Uganda Tours in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park – Visit Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for the Exciting Mountain Gorilla Trekking, Golden Monkey Tracking & Batwa Cultural Experience

Despite of it being the smallest Uganda’s National park, it has got its natural power of interest with a unique feature being its greatest endangered primates of mountain gorillas and the golden monkeys that are much experienced while on a Uganda safari.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is raised on 2227m and 4127m of altitude, the park protects the rarest species as well as being a great point for cultural experience.

Mgahinga forms part of the much larger Virunga Conservation Area which includes adjacent parks in these countries of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo with a varied eco system.

Getting there

This is a 9hours drive from Kampala the capital city of Uganda hence covering up an approximation of 510km by road and it is located in the southwestern corner of the country, the park can be reached by air with an airstrip at Kisoro and the flight can be got from Entebbe hence being the fastest means of transport from Entebbe International Airport.

The park is endowed with a number of interesting features and wildlife that are suitable for visiting and some of the things to do and see here include,

Caves, the famous Garama Cave is located within this park and it is one of the best attractions here, it is near the park headquarters and the Batwa are said to have valued this place as their sacred place.

All this can be discovered through the Batwa trail and the place was also used as a hiding place for the looted treasures during the battles, this is where the women of the community perform a sorrowful song which echoes within the deep dark cave.

Nature walks around Ntebeko, all the related nature walks start from here at the visitors centre, enjoy a 4km trail of the Batwa where you taste the beauty of Muhavura Mountain, you will also follow a trail around the Virunga ranges where you will find a buffalo wall that was constructed to hinder animals from loitering around and destructing people’s property.

Take a walk to Congo border where you will discover various vegetation zones with a nice stunning view of the backdrops of Virunga ranges.

Golden monkey tracking, this is the only place in Uganda where you will find the golden monkeys and indeed this is where silver meets gold because of them being among the endangered species, this makes the park a unique place to visit purposely for golden monkey tracking.

This will take you a two-four hours of trek within the forest where you will meet these golden monkeys at a higher altitude, therefore physical fitness is required during this activity.

Rangers will lead throughout the activity and they will provide you with the required information regarding the golden monkeys.

Visit the Virunga Volcanoes, this region covers eight volcanoes and these are shared with the three countries of Uganda, Rwanda and DR.Congo, out of these eight conical hills, three of them are found in Mgahinga gorilla national park, these peaks include Mount Muhavura which is 4127m above the sea level and it is the highest peak in this park.

The crystal crater lake found on top of this peak’s summit is another tourist point of view. Mount Gahinga which is 3474m is the smallest of the Virunga volcanoes and this is named after the local practice of tidying the volcanic debris that clutters local farmland.

The third volcano here is Sabyinyo which is characterized with a deep gorge and this is on the borders of the three countries.

Birding in Mgahinga Gorilla, within Mgahinga is the bamboo belt which is approximately 2500m above the sea level; this is a great place for bird watching including the Chubb’s Cist cola, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Banded Prinia and Doherty’s Bush-shrike.

Another area for bird watching is the trail around the Gahinga and Sabyinyo ridges and some of the interesting birds watched here include the Dusky Turtle Dove, Cape Robin-chat, Kivu-ground Thrush, Olive Thrush, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Bronze Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Rwenzori Batis, Black-headed Wax bill and Streaky Seed eater among others.

The Batwa Trail, this is another interesting activity that may be performed while in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, taking a visit to the Batwa locals will make you appreciate the ancient norms and cultures of which they attach strong value.

These are said to be the first bush people who lived around the forest for a great number of years back. Their major activity is hunting within the forest and the forest used to be their priority home/shelter and this is where they collected food from.

These exhibit their natural techniques in terms of how honey and food is gathered, hunting techniques, how bamboo cups are made and their traditional dances and songs.