Gorilla Safaris in Mgahinga National Park

Gorillas In Mgahinga

Uganda is home for mountain gorillas with more than half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas roaming in the southwestern rainforests of Bwindi Impenetrable National park and Mgahinga National Park which is part of the Virunga Mountains that stretches to the borders of southern Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their survival in the wild is one of Africa’s greatest conservation success stories. There is no doubt that Mgahinga Gorilla national park is one of the leading tourist sites in Uganda attracting visitors for gorilla trekking experience. It shelters one gorilla family called Nyakagezi led by Mark, assisted by Mafia who took over from Bugingo. The family is composed of 3 Silverbacks, 2 Black backs, 2 Females, 2 Juveniles and one Baby making a group of 10 gorillas. This is one of the few groups with 3 Silverbacks that get along with one another peacefully.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is found in southwestern Uganda on the border with DR. Congo and Rwanda. It covers an area of about 33.7 sq kilometres, the park is a habitat for man’s closest relative the mountain gorillas in its thick forest. This park is one of the few places in the world that harbours the endangered mountain gorillas.

Mgahinga has a thick rain forest with a wide variety of tree species, which makes it the best home for the Gorillas that are known to be vegetarians. There is enough food for them in this park and this is the reason why the Nyakagezi gorilla family stopped the movement from Congo and Rwanda to this place. Though in small numbers, gorillas in Mgahinga national park are easy to see in their natural homes compared to other gorilla parks like Bwindi.

Spending time in the presence of the mountain gorillas in the wilds of Africa’s rainforests of Bwindi Jungle and Virunga mountains in of East and Central Africa is very magical: nothing beats the sight of a gorilla family especially their amazingly human-like expressions or their extraordinarily gentle demeanour. This encounter normally lasts just one full hour and Mgahinga offers you more than gorilla experience but also other wild experiences like Golden Monkey tracking and mountain hiking.

Only eight people are allowed to track each gorilla family per day for one full hour in their presence taking pictures and studying their discipline. Visitors are not allowed to proceed with tracking after 7:00 pm, but occasionally the gorillas will cross and approach you to almost stroking distance.

However, always resist the temptation to touch them. Although usually calm, they can easily be startled by flash photography, loud voices or sudden movements. Spending time with these gentle giants especially the silverback is a truly rewarding experience as they go on their daily activities of eating, sleeping playing and paying little attention to onlookers.

Why Mgahinga for mountain gorillas

The advantage of taking a gorilla safari in this park is the bamboo trees which makes the visibility and photography of mountain gorillas better than in Bwindi jungle which is a tropical rain forest and impenetrable. Gorilla trekking experience in Mgahinga National Park is similar to that of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and the gorilla permits for Mgahinga is USD700, compared to that of Rwanda Volcanoes National Park which costs USD1500.

The presence of the Golden monkeys in Mgahinga National Park gives it an upper hand in attracting more tourists than Bwindi gorilla park whose major activity is basically gorilla tracking. It is only in this park that shelters the golden monkeys and Gorillas at the same time. It has in fact been named the place where “Silver meets the Gold”.

Most of the tourists to this park normally add golden monkey tracking to their gorilla tracking tours to make the experience worthwhile. For those interested in mountain climbing, there are chances of climbing Mount Gahinga, Muhavura and Sabinyo which are a rewarding experience of beautiful scenic views of this small but very interesting park.

Conclusion: The wide range of unique activities like community and cultural tour make this park a unique travel destination with a lot of adventurous activities. You will be assured of another experience to complement your gorilla trek in this park. The Batwa cultural experience and the Garama cave walk are also very memorable things you must look out for and do in Mgahinga National Park. These combined activities make Mgahinga tourist destination the best place to go gorilla trekking in Africa and have a wonderful experience with all these activities. Make your booking in time to avoid missing out especially during the peak season when the gorilla permits are on very high demand.