How Safe Is Mgahinga National Park?
Are you planning a tour of the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and you are wondering if the park is safe? Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is one of the safe destinations that travelers can engage in for safaris. The government of Uganda under the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda People’s Defense Forces has ensured the safety of travelers. Different security organizations always patrol the park to ensure the safety of travelers during a safari.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is among the ten parks of Uganda with several activities for travelers. This park is located in southwestern Uganda at the border of Uganda, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a home to several primate species and the mountain gorillas are one of the large primates in the park. The other primates in the park are golden monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and many others. The other wildlife in the park includes elephants, buffaloes, and many others. Virunga region covers this park also since the region covers three countries. While in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, there are several volcanic features that travelers on their Uganda safaris can encounter. The volcanic features include the Gahinga, Muhabura, and Sabyinyo mountains.
What to do in Mgahinga gorilla National park?
While in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, there are several activities that travelers on their Uganda safaris can engage in for a safari and they include;
Mountain gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking is one of the activities that travelers on their Uganda safaris can engage in. This is one of the key activities that involves the search for the mountain gorilla in the forested areas of the park. The park is home to one habituated transboundary family. Gorilla families are habituated for them to get used to human presence. Travelers to see gorillas must have booked a gorilla trekking permit to ensure availability at the time of trekking. The activity lasts about 2 to 7 hours of the day and there is 1 hour of viewing the gorillas.
Golden monkey trekking
Golden monkeys are one of the endemic primate species that are within the park. These primates are usually tracked in the bamboo forested areas of the park. The activity lasts about 2 to 5 hours of the day and travelers are supposed to have booked a Golden Monkey trekking permit in time to ensure availability.
Hiking Mount Gahinga
In the park, there are several volcanic mountains for hiking. 3 volcanic mountains are Gahinga, Sabyinyo, and Muhabura. Muhabura Mount is the highest volcanic mountain in the park. Mount Sabyinyo is one of the most challenging to hike and it takes about 5 to 8 hours a day. Hiking on these mountains requires travelers to be physically fit to ensure engagement in the activity.
Birding tours
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to over 180 bird species where 14 of which are endemic Albert species. The park is a great birding destination for travelers. Bird species in the park include Ruwenzori Batis, blue-headed coucal, Ruwenzori Turaco, Kivu ground thrush, Moorland chat, and many others.
How much is a gorilla trekking permit in Mgahinga National Park?
Gorilla trekking permits are the key requirements for travelers to see the mountain gorillas in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These permits cost about 800 dollars for foreign nonresidents, 700 dollars for foreign residents, 500 dollars for the rest of Africa, and 300,000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens. Travelers are supposed to book in time to ensure the availability of gorilla trekking permits in the high seasons or peak seasons. Booking in these seasons ensures availability since the gorilla trekking permits are limited in number. Gorilla trekking permits are obtained by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. So travelers can choose to book directly or use the tour operators which is the best alternative.
What is required to book a gorilla trekking permit in Mgahinga gorilla National Park?
The gorilla trekking permits are about 8 gorilla trekking permits that travelers can use to track the mountain gorillas. There is one only habituated gorilla family which is composed of 9 members called the Nyakagezi group. Since the number of gorilla trekking permits is limited in number, travelers are supposed to book in time to ensure availability. The requirements for the booking of gorilla trekking permits in Uganda require travelers to do the following;
Travelers are supposed to use a reputable tour operator to book the gorilla trekking permits. More so, payment receipt for the gorilla trekking permit should be presented to the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Travelers are supposed to present a valid passport to ensure the booking of the gorilla trekking permits. Lastly, travelers should that the gorilla trekking permits are sold by the Uganda Wildlife Authority which is in charge of the conservations.
Where to stay in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park?
While in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, there are several accommodation facilities in which travelers on their Uganda safaris can engage. The accommodation facilities range from midrange to luxury and budget facilities. The accommodation facilities in the park include; a travelers’ rest house, volcanoes lodge, Chameleon Lodge, Lake Mulehe Lodge, Gahinga Lodge, and many others.
How to access the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park?
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is accessed by both road and air transport. While using air transport, travelers can book chartered scheduled flights from either Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kisoro airstrip within Kisoro town. Then travelers will be transferred to the park by road which will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour. As travelers use the road, Travelers will take about 8 to 9 hours to arrive at the park using the Kampala-Mbarara -Kisoro highway. Travelers can also use the Kigali International Airport to access the park which takes about 5 hours to reach the park through the Cyanika border.
Ideal safaris to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
There are several safari packages that travelers can choose from to encounter the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and they include;
- 3 days volcanic hike and primate safaris.
- 11 days Uganda safaris
- 25 days of the primate safaris
- 2 days Uganda golden monkey trekking
Conclusively, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a safe safari destination for tourists. Book your gorilla trekking or golden monkey tour now and create everlasting memories.
