Lake Mutanda Campsite, Mutanda Lake Resort, Bwindi Jungle Lodge, and Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp

The best time to visit Mgahinga national park

The long dry season in Mgahinga is the best time to visit and starts in June to August. The short dry season occurs in the months of January and February, and is again a very good time to travel in Mgahinga Park. Dry seasons are typically preferred by guests touring the park who come from North America and Europe.

How to access Mgahinga Gorilla National Park?

Mgahinga National Park can be reached by road or air from Kampala or Entebbe. The distance from Kampala is about 509 kilometers through well paved tarmac roads. Driving to the park from Kampala through the Mbarara-Masaka-Kampala highway takes about 9 hours. Lone travelers can hire the daily buses from Kampala to Kisoro town.

From Kisoro town, there are special hires and even motorcycles taking passengers up to the park gate. The road from Kibale town to Mgahinga National Park is made of Murram hence dusty, and bumpy. One needs a good 4X4 car to comfortably navigate through this stretch of road. Whereas the distance by road from Kampala seems long, the journey is worth it because of the beautiful scenery and opportunities to make short stops to check out hidden spots and even the equator crossing.