Mgahinga Gorilla National Park makes the country’s smallest park covering 33 km. It takes its name from Gahinga which means piles of Volcanic stones cleared from farmland at the foot hills of the volcanoes a local name being using by the surrounding community; the Bafumbira.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park sits high in the clouds, at an altitude between 2,227m and 4,127m above the sea level. It started as a game sanctuary declared by the British administration and was later gazetted into a national park in 1991. The park is found in the southwestern Uganda approximately 510km from Kampala through Kabale and Kisoro route.
The park lies within the Virunga trans boundary and it borders 2 other parks that is Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga National park in DRC. It was gazetted to protect the few endangered mountain gorillas remaining in the world and the spacious endangered golden monkeys that inhabit the bamboo with in the park. The park has 1 trans boundary habituated gorilla group called Nyakagezi.
The forest was originally occupied by the indigenous Batwa pygmies before they were relocated in the neighboring community thus forming a huge cultural significance.
It has very beautiful scenery formed by the 3 striking extinct volcanoes which lie along the border region of Uganda, Congo and Rwanda. They include Gahinga, Sabinyo and Muhavura. Their slopes contain various mountain vegetation with various ecosystems giving it astonishing beautiful scenery
Some of the Tourist activities include the following:
- Gorilla trekking; Mgahinga Gorilla national park has 1 habituated gorilla family called Nyakagezi which is tracked on daily basis. It has 9 members in the family and on a lucky day, you will be able to sight all of them. This activity is led by UWA rangers and guides and starts from Ntebeko Visitor Information center with the briefing. This activity takes 3 to 6 hours depending on the movement of the gorilla family on that fateful day. Once you meet the gorillas, you will spend 1 hour observing them and taking photos in close range. Thereafter, the guides will lead you back to the point where you started for debriefing and award of certificates.
- Volcanoes climbing; Mgahinga gorilla national park has three volcanic mountains that is Muhavura being the highest, followed by Gahinga and then Sabinyo. These are extinct volcanic mountains that are found in the border of 3 countries including Rwanda, DRC and Uganda. They have montane vegetation that gives it a very beautiful scenery which hikers enjoy. This hiking activity takes an entire day starting very early in the morning from Ntebeko. All the 3 volcanoes can be hiked in one day or depending on the fitness of visitors, they will decide if to climb all or chose either one or two of them. Reaching the peak at Sabinyo, its very interesting because the peak is being hosted in the three countries.
Golden Monkey tracking; Mgahinga-Gorilla National Park also hosts the endangered golden monkeys found in the bamboo forest. It starts with the briefing by the UWA ranger guides explaining the dos and don’ts about golden monkey tracking. This activity takes about 2-5 hours depending on the movement of these primates on that particular day. Just like gorillas, you will also spend 1 hour with them taking photos in close range in their natural habitat; the bamboo. This activity can only be done in the Virunga’s in the whole of East African region. It should not be missed on a vacation.
Batwa Cultural Experience:
The Batwa were the original occupants of the forest before it was gazetted into the national park. They used to survive on the forest entirely and it was their ancestral home. Later, they were moved out of the park and settled in the neighborhood communities surrounding the national park. This activity helps support them as a way of living. They will guide you through the forest with enriching stories on how they used to stay and survive on the forest for their livelihood. This will give you an enriching cultural experience that will last a life time. This activity ends with getting to Ngaramba Cave one of the largest caves in the virungas that used to act as a palace and parliament for their Kingdom. The Batwa dancing group will welcome you with a lot of entertainment with in the cave and outside the cave before being led back to the starting point.
