Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the smallest park in Uganda covering an area of 33.7km2. It is located in the southwestern tip of Uganda in Kisoro district. The park adjoins Rwanda’s Volcano national park and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga national parks and is part of the Virunga conservation area. The park takes its name from “Gahinga” the local word for piles of volcanic stones cleared from farmlands. While in the park, you will experience six vegetation types, Afromontane, tree heathers, montane forest, bamboo, montane woodland, and former farmland.
The Virunga ranges have eight volcanoes and three of the conical peaks are in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla national park. Muhabura is the highest at 4,127m – the name is translated ‘guide’ in the local language, they used it as a reference to give direction because it towered above everything else. It has panoramic views of Uganda and Rwanda with a clear lake at its summit 36m wide. Gahinga at 3,474m is also the smallest of the Virunga volcanoes, its name is derived from the ‘piles of rock’ that are cleared from farmlands. It has a swamp-filled crater on the top that measures about 180m wide. Finally Sabyinyo at 3,669m is translated ‘old man’s teeth’ because of the deep gorges and ravines that dissect it. On the highest peak of Sabyinyo is where you find the intersection between Uganda, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo. You can take a hike to all these peaks in one day; you will be rewarded with magnificent views and great photographic moments.
Gorilla tracking, for example all activities in Mgahinga gorilla national park are done on foot because the park is mainly mountainous. Early morning you will get to the starting point Ntebeko gate at 8am where you receive a briefing about the expectations while you are tracking gorillas in Uganda. Your ranger guide will go ahead of you sharing stories of the gorilla highlands in Uganda. You will learn about the different members of the Nyakagezi family and general gorilla behaviors. The ranger will be in touch with the earlier trackers who will share information on where the gorillas nested the previous night. Once they are located you have an opportunity to spend upto one hour in the presence of gorillas. Remember that should you have a communicable disease, you will not be allowed to track gorillas to avoid likelihood of passing on the disease to the gorillas. Nyakagezi group in Mgahinga are a much easier group to track. They live in a smaller range compared to most of the gorilla groups in Bwindi.