Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park : Mgahinga National Park is a remarkable park located in the south-western corner of Uganda, forming peaks of the Virunga ranges. This national park has recorded success in the restoration of mountain gorillas’ habitat that was encroached on by farmers. Notably, the people around this park are of the same blood as the Batwa “pygmies” who have culturally protected this site as a source of their aquatic staple diet and traditional medicine. This fact has attracted the curiosity of most tourists to visit the Cardissa gorge and falls to have the Batwa cultural experience, including the Batwa medicinal walk together with the hunting and gathering walk. Local people allow the use of their canoes as solar-powered boats to allow tourists to explore Lake Mutanda. Travelers thrill in the Batwa song and dance, telling the stories of their culture, something in which this unique treasury is important.

Most travel companies value collaboration with this park because tourism revenue is shared equitably with the local population, boosting their livelihoods. Mgahinga covers the northern slopes of the three northern Virunga Volcanoes: Muhavura (4,127m), Gahinga (3,474m), and Sabinyo (3,645m). The indigenous people called the Bakiga and are a Bantu-speaking people who have for years lived in small agricultural villages near the base of these volcanoes. The park sustains the natural habitation of the mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, the pernicious golden monkey, and the mountain reedbuck. Apart from the typical gorilla safari, Mgahinga allows for exceptional golden monkey tracking that is possible to track in no other part of Uganda, followed by the Batwa cultural tour together with the Sabinyo hiking experience. Beautifully sculptured by the deep valleys and sharp ridges of the volcanoes, the stunning views on top of Sabinyo give the better wonders of where Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC meet

Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Mgahinga National Park in Uganda is home to only one habituated gorilla group, called the Nyakagezi gorilla group. One unique aspect of trekking mountain gorillas is Mgahinga Gorilla national park is that the gorillas are shared by Uganda, Rwanda and Congo; and in addition to this, visitors can easily locate the gorillas.

Visitors trekking the Nyakagezi gorilla group in Mgahinga should know that the group consists of 9 members; including 2 silverbacks, 3 adult females, 2 Juveniles and 2 infants.

Gorilla trekking activities in Mgahinga national park commence at the park’s headquarters in Ntebeko at exactly 8am. Visitors are advised to be at the Ntebeko park entrance gate by 7am; it is very important the visitors doing gorilla trekking in the park, always keep time.

Gorilla trekking in the park usually begin with a briefing of tourists by the head ranger at the park and given a set of rules and guidelines to follow before, after and during tracking.

Visitors trekking mountain gorillas in Mgahinga gorilla national park MUST be in a group of 8 members only and tracking usually takes between 4-6 hours; with an hour of direct contact with the gorillas.

Mountain gorilla trekking in Mgahinga is easy as compared to Bwindi national park, because locating the gorillas in the park’s forest is much easy and less tedious. The gorilla trekking activity in the park involves hiking through the park’s forested vegetation and identifying fresh gorilla droppings, with an aim of locating the gorillas.

Rules and Regulations of Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

There are guidelines that tourists doing gorilla trekking in Mgahinga should know and follow to be able to trek these majestic Mountain Gorillas. Such as:

• Every tourist must have acquired a gorilla trekking permit before visiting the park.
• Have a valid Uganda or East African Tourist Visa and your passport MUST be valid for at least 6 months.
• Gorilla Trekking can be done by adults 15 years and above.
• Tourists can interact with gorillas for only an hour.
• There is a maximum of 8 visitors per day per group.
• No use of flashes in cameras when taking photos of gorillas as this can easily disorient them.
• A safe distance of 7 meters should be maintained between the tourist and gorillas.
• Only tourists who are healthy are permitted to trek gorillas so as to reduce chances of spreading diseases between the tourist and gorillas.
• Tourists are advised to lower your voices when in the forest and when in close proximity to the gorillas.
• Do not eat, drink or smoke when in the presence of gorillas.
• Limit unnecessary movement when with gorillas and do not maintain eye contact with the gorillas, especially the silverbacks.

  

The Best time to do Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park can be done throughout the year. However, the best time for visitors to trek gorillas in the park would be during the two dry seasons; which are between mid-December- February and June- October. During this period, it is much easy for visitors to hike through the forests and walk the trail paths in the national park since the road are much passable and easy to hike to get to these gorillas.

How to get to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park can be accessed by road and air. The national park is located about 494km from Kampala City via Kabale-Kisoro; which is about 8 hours of driving till you get to the park’s headquarters.

However, visitors who prefer to save their time and travel faster can fly from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro Airstrip which takes about an hour. The Kisoro Airstrip is close to Mgahinga national park and hence is a convenient means of travel.

Mountain gorilla trekking at Mgahinga national park is an exciting and adventurous activity, which and traveler visiting Uganda should not miss out.