Mgahinga gorilla trekking

What Mgahinga is

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park sits on the northern slopes of three Virunga volcanoes — Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo — in the far south-west corner of Uganda. It is the smallest of Uganda's national parks and forms a continuous protected area with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga in DR Congo. The gorillas do not recognise the borders.

How it differs from Bwindi

Two things matter.

The terrain is more open. Bamboo and montane vegetation on volcanic slopes rather than Bwindi's closed rainforest canopy. Walking is generally more straightforward and the light is better for photography — closer, in character, to Rwanda than to Bwindi.

There is one habituated family. That means far fewer permits and much less flexibility. If your dates shift, or the family moves across the border into Rwanda or DR Congo as they periodically do, options are limited in a way they are not at Bwindi.

Permits

The same Uganda Wildlife Authority rates apply as at Bwindi: USD 800 per person for foreign non-residents in high season, USD 600 in April, May and November. Permits are paid in full at booking, and the discounted low-season permits cannot be rescheduled.

Because there is one family, permits here are limited and should be booked further ahead than you might expect for a park this quiet.

Golden monkeys

Mgahinga's other draw. Golden monkeys are an endangered species of the Virunga bamboo zone and tracking them is a separate permit and a separate morning. They are fast, noisy and much easier to photograph than gorillas, and the tracking is far less demanding physically. If you are spending two nights here, this is the obvious second activity.

Getting there

Kisoro is the gateway town, about a twenty-minute drive from the park headquarters at Ntebeko. From Nairobi: fly to Entebbe, then either a charter of roughly 45 minutes to Kisoro airstrip, or the road, which is a long day.

Mgahinga is also the most straightforward Ugandan park to reach overland from Rwanda, which makes it a natural stop for travellers combining both countries.

Beyond gorillas and golden monkeys

Volcano climbs on Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo — the last of which lets you stand in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo at once. There is also the Batwa Trail, led by members of the community who lived in this forest before it became a national park, which is among the more substantive cultural experiences in the region rather than a staged performance.