Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park

Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park is the main activity that travelers engage in this national park as they explore the endangered gorilla species. Mgahinga Gorilla National park is one of the two gorilla trekking destinations that tourists that visit Uganda can choose to participate in gorilla trekking. The park is famous for housing some of the remaining mountain gorillas in the whole world that can only be found in Virunga National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga National Park, and Volcanoes National Park.

Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park is one of the most rewarding activities in Mgahinga National Park that a tourist can choose to participate in order to have an amazing Uganda tour this is because the park has a lot to offer to the tourists when they participate in the activity and some of the rewards they can get for participating in the activity include; exceptional views of the virunga mountains, primate, bird and animal species in the park which will make their gorilla trekking experience in the park memorable.

Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park

Before a tourist participates in the activity they will have to first present their gorilla trekking permit for verification and after the verification procedure, they are assigned to a gorilla family to trek in the park. a briefing session is then carried out about the gorilla trekking activity in the parks where tourist are given the rules and regulations to follow, the guidelines among others.

After the briefing session, tourists will start hiking to the gorilla families and once they get to them, they are allowed to spend only one hour with them here, they can take pictures, observing their behavior, they can also ask more about the primates in order to have more details about the gentle giants and after the one hour, hey will descend back to the starting point in the park. Throughout their entire activity, tourists are accompanied by an armed ranger whose duty is to protect you from any attacks in the park making it a safe activity for you.

Gorilla trekking families in mgahinga national park

Currently Mgahinga National Park has only two habituated gorilla families that is Nyakagezi gorilla family and the newly migrated Hirwa gorilla family from Rwanda. Once you visit Mgahinga National park and participate in gorilla trekking, you will get to know more about the interesting features of the gorilla families.

When you get the chance to trek the Hirwa gorilla family, you will get to know that the gorilla family split from Susa gorilla family which is one of the famous Rwanda Gorilla Families in Volcanoes National Park. the reason why the group split was because of one of the silverbacks Munyiga who was mating with the females in the Susa Gorilla family which is a wrong move in gorillas reason being it is only the dominant silverback who has all the rights to mate with the adult females of a particular family. So after the event Munyiga together with some other members of the Susa gorilla family and Sabyinyo gorilla family, they split and formed their gorilla family.

Participate in gorilla trekking in mgahinga national park to see Munyiga and his new family and interesting about the gorilla families is the fact that it’s among the few gorilla families that gave birth to twins.

Nyakagezi gorilla family

Among the different Uganda gorilla families, the Nyakagezi gorilla family is the easiest gorilla family to hike. The gorilla family is headed by a silverback mark who is also helped by his assistant Mafia making it one of the organized gorilla families in Uganda whose members leave in harmony with one another.

The gorilla family has a number of black blacks but it has not prompted any power struggles making it as peaceful as the Amahoro gorilla family in volcanoes national park Rwanda. The gorilla has an interesting history of its young ones that is Fred a gorilla which was named after the veterinary officer who saved his life from a snare accident in the park which had caused a lot of bleeding.

On rare occasions, you can also see the Ugenda gorilla family from volcanoes national park which is a very mobile gorilla family that spends most of its time migrated to Mgahinga National Park from Volcanoes National Park and vice versa but it should be noted that because the group is always on the move it is difficult to trek in Mgahinga National Park, tourists can participate in gorilla trekking in volcanoes National park in order to see it.

Virunga Mountains

For tourists to access the different gorilla families in Mgahinga National Park, they have to first hike the virunga mountains reason being the gorillas are found in the bamboo trees of the mountains therefore for a tourist interested in the activity they have to be in perfect shape because the mountains can be tiresome to hike. The hike to the different gorilla families can be hard but at the same time rewarding because you will see exceptional views, see a number of primate species like the vervet monkey, Mona monkey, red tailed monkey, olive baboons among other primate species as you get close to the gentle giants which will be an amazing experience.

Gorilla trekking permit for Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park

For any tourist interested in participating in gorilla trekking, they should first obtain a gorilla trekking permit which is currently sold at a fee of 600USD only but will be increased to a price of 700USD on 1st July 2020. The gorilla trekking permit in Uganda can be obtained from a trusted tour operator or company in order for you not to miss out on the amazing activity.

Other attractions in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Primate species: During your hike to the different gorilla families in Mgahinga National Park you will come across a number of primate species that will be fascinating to see because of the playful nature. When you come across them, you can take pictures at no cost this is because your gorilla trekking permit allows you to pictures. Some of the primate species that can be seen include red tailed monkey, black and white colobus monkeys, Mona Monkey, Vervet Monkey, olive baboons and the red tailed monkeys among other primate species which will make your gorilla trekking experience in Uganda memorable.

Golden monkeys: Mgahinga national park is not only home to the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda but also home to the endangered golden monkeys that can also be seen during your gorilla trekking experience in the park. The golden monkeys are found in the bamboo trees where the gorillas can also be found therefore on your way to the gorillas, you can see the golden monkeys which will offer amazing experiences while in the park.

Bird and animal species: The park is not only home to the primates but also home to a number of bird species and animal species that can also be seen during the virunga mountains hike in the park which will offer the best gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park.

The bird species include; the dusky crimson wing, red-faced woodland warbler archer’s ground robin, African Rwenzori, long-crested eagle handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Batis, Dusky turtle love, paradise flycatcher, double collared sunbird, marsh harrier, Ruwenzori turaco, common moorhen Ruwenzori nightjar, grey throated tit, among other bird species, the animal species include; giant forest hog, bush pig, duikers, otter, sidetracked jackal and so on which will make your wildlife safaris in Mgahinga National park memorable.

Packing list for Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga National Park

Hiking shoes which will aid in hiking the steep slopes and slippery areas during your virunga mountains hike
Insect repellent to avoid insect bites that can cause diseases like malaria
Packed lunch because the activity of gorilla trekking can take about 8-9 hours which is a long time that can cause for you to feel hungry
Raincoat because the weather in the park can change at any time which can interfere with your gorilla trekking experience in the park.