Mgahinga National Park covers 33.7 square Kilometers making it the smallest National Park in Uganda. The park takes its name from “Gahinga” – the local word for the piles of volcanic stones cleared from farmland at the foot of the volcanoes. Despite of hosting the only Nyakagezi Gorilla family, some clients believe that Mgahinga National Park offers the best Gorilla trekking compared to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It sits high in the clouds, at an altitude of between 2,227m and 4,127m. Another amazing tourist attraction includes the Golden monkeys which stay on higher uplands than Mountain Gorillas which moves along the lower slopes of Gahinga Mountain.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The huge cultural significance in particular for the indigenous Batwa pygmies – this tribe of hunter-gatherers was the forest’s “first people”, and their ancient knowledge of its secrets remains unrivalled. The best Batwa experiential tours are done here.
GORILLA TREKKING IN MGAHINGA NATIONAL PARK
The trek starts as early as 7:30 with briefing- the rangers do briefing and thereafter, accompanies the trekkers to meet Gorillas in the jungles of Mgahinga National Park. The ranger guides caters for the safety and knowledge of the trekkers to ensure enjoyable, informative and memorable Gorilla tracking.
Gorilla trekking is done daily and all year round provided the guests are available and ready to trek.
You can flavor your stay in the park by adding Golden Monkey trekking, Batwa community tour and mountaineering. While in Mgahinga National Park, you can view some parts of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Note: Uganda offers the best Gorilla tracking experience in East Africa because of the following reasons:
-It has both tropical and Bamboo type of forests – it’s better to explore both treks: In Bwindi tropical forest and Mgahinga Bamboo forests.
-The cost of Gorilla permit is lower at US$600 compared to Rwanda at US$1500.
-You can practice freedom of choice: Either to trek in Mgahinga or Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
-Uganda has reputable tour operators – legally licensed and internationally recognized.
-Uganda is by far peaceful compared to her neighboring nations.
-The two Gorilla parks are easily accessible from Entebbe and Kigali International Airports.
-Visa to Uganda is much easier to get, you just need to do advance online application- book your flight and come to Uganda for Gorilla tracking.