Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK-Where Gold Meets Silver

Made of 3 mountains that are part of the Virunga Massif, the 33.7sqkm in the southwest is Uganda’s smallest national park. The protected area incorporates the Congo and Rwanda Side on the 3 volcanoes. The park was established in 1930 as a gorilla sanctuary and gazetted in 1991 as a national park. Mgahinga sits high between 2227m and 4127m and protects a forest that inhabits the endangered mountain gorillas and the golden monkeys earning its self a tagline “where gold meets silver”. The extinct volcanoes make Mgahinga one of Uganda’s most scenic parks offering views of Bwindi, parts of Northern Rwanda, and sights of nearby towns in D.R Congo. 

The park has one habituated gorilla family, unlike the counterpart Bwindi which has a dozen-plus. It is a great place for independent and private visitors, travelers who would like to challenge themselves on a day hiking adventure from above 2000m to 4000m, and those who pick interest in golden monkeys. 

The diversity in the park includes 76 mammals that include the mountain gorillas, golden monkeys (endemic to the Albertine Rift Valley), buffaloes, duikers, and birdlife of 115 species which include 12 Albertine endemics. 

Mgahinga before was home to the forest first people “Batwa pigmies” who were fruit gatherers and hunters and after being gazetted they were moved and resettled outside the park. A community tour and a Batwa trail walk will give you a chance to get a piece of the ancient intellect owned by these people on the forest giving you the cultural significance of the forest. 

What to do

Gorilla tracking

Mgahinga is one of the 2 parks in Uganda that host the endangered Mountain Gorillas. The park has only one family of gorillas that roam the 33.7sqkm of the thick rainforest. 

You may wonder why you need to do gorilla tracking here but the nature of the park (covering 3 mountains) makes the activity awesome and the atmosphere is evidence for an adventure at the place. The park is also crowd-free and for private travelers, you just encounter the gorillas in a small group of only 8 and other people who are engaging in other activities, unlike Bwindi that has many groups in each sector. 

The activity starts with a briefing at Ntebeko visitors center and at 8 am trackers kick off the trek through the evergreen forest for about 2-4 hours and an hour is allowed together with the gorillas.

Volcano climbing

Mgahinga national park sits on 3 volcanic mountains and each of these can be summited in a day (return trip) and each has its uniqueness at the top. 

Mount Muhabura is the highest kissing the clouds at 4127m and it is a 12km round trip summit from Ntebeko. This volcano has a Crater Lake sitting at the top and on a day when the mist is not covering the park, you can have a clear view of Lake Edward, Bwindi Impenetrable national park, Rwenzori mountains, and the Virunga Volcanoes. Sabinyo is the second in height standing at 3669m and hiking this is breathtaking and not for the weak-hearted as it follows a steep ridge up to the peak. While at the peak, you can be in the 3 countries of Uganda, Rwanda, and D.R. Congo that share the mountain. 

Gahinga on the other hand is the shortest at 3474m and a swamp fills the crater at the peak of the mountain. Most people who read about these volcanoes, like to attempt this because of the height and the chances that if lucky they can come across golden monkeys.

Golden monkey tracking

Golden monkeys are endemic to Virunga volcanoes and are on the list of Uganda’s 20 primates species. Mgahinga is one of the parks in the 3 countries of Uganda, Rwanda, and D.R. Congo which host about 4000 individuals of these endangered primates. 

Mgahinga has troops habituated for tracking and semi-habituated troops for those who are interested to spend more time with the golden primates by getting involved in the habituation process. Just like the gorillas one hour and 4 hours are allowed for tracking and habituation activities respectively.   

Cultural encounters

The Batwa have inhabited the Mgahinga forest for generations and they were dependent on the forest as hunters, fruit gatherers, and the forest was their home. When the park was gazetted they got evicted and this changed their way of life. But for them to benefit from the forest even after their eviction, they are allowed to go to the forest as guides leading visitors through their ancient home, demonstrating how they used to live, pointing out medicinal herbs, collecting honey, and displaying their hunting skills and how to make things like bamboo cups.

They also lead visitors to the Ngarama caves which used to be their hideout.

Nature walks

Get a chance to spot some low-altitude birds, vegetation, and views of the surrounding near the park as you take a walk around the foothills. For about 4 hours hike through the Sabinyo gorge and the Rugozi swamp or walk to the Congo border where you can have views of Lake Mutanda, Gisozi hill, and the neighboring towns.

Birding

Bird in one of the most beautiful scenery for about 3-4 hours. Walkthrough the gorge between Sabinyo and Gahinga, bamboo and montane vegetation offer some of the finest birding results from the 115 species recorded here. These include the Rwenzori Turaco, White-necked Raven, Dusky turtle dove, Red-faced woodland warbler, Regal Sunbird, Bronze Sunbird, and Rwenzori batis among others.  

How to get there

There are different options of travel to the park; however, the most common route runs through Kabale and Kisoro from Kampala (540 km, or 335 miles, away) at an estimated 8 hours of driving to the southwestern Uganda Park and this includes 80 km stretch of winding mountainous roads. There are also air travel options from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro (Nyakabande Airstrip).