Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla national park
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park is amazing safari activity done in the park on a Uganda safari, Mgahinga gorilla national park is Uganda’s smallest national park in Uganda that covers an area of 33.9km square kilometers and the park is located in the South Western part of Uganda bordering with Rwanda and then Democratic Republic of Congo. Mgahinga Gorilla national Park is the second safari destination where tourists go to gorilla trekking after Bwindi impenetrable national park. Not only the mountain gorillas, the park is a home of other primates like the golden monkeys, and other animal species like duikers, forest elephnats and various bird species like regal sunbird, blue headed sunbird, streaky seedeater, bronze sunbird, crowned crane and among many others. The park is also blessed with other fascinating features like the Virunga volcanoes including Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Gahinga and Mount Muhabura that are situated in the Virunga Ranges that crosses into Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic republic of Congo or Congo.
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla national park.
Gorilla trekking is the primary safari activity that takes place in the park, this is the second safari destination in Uganda with the endangered mountain gorillas, as the biggest number of the gorillas are located in Bwindi Impenetrable national park. Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park starts early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations at the park headquarters by the park guides and the park rangers. After the briefing you will be grouped in different groups of 8 members per group and then each group will be led by the experienced guides and rangers and then start trekking in the jungle, gorilla trekking in the park takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because these gentle giants like moving from one place to another while looking for the food.
Gorilla trekking in the park is such outstanding this is where you will be able to see diverse biodiversity in the park like the various primate species, bird species, trees and then plant species and many others, and once you find the mountain gorillas you will be allowed to spend one hour with the gorillas in their natural habitat which gives you the opportunity to learn about the behaviours of the gorillas, watching them fees, watching them breastfeed, watching them playing, taking the photos and recording their movies of the great moments to take and show people back home after the experience. After the one hour of being with the mountain gorillas you will return back to the starting point and be rewarding with the gorilla trekking certificates for taking part in the gorilla trekking.
How to book a gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park.
A gorilla trekking permit in Mgahinga gorilla national park can be booked through two different ways that is through a government body in Uganda in charge of tourism that is Uganda Wildlife authority through calling them or visiting them at their offices, or the gorilla trekking permits can be booked through a reputable tour operator like African Vacation Safaris where you will contact us with your preferred date, month and the year when you wish to trek the gorillas. Then after contacting us we will check for the permit availability and there are permits available, you will be asked to make a deposit for the permit. Once the payment has been made, we will acquire the permit on your behalf and send you a scanned copy of the receipt as a confirmation.
Gorilla trekking permits in Mgahinga national park should be however booked 3 to 6 months in advance before the real date of gorilla trekking because they are always few and usually get sold quickly especially during the high or peak season in the months of June to September and December to February in order to avoid disappointments, so are reminded to book early in advance.
And the gorilla trekking permits in Mgahinga gorilla national park costs 800 USD per person per trek for the non-foreign residents, 700 USD per person per trek for the foreign residents and 300,000 UGX per person for the East African citizens.
Best time to go for gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park.
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga Goirlla national park is all the year around, though the best time is the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and then February. During the dry season, that’s when the park receives less amounts of rainfall and thus the gorilla trekking trails can be easy to be passed while during trekking that makes it easy for gorilla trekking compared to wet or rainy season when the trekking trails are slippery and muddy that makes gorilla trekking challenging.
How to get to Mgahinga gorilla national park.
Mgahinga gorilla national park is situated in the southwestern part of the country and that means that the park can be reached through the road and the air transport.
Road transport, while using the road transport, the visitors can drive from Kampala capital city, Entebbe through using the Masaka road that is passing through Mbarara, Kisoro and then you will reach Mgahinga and this takes you about 9 to 10 hours’ drive while using a 4WD safari vehicle; however there is also another alternative that can take you to Mgahinga gorilla national park, from Kigali Rwanda where the visitors can fly to Kigali international airport and then later can connect to Mgahinga gorilla national park by the safari vehicle through the Cyanika border that takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive.
Air transport, Air transport is the easiest to reach Mgahinga gorilla national park; here you are going to book the charter flights with Aero link Uganda then to Kisoro airstrip and then connect to the park headquarters or simply to your lodge, and this is the first option for the visitors who do not like travelling the long distances and at African Vacation Safaris we are ready to book for you the charter flights to the park.
