History Of Mountain Gorilla Treks In Africa
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Mgahinga Gorilla National Park straddles the magnificent slopes of the majestic Virunga Volcanoes, the massif mountain ranges that rise at an altitude of 4507m on the Uganda border with Rwanda and D.R. Congo. This volcano and forest-dominated protected area protect some of the world’s iconic attractions: golden monkeys and mountain gorillas. This bamboo forest-dominated park lies at an altitude of 2227 and 4127 meters.
Location of Mgahinga Park in Uganda
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is set along the southwestern side of Uganda, Kisoro District. It was initially a designated Game Reserve and in 1991, it was upgraded to a National Park.
The park derives its name from the Gahinga word, a Kinyarwanda word that means the small lava stones common in gardens along the Virunga volcano foothills. Unlike most African parks, Mgahinga extends up to only 33.7 sq. km and makes it Uganda’s smallest safari park.
Why visit Mgahinga National Park This Year
Gorilla trekking is the main reason why you should consider spending your next holiday in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. It is one park in Africa where mountain gorillas live and other areas include Bwindi, Volcanoes National Park, and Virunga National Park. During the actual gorilla trekking, the Nyakagezi gorilla family is the only group you will be visiting. The treks begin at the Ntebeko area with a briefing and at 8:00 am, the park guide will lead your group to view these apes.
Main Attractions In Mgahinga National Park
There are mainly three attractions in Mgahinga gorilla national park; Animals, birds, and landscapes.
Wildlife/Animals
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP) protects a significant population of animal species. These include a total of 39 species of mammals such as mountain gorillas, the localized golden monkeys, bush babies, blue monkeys, side-striped jackals, golden cats, bush pigs, baboons, red-tailed monkeys, buffaloes, forest hogs, elephants, porcupines, black and white colobus monkeys.
Birds
Mgahinga also protects a good population of bird species, especially the Albertine rift endemics. The park is estimated to be home to more than 180 species of birds, and these reside in different habitats including lakes, forests, caves, and montane areas.
The bird species to be spotted on the birding tour Mgahinga NP include Shelley’s dusky crimson wing, streaky seedeaters, White starred robin, white-napped raven, scarlet-tufted malachite sunbird, black kite, African paradise flycatchers, cape robin-chat, yellow-throated long claws, cinnamon bracken warblers, Archer’s ground robin, grey capped warblers, and Alpine chat.
Other bird species included the red-necked spurfowl, regal sunbird, Southern red bishop, paradise flycatchers, mountain masked apalis, rufous chested swallow, Doherty’s bush shrike, fire finch, blue-headed sunbird, brown-crowned tchagra, Kivu ground-thrush, and dusky turtle dove banded prinia.
The preferred birding season/months of the year are around April, May, and October to November, the nesting months of the year, and migratory birds flock to the park from November to April.
Things to do while in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Below are some of things to Mgahinga gorilla national park;
Gorilla trekking
Mgahinga is one of the 2 parks in Uganda that tourists visit to enjoy gorilla trekking. This park contains a total of 80 mountain gorillas with only one fully habituated gorilla group (Nyakagezi group family). Ntebeko is where treks begin in Mgahinga and like Bwindi; visitors are accompanied by experienced park ranger guides to see endangered mountain gorillas.
Trekking with Mgahinga National Park gorillas begins at 8:00 am and lasts for 2 to 6 hours which includes one hour for you to spend closely with these large apes while keeping a 7-8 hours distance away from them. To be allowed to track gorillas, all visitors must present valid gorilla permits and each permit is obtainable at USD 700 per person. The ground tour operator or reservation team at Uganda Wildlife Authority can be in a position to secure a permit for you.
Golden monkey tracking
Golden monkey tracking offers an incredible opportunity to primate lovers to see golden monkeys, the sub-species of blue monkeys. The golden monkeys are endemic primates to the Virunga Area and the Albertine Rift. These areas are located in Uganda (Mgahinga), Rwanda (Volcanoes NP), and Virunga National Park (D.R.C).
The golden monkeys are small in size and one troop can consist of 80 members. They often spend most of their time in the bamboo forest feeding. In Uganda, it is possible to undertake normal golden monkey treks and golden monkey habituation experiences.
Volcano hiking
Mountain/Volcano hiking is a thrilling adventure experience awaiting enthusiastic climbers on Uganda safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Of the 8 Virunga Volcanoes, Mgahinga National Park has 3 of them including Sabyinyo (3669m), Gahinga 3474m), and Muhabura (4127m).
Trekking to the top of these volcanoes allows climbers to enjoy remarkable views of the park and surrounding volcanoes/areas.
Bird watching
If you aren’t energetic enough, there is still an activity for you to engage in and that is birding. Bird watching in Mgahinga allows you to keep an eye on some of its 180 species of birds including the yellow-vented bulbul, white-necked raven, olive woodpeckers, Kivu ground thrush, paradise fly-catchers, red-faced woodland, streaky see-eaters, Rwenzori batis, red-necked spurfowl, mountain masked apalis, white-starred robin, and montane nightjars
Other bird species include the greater double-collared sunbird, Chubb’s cisticolas, brown woodland warblers, crowned cranes, regal sunbird, cinnamon bracken warblers, western green tinker bird, Archer’s robin chat, olive woodpecker, malachite sunbird, crowned hornbill, cape robin chat, black-headed waxbill, scarlet tufted sunbird, Doherty’s bush shrikes, banded prinia, Alpine chat, black kite, Archer’s ground robin, brown-crowned tchagra, Fire finch stonechat and more.
Nature walks
Mgahinga features beautiful forests, swamps, lakes, and rivers where some of the park’s unique wildlife species live. The park has exceptional nature walking trails for tourists to explore and the must-trek through should be the border trail along Mount Sabyinyo slopes. This leads visitors up to the meeting border area of Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo.
This trail requires at least 5 hours for hikers to hike through and the walk involves navigating via the park’s unique vegetation zones while spotting primates such as golden monkeys, and a chance to view the Gisozi hill. The other trail to walk through is the Sabyinyo Gorge trail which is ideal for hikers who prefer little challenging hikes.
The Batwa trail
If you are interested in exploring or experiencing the unique African cultures on Uganda safaris, then you have a reason to embark on the Batwa trail.
The trail provides visitors a chance to explore the distinct cultures and traditions of the local residents. The Batwa pygmies live in the surrounding areas of Mgahinga NP and Bwindi but they once inhabited the tropical forests of these parks as hunters and gatherers.
The best time of the year to visit this park
There is no specific time to travel to Mgahinga N. Park, but the most preferred season is the dry season. There are 2 dry seasons experienced in Mgahinga N. Park-the short & long: June, July, August to September & December, and January to February.
Mgahinga National Park safari lodges to book for overnight stay
Visitors can book lodges in or around Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP) and these include budget, midrange, and luxury.
The must-book lodges for an overnight stay on a safari to Mgahinga include Chameleon Hill Lodge, Virunga Hotel, Traveler’s Nest Hotel, Lake Mutanda Campsite, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Mount Gahinga Rest Camp, Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp, and Mount Gahinga Lodge.
How to get to the park –by road/air
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is accessible in two ways –by air and road transportation. Taking road transportation, you leave Kampala/Entebbe via the Masaka-Mbarara-Kisoro route about a 9 to 10 hours drive and only a 4-5 hours drive from Kigali city. By air, a scheduled or chartered flight can be arranged for you and you set off from Entebbe airport to Kisoro airstrip.
