Mgahinga National Park
Mgahinga National Park : The British administration declared the game sanctuary in 1930 and it was later gazetted in 1991 as a national park. Mgahinga is a habitat of transboundary gorilla group. The park takes its name from “Gahinga” the local name which means a pile of volcanic stones. It is the smallest Uganda’s national park with 33.7 square kilometres. Mgahinga Gorilla national park features are extinct volcanoes, part of the Virunga range that lies along the boarder of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda,76 mammals, 180 species of birds, green parks.
Attractions at Mgahinga National Park
Mountain gorilla: Mgahinga is a home to mountain gorilla Nyakagezi that is found of roaming the forest for food. Mgahinga is one the best destinations in the world where one can encounter with mountain gorilla in their natural habitats.
Muhabura volcano: this is inactive volcano in the Virunga mountains on the Rwanda –Uganda tour this mountain can be hiked from either sides. Mount Muhabura is one of the most hiked of these volcanoes, there are forests, vegetation, wildlife. Hiking in mount Muhabura starts at 7 am and it takes 5 to 7 hours.
Gahinga volcano: mount Gahinga is believed to be 100000 years and the second youngest of the volcanoes yet it is the smallest volcanoes found in Mgahinga national park. Gahinga means small pike of stones in the local language of natives. there is vegetation, primates like mountain gorilla, blue monkeys among others.
Lake Mutanda: Lake Mutanda is a small fresh water lake in Kisoro, it is a shadow of the Virunga mountains. It has a resort that offers the most comfortable accommodations, beautiful views, perfect base for gorilla trackers, volcano hikers, bird lovers it gives the best ambiance for nature lovers .
Mount Sabyinyo: Mount Sabyinyo is a volcano on the Virunga mountains and it is the oldest volcano. Sabyinyo is a local; term meaning “old man’s teeth” in reference the mountain looks like an old mans spaced teeth. Hiking is the major activity done at Sabyinyo, it is only done in Uganda and it is a one-day hike, has rich vegetation, birds i.e. the Rwenzori turaco, wildlife like elephants
Wildlife activities done at Mgahinga national park
Mountain gorilla trekking: mountain gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park starts early in the morning at 7am with briefing at the Ntebeko where the park headquarters for mountain gorilla trekking are located, trekkers are briefed. Trekkers get basic information about gorilla trekking and the possible encounter in the jungle. Trekkers are led into the Nyakagezi gorilla family which takes about 2 to 7 hours. Upon finding Nyakagezi family, tourists spend with it one hour of close interaction, closing viewing .
Volcano hiking: Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the best destinations to visit for volcano hiking safaris in the pearl of Africa. it has 3 beautiful volcanos which visitors can hike from the Ugandan side with in Virunga, these include mount Muhavura, mount Sabinyo, mt Gahinga. all these volcanos can be hiked at any period all year through.mt Sabyinyo is a 13km hike, a hiker takes about 8 hours, the hike on mt Muhavura requires 8 hours to hike 12km, mount Gahinga takes about 6 hours through bamboo forest spotting mountain gorillas, golden monkeys etc.
Birding: bird watching is a stunning and breath-taking activity enjoyed by the bird lovers and Mgahinga offers one of the best scenes birding experiences with over 180 bird species such as water birds, forest birds, migratory birds and more. Amongst the birds spotted include Kivu ground thrush, malachite, Rwenzori Turaco, Double collard sunbirds, olive pigeon, Rwenzori batis, western green tinker bird, scarlet tufted, striped breasted tit among others. Getting a guide is an advantage as these guides know very well the best birding spots and can as well identify the birds by voice and know their species.
Cultural encounters: there is Batwa trail is yet another activity enjoyed in Mgahinga gorilla national park where tourists walk to the forest with the local Batwa guides following the trail. The Batwa guide will spot out different plant species that used for medicine to treat some diseases, show how they used to hunt, gather honey, make fire among others. The trails can as well lead to forests inside the forests which acted as the hiding places for Batwa raiders and Garama cave that acts as the habitat for the bats so tourists have to visit all those cultural sites.
Best time to visit Mgahinga national park
The dry season in Mgahinga is the best time for tourists to chimp in the months of December, January and February as well. These are months are suitable because there are intermittent showers for your safari will be filled with sightings of amazing primates.
Wet season: there is always fresh burst of vegetation and the park is green and beautiful. For bird lovers there are always birds most especially migratory birds. There are fewer crowds and there are always discounted accommodation offers during this season.
How to access Mgahinga national park
By road transport, tourists use Masaka-Mbarara-Kabale-Kisoro -Kisoro and then to Ntebeko park headquarters, this is 510km and may take around 8 hours. While from Kigali to Mgahinga national park, it only takes 3 hours.
By air transport, tourists take a domestic flight from Kampala to Kisoro a tour operator on the safari package. Kisoro airstrip is 14km from Ntebeko, the main gate of the national park so tourists get cars to the destination.
Conclusion
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is one of the best destinations to explore while on a Uganda safari. Even in its neighbourhood there are other destinations like Bwindi impenetrable national park, Lake Bunyonyi among others. you can enjoy a unique yet beautiful holiday with family and friends at Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
