Mgahinga National Park

Mgahinga National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. There is no doubt that the park is one of the leading parks in Uganda due to its rare primates. 

First established in 1991 in an area that used to be a game reserve, Mgahinga National Park is a haven for everyone. It offers gorilla tracking, hiking the Virunga Volcanoes, and golden monkey tracking.

All about Mgahinga National Park 

Location

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is located in the southwestern Uganda on the border with Congo and Rwanda.

The Park covers the northern slopes of the three inactive northernmost Virunga Volcanoes, their names are Mount Muhabura, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Sabyinyo. 

Size

The Park is around 15 Kilometers by road at the south of the town of Kisoro and around 55 Kilometers by the west of Kabale road.

How to Get There

By Road 

You can access the park with a car from Kampala via Kabale to Kisoro. It is an 8 hour drive. 

By Air

A plane from Entebbe to Kisoro Airstrip which is near the park is the quickest mode of access to the park. It takes approximately 1 hour to get there. 

Daily scheduled flights are available. Note that flights must be booked long in advance with your local Uganda safari operator.

Climate

The climate in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is mild to cold and wet. The high altitude, which is 2,227-4,127m or 7,306-13,540ft, makes the park one of the coldest destinations in Uganda. 

The climate is wet in two rainy seasons from February to May and also from September to December. The dry season takes place from late May to early October. 

The average temperature is 20°C/68°F during the day, while becoming 9°C/48°F in the evening.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Mgahinga National park is during the whole year. 

The best time for Gorilla trekking activity is the dry season, from late May to early October and December to February, due to the favorable tracking conditions when the forest trails are not muddy and slippery.

The best time for tourists who head to the park for bird watching is during the rainy season. It is when the migratory bird species such as the Brown-chested Lapwings can be spotted.  

Wildlife in Mgahinga National Park  

The Mgahinga National Park encompasses Bamboo forest, Albertine Rift montane forests, Ruwenzori Virunga montane moorlands with tree health.

The Park includes the mountain gorilla and golden monkeys, handsome francolin, red-throated alethe, dusky crimson-wing, Kivu ground thrush, Rwenzori turaco, collared Apalis, mountain masked Apalis, Archer’s ground robin, regal sunbird, red-faced woodland warbler, montane nightjar and a lot more.

Mountain Gorilla Activity

The park is one of the few places all around the world where the endangered mountain gorillas reside and attract people from different countries to come to Uganda for Gorilla Safari. 

Gorilla Safari should be done in Mgahinga National Park and not any other place, as the park has a thick rainforest along with a wide variety of tree species and gorillas are known to be vegetarians. 

The mountain gorilla is the highlight of the park, as it is a habitat for them which roam about the whole forest in search of food. 

The park provides the gorillas enough food and this is why even some migrate from Congo and Rwanda to Uganda. Although their small numbers, gorillas in Mgahinga are easily seen in their natural habitats and this makes tracking more easy and interesting compared to other parks.