Things to do in Mgahinga national park : Mgahinga national park is located in Kisoro district in the South Western region of Uganda and is considered the smallest national park in the country, which covers a total surface area of about 34 square kilometers. Mgahinga Gorilla national park is considered among the best destination where one can go to for gorilla trekking activities and it is commonly visited because of its endangered mountain gorilla species. More so, this national park shares boarders with other national parks in different countries for example; Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga National park in the Democratic Republic of Congo hence giving a chance to the mountain gorilla species to move from one country to another.
Mgahinga Gorilla national park stands at elevated area of an altitude between 2,227 and 4,127 meters above the sea level. In 1991, it when Mgahinga gorilla national park was established as a national park and it is being managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority whose role is to ensure and protect all the mountain gorilla species that stay within the dense forests, which they consider as their natural habitats within the park.
More so, apart from the 300 endangered mountain gorilla species, there are many more tourist attractions within Mgahinga Gorilla National park which attract many more tourists to travel from all over different parts of the world within an aim of visiting the park hence leading to a great development towards the tourism industry of Uganda. and these attractions include; caves like the Grama caves and the bat caves, the Ntebeko visitors centre, 180 bird species such as; the Rwenzori Batis, Paradise flycatcher, Cape Robin chat, Virunga volcanoes and the park is known to have around 8 volcanoes which share boarders with other countries like; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. More so, this national park is a home to over 76 mammal species such as; buffalos, bush bucks, golden monkeys, forest elephants, giant forest hogs and many others.
Activities done in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Tourists exploring with in Mgahinga Gorilla national park always have great opportunities to engage in several interesting activities like;
Bird watching.
Mgahinga Gorilla national park is considered to also the best destination which bird lovers can opt to visit as they are in their safari in Uganda because this national park is a home to over 180 bird species that bird lovers can sight see. And they include; the Bronze sunbird, the brown crowned tchagra, the regal sunbird, the Rwenzori Batis, olive thrush, the blue headed sunbird and many others.
Gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking is considered the main activity done in this national park because it is well known to be a home to over 300 endangered mountain gorilla species. More so, this national park has around two habituated gorilla groups/families that are always available to trek in the park and these include; the Nyakagezi gorilla group and the Hirwa gorilla group. However, tourists willing to trek gorillas in this park should note that, this activity is always charged at a fee of about 700 USD per person and this activity always takes tourists about 2 to 5 hours to locate the gorilla species and after these species are being spotted, tourists are always given one hour to spend and interact with them. During this hour, tourists get to learn and observe the characters and behaviours of the endangered species and they also get to watch their daily lifestyle for example, they watch how they eat and feed their young ones. More so, before the gorilla trekking, tourists are given short briefings about the rules and guidelines they should follow during the trekking such as; tourists should avoid maintaining direct eye contact while in the presence of the species, keep a distance of 7 meters between themselves and the species and do not drink and eat while in the presence of gorillas in order to avoid any harm. More so, these tourists ready for trekking are always put in groups with a maximum number if 8 people and assigned to with park guided depending what gorilla group they are willing to trek.
Apart from the mentioned above, there are many other activities that tourists exploring within Mgahinga Gorilla national park can be able to engage in and these include; Volcano climbing, game viewing, cultural encounters, hiking, community visits, and guided nature walks among others.
Contact our trusted tour operators in case of more information and inquiries about things to do in Mgahinga Gorilla national park and Book with our tours and travel companies such as; Achieve Global safaris who offer good tour packages while on your safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National park.
