Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the famous destinations in Uganda is highly known for gorilla trekking safaris in Africa. The park is located in south western Uganda in kisoro district and it’s dominated by tropical forest that has very many tree species that favors the survival of the endangered mountain gorillas in this park.
Uganda is well known all over the world as the best destination of gorilla trekking safari experience among the three countries in Africa that harbors the mountain gorillas due to the fact that it is home to half of the remaining mountain gorilla population. According the world statics there are about 880 mountain gorilla populations remaining in the world and Uganda harbors about 440 mountain gorilla populations.
There are two national parks in Uganda where you can find the mountain gorillas, such as Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park. Bwindi forest harbors 400 mountain gorilla populations whereas Mgahinga gorilla national park is a home to 80 mountain gorilla populations.
Uganda has about 18 habituated mountain gorilla families that are open and ready for tourism and Bwindi forest is a home to 17 gorilla families that are found in the different sectors of the park while as Mgahinga gorilla national park is home to only one famous mountain gorilla family.
Although Bwindi forest is the best and famous destination for gorilla trekking experience in Uganda, Mgahinga gorilla national park is also highly visited and considered for the gorilla trekking safaris due to its uniqueness while trekking the mountain gorillas compared to another national and trekking in the park really s0 incredible that it will give you exciting memories about the pearl of Africa.
Gorilla trekking experience in Mgahinga national park
Mgahinga national park is situated on a total land area of 33.7 kilometers and it is highly dominated by the tropical rainforest that has got bamboo tree species which is a conducive environment for survival the mountain gorilla in terms of shelter and food since the endangered mountain gorilla relatives to human being are vegetarians in nature.
Mgahinga national park contributes to the mountain gorilla population remaining in the world with a total population of approximately 80 mountain gorillas. The park is home to only one habituated mountain gorilla family that is open for tourism throughout the year. The habituated gorilla family in Mgahinga national park is called Nyakegyezi that has about 9 individuals which include two juveniles, three adult females, two infants as well as two silverback gorilla, the family is so amazing when met that it will give you extraordinally magical moments and experiences in the jungle as you will enjoy taking photos and videos with this lovely family of Nyakegyezi family.
To access the mountain gorillas in Mgahinga national park all travelers need to have a gorilla trekking permit before travelling to the park. The gorilla trekking permits for Mgahinga gorilla national park are sold at the Uganda wildlife authority headquarters only which is the governmental body that is in charge of tourism and protected areas. gorilla trekking permits for Mgahinga gorilla national park get sold out very fast and they are on a very high demand due to the fact the park has only one habituated gorilla family and the Uganda wildlife authority issues out only 8 gorilla trekking permits in day following the conservation rules where only a maximum of 8 people are allowed to meet with a gorilla family per day.
Therefore due to high demand of the gorilla trekking permits in Mgahinga national park, we advise travelers to book in advance their gorilla trekking permit at least 6 months advance prior to the date of travel with a Uganda gorilla safaris expert such as Adventure in the wild safaris or travelers can book directly with the Uganda wildlife authority reservation offices although booking directly involves some hassles and it is expensive in a long run that is why we advise travelers to get genuine tour operators to easily assist them with permit booking as well as arranging the entire gorilla safari to Mgahinga national park. When travelers book their gorilla trekking safaris with the a tour operator is affordable and helps them to save some dollars on the trip and it can reduce the inconveniences that might be occur when they book directly with the Uganda wildlife authority since it involves some kindle of proceed until the permit is issued out of which this can easy on the side of tour operators since they have been in the system for some good time.
The Uganda wildlife authority charges 600 USD per person for the gorilla trekking permits of the Mgahinga national park however by 1st June 2020, the gorilla trekking permit will be costing 700 USD per person due to need to standardize the consumption environment of the gorilla trekking experiences in the jungle as well as intentions of achieving the sustainable gorilla tourism goals. This involves the mechanism where gorilla permits can be purchased online than before where one ought to walk to the Uganda wildlife authority offices in Kampala to purchase a permit among others.
Best time to go gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park
Best to enjoy gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park is during the dry season when the trekking trails is not muddy and slippery, when roads leading to Mgahinga national park are accessible and passable as in, they are not wet and muddy thus safari cars can move through them smoothly, when there is little rain expected to inconvenience the trekking adventure to find the Nyakegyezi family where you will be allowed to spend only one hour with the family.
The dry season is during the months of mid-December to full end of February, from June to mid-October and it is this season that there are many travelers coming to Africa to enjoy gorilla tourism in Uganda thus it is referred to as the peak or high season.
However the best time to gorilla trekking is during the rainy season when there are few travelers in demand for the gorilla trekking adventure thus the lodges are not crowed. During the rainy season, this is a low season where lodges offer discounted rates for their accommodation rooms to all travelers that are willing to book with them especially group travelers. This is also common with the tour operators they usually have discounted offers for gorilla trekking safaris to all travelers that book with them. There for travelers who don’t have enough money to enjoy the gorilla trekking experience in the peak season, then the low season has got you a great opportunity so that you don’t miss out on the life time adventure experience in Mgahinga jungle. However despite the low season there are no cheap or discounted gorilla trekking permits, the price remains the same and fixed. This should be noted by all travelers whether budget traveler or luxury traveler to avoid being cheated nada los to plan accordingly.
Where to stay while trekking mountain gorillas in Mgahinga national park
There is a wide range of accommodation facilities that travelers can use while on their gorilla trekking safari to Mgahinga national, some are with in the park others are near the park in kisoro, in Ntebeko, and Lake Mutanda. These range from budget facilities, mid-range and luxury facilities which can be booked accordingly to travelers need and interest while his/her safari. The accommodation lodges include, river Mucha Hotel, cloud Mountain Mgahinga Lodge, Mahabura motel, mount Gahinga lodge, Nkuringo safari lodge, Virunga campsite and backpackers, Lake Mutanda chameleon hill lodge, traveler’s rest Hotel in kisoro among other accommodation facilities.
How to get to Mgahinga gorilla national park?
Mgahinga gorilla national park is located in south western region of Uganda in kisoro district; the park can be reached by both road transport and air transport.
On road transport, it will take travelers about 10 hours covering a distance of about 554 kilometers from Kampala to reach Mgahinga gorilla national park using a 4×4 safari vehicle.
When travelers opt for air transport, there are several airlines in kajjansi airstrip that operate scheduled safaris to various destinations in Uganda. An aircraft give a flight from kajjansi airstrip and it will land in kisoro airstrip then connect to Mgahinga gorilla national park, the flight to kisoro will take only one hour then you will be driven a few minute to reach in the park.
For more information regarding gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park please contact adventure in the wild safaris which is one of the leading gorilla safari company in Uganda and you won’t regret the incredible and awesome experience of your lifetime trip.
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