Top activities in Mgahinga National Park : Mgahinga national park is located in the south western part of Uganda and there are a variety of activities to do at the destination which include the following;
- Gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park involves interactions with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Tourists enjoy an experience of watching the mountain gorillas closely in the forests and they are accompanied by ranger guides and also porters during this gorilla trekking experience in Mgahinga national park.
Before the gorilla trekking experience, tourists have a briefing by the park rangers at the Ntebeko park headquarters as early as 07:00 am during which they are informed of the safety precautions and what to expect in the forest during the encounter with the gorillas.
The gorilla trek involves interacting with a habituated gorilla family which in Mgahinga national park is the Nyakagezi gorilla family. During the encounter with the gorillas, tourists are required to maintain a distance of about 7 meters from the gorillas.
It is also important to follow the guidelines provided by the guides to ensure the safety of both visitors and gorillas during the gorilla trekking experience in Mgahinga national park. Permits for the gorilla trekking experience cost 800 USD per person and can be booked through licensed tour operators.
Once the gorillas are located in Mgahinga national park tourists get to enjoy 1 hour in the presence of the mountain gorillas and can observe their behavior and photograph them before returning to the briefing point.
- Volcano Climbing
Another activity which takes place during tours around Mgahinga national park is volcano climbing which takes place on Mount Gahinga, Mount Muhabura and Mount Sabyinyo.
Tourists begin their hikes on the Virunga mountains in Mgahinga national park with a briefing at the park headquarters around 07:00 am where they are assigned ranger guides before beginning the activity along the different hiking trails.
Mount Muhabura is at an altitude of 4127 meters and is the highest mountain in Mgahinga national park which takes about 5 to 7 day to ascend to the summit and descend.
Mount Gahinga is another of the Virunga mountains which tourists hike during their tours around Mgahinga national park. The mountain is at an altitude of 3474 meters and it takes about 6 to 8 hours to get to the summit.
Hiking in Mgahinga national park also takes place on Mount Sabyinyo which is at an altitude of 3669 meters with a hiking duration ranging from 6 to 9 hours to get to the peak of the mountain and back. Experienced and un experienced hikers can engage in this activity when visiting Mgahinga national park.
During hikes in Mgahinga national park, the hikers can enjoy views of the Virunga mountains and the scenic landscapes in the area. Other attractions which can be encountered along the way during the hikes include primates like golden monkeys, gorillas, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, baboons among others.
- Golden Monkey Trekking
Golden monkey trekking is another activity which is done during safaris in Mgahinga national park and it involves interactions with the endangered primates.
Tourists can spend time with the golden monkeys in the bamboo forest of Mgahinga national park where they can observe them closely and watch their behavior. The forests are also home to other primates including black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys among others as well as various bird species.
A briefing is done at the park headquarters before tourists move into the forests to search for the golden monkeys accompanied with ranger guides of Mgahinga national park. The golden monkey trekking experience takes about 4 hours depending on the location of the golden monkeys in the forests.
A permit for golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga national park costs 100 USD per person including park entrance fees. When visiting the national park, tourists can also engage in golden monkey habituation experiences.
- Bird watching
Bird watching is another activity to take part in when visiting Mgahinga national park which is home to over 180 bird species
Some of the bird species which can be seen during tours in Mgahinga national park include Rwenzori Turaco, Handsome Francolin, Kivu Ground-thrush, Grey Capped Warbler, Double-collared Sunbird, Blue-headed Coucal, Paradise Flycatcher, Rwenzori Batis, Blued-headed Weaver, Black-collared Apalis, Red-throated Alethe, Regal Sunbird, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Western Tinkerbird, Cinnamon-chested Bee eater, African Olive Pigeon, Rwenzori Nightjar, Dusky Crimson wing, Speckled Mousebird, African Firefinch, Black-headed Waxbill among others.
Albertine rift endemic bird species are among the bird species which can be seen during tours in Mgahinga national park.
- Cultural tours
During tours in Mgahinga national park, tourists can also engage in cultural tours and interact with the local communities around the park.
Cultural encounters in Mgahinga national park involve interacting with tribes such as the Batwa pygmies and getting to know more about their culture and way of life, watching traditional dance performances, sharing their knowledge of medicinal plants in the forests, learning their hunting techniques, and listening to local stories.
- Guided nature walks
Guided nature walks can also be done during tours in Mgahinga national park and involve exploring the forest trails and getting closer to nature at the destination.
The different routes used during nature walks in Mgahinga national park involve walks through the lush forests, bamboo forests, and volcanic terrain at the destination and encounters with various wildlife species like black and white colobus monkeys and also spotting bird species of a variety along the way.
This activity can also be combined with the hiking tours around Mgahinga national park to the different attractions found at the park including the Virunga mountains like Mount Gahinga, Mount Muhabura, Mount Sabyinyo which can be seen during the nature walks.
The different activities can be done throughout the year when visiting Mgahinga national park with the dry season from June to October and December to February being the best time to see the gorillas and golden monkeys in their natural habitat at the destination.