What are the attractions found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park?

What are the attractions found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park? Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is part of the largest ecosystem. The park is Uganda’s smallest national park, located in the southwest province of Uganda in Kisoro district; boarding volcanoes national park in Rwanda; and Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The park is part of the Virunga conservation area, which covers an area of about 434 square kilometers and was gazetted as a national park in 1991 mainly to protect the world’s prized and fascinating mountain gorillas. The park has only one habituated trans-boundary gorilla group known as the Nyakagezi gorilla family. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to 76 mammal species, including forest elephants, buffaloes, bushbucks, black-fronted duikers, giant forest hogs, golden cats, primate species like endangered mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, and over 184 bird species. The visitors can also enjoy the Batwa visit, which is a fascinating tour with the Batwa guide to learn the secrets of the forest. This guide provides the attractions found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, as follows:

Mountain gorillas

Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the world’s half-remaining national parks, making it a perfect destination where you can carry out Uganda gorilla safaris. Besides mountain gorillas in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, these captivating primates can also be seen in Volcano National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountain gorillas in Mahinga gorilla national park are quite unmatched by what you will get to see when hiking the Virunga Mountains. The Nyakagezi gorilla family is the only habituated gorilla family available for trekking annually under the guidance of experienced guides. Encountering these captivating mountain gorillas in a Mgahinga gorilla national park requires one to have a valid permit that authorizes them to trek these playful creatures at a cost of $800 per person.

Golden monkeys

The Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the remaining national parks in East Africa, where these captivating endangered golden monkeys are found. Seeing them is safe and easy since the golden monkeys’ feed on the lower slopes of the Virunga mountains. These joyful golden monkeys are very unique and loving primates characterized by having a magnificent golden body only found in volcanoes national parks in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park itself. Uganda golden monkey trekking tours can be joined by Uganda gorilla tours since they all involve walking along the jungles of the Virunga mountains. Hiking and tracking these joyful primates are interesting, and you will have a chance to see the monkeys feed, groom, and swing from one baboon to another. Trekking is an amazing and nice-looking activity always done in the morning, just like any other activity carried out in the park.

Birds

Mgahinga gorilla national park is known as the birders haven and rolling forest. The park inhabits over 200 species of birds, including those endemic to the Albertine rift. During a birding safari in the park, you will have a great chance to spot some of the different wildlife species, including gorillas and golden monkeys. The park is an excellent birding destination with a variety of inhabitants. You will be amazed by different bird species such as double-collared sunbirds, grey-capped warblers, dusky crimsonwings, white-necked ravens, firefinch stonechats, olive woodpeckers, speckled mousebirds, waxbills, crowned hornbills, yellow-vented Bulbul, Paradise Flycatchers, Ibis, Rwenzori Turaco, Rwenzori batis, Kivu ground-thrush, olive pigeon, Rwenzori nightjars, yellow-billed kites, dusky turtle doves, Rwenzori batis, Cape Robin-chat, among others.

Mammals

The famous inhabitants of Mgahinga gorilla national park are the mountain gorillas, who have successfully placed Mgahinga gorilla national park as the world’s prized national park to be explored by many tourists. The park also harbors over 79 mammal species, including the exceptional and rare endangered golden monkeys only found in Virunga’s Mountains, as well as the national park’s forest. Other animals include forest elephants, forest buffaloes, leopards, bush pigs, giant forest hogs, duikers, warthogs, bushbucks, and several primates.

Virunga volcanoes

Mgahinga gorilla national park is home to three of the eight volcano peaks in the Virunga ranges. Such as Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Mubabura. Virunga volcano offers three challenging peaks to climb as the best attraction for hikers on a Uganda hiking safari.

Caves

One of the steep mountain slopes contains beautiful caves that need to be exploited while on a Uganda safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These caves are formed by lava tubes. One of the most famous caves is Garama Cave, located about 4 kilometers from the Ntebeko Visitors Center in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The 200-meter-long cave is a scary place for the indigenous Batwa hunters and gatherers who were evicted from their ancestral forest in 1991 but, fortunately, are now allowed as guides and have earned themselves income from tourism. Tourists encounter the Batwa guides, known as the pygmies, the shortest people in the world. While walking along the Batwa trail, you will learn from their explanations and showcase their former forest traditions, including hunting skills, herbal medicine administration, water collection from bamboo shoots, tree climbing, house pipe smoking, and evolution technology, among others.

Batwa pygmy people

Visitors could be attracted to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park to see the mountain gorilla in Uganda, but the Batwa Hunter is one of the other tourist attractions in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which makes it a popular destination to travel to while on a Uganda safari. The Batwa, known as the pygmies, are hunter-gatherer people who have lived in Mgahinga Forest and the neighboring rainforest for a thousand years. This indigenous group of people lived in a typical hunter-gatherer culture; their men used simple bows and arrows to catch birds, monkeys, small antelopes, and bushbucks, while women foraged for wild honey and berries. All these amazing activities make it one of the attractions attracting a huge number of tourists to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.