What are the attractions found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park?
What are Mgahinga Gorilla National Park’s attractions? Among the largest ecosystems is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Located in the Kisoro area of the southwest Ugandan province, the park is the country’s smallest; it is comparable to Rwanda’s Boarding Volcanoes National Park and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park.
The park is a part of the Virunga conservation area, which is around 434 square kilometers in size. It was designated as a national park in 1991 primarily to safeguard the amazing and valuable mountain gorillas that inhabit this region. The Nyakagezi gorilla family is the only habituated trans-boundary gorilla group in the park.
The 76 mammal species found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park include forest elephants, buffaloes, bushbucks, black-fronted duikers, gigantic forest hogs, golden cats, and over 184 bird species. Primate species include endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. The Batwa visit, which is an intriguing trip with a Batwa guide to discover the secrets of the forest, is another option for guests. The following are the attractions in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park listed in this guide:
Mountain gorillas
As one of the half-remaining national parks in the world, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is an ideal location for Uganda gorilla safaris. In addition to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Volcano National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are home to these fascinating primates.
Hiking the Virunga Mountains offers views of mountain gorillas that are totally unlike anything you would see in Mahinga Gorilla National Park. The only habituated gorilla family that is accessible for trekking each year under the supervision of knowledgeable guides is the Nyakagezi family. To see these fascinating mountain gorillas in a Mgahinga gorilla national park, one must obtain a current permit that allows them to hike these entertaining animals, which costs $800 per person.
Golden monkeys
These fascinating endangered golden monkeys can be found in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, one of the few national parks in East Africa. Since the golden monkeys eat on the lower slopes of the Virunga mountains, it is safe and simple to see them. Only found in Rwanda’s volcano national parks and the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park itself, these happy golden monkeys are incredibly special and affectionate primates distinguished by their stunning golden bodies.
Since all of the trips include going through the Virunga mountain jungle, Uganda gorilla tours might accompany trekking tours for golden monkeys. It’s fun to hike and follow these happy primates, and you can see the monkeys as they eat, groom, and swing from one baboon to another. Like any other activity done in the park, trekking is a wonderful and attractive activity that is always done in the morning.
Birds of mgahinga
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is renowned for its rolling woodland and birders’ paradise. More than 200 bird species, including those native to the Albertine Rift, can be found in the park. You will get a fantastic opportunity to see some of the various wildlife species, such as golden monkeys and gorillas, while on a birding safari in the park. The park has a diverse population and is a great place to go bird watching.
A variety of bird species, including the double-collared sunbird, grey-capped warbler, dusky crimsonwing, white-necked raven, firefinch stonechat, olive woodpecker, 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, Cape Robin-chat, and others will astound you.
Animals
The mountain gorillas, who are the park’s most well-known residents, have succeeded in making Mgahinga Gorilla National Park the most sought-after national park in the world, drawing a large number of visitors.
Along with the national park’s forest, the park is home to more than 79 mammal species, including the unique and endangered golden monkeys that are only found in the Virunga Mountains. Duikers, warthogs, bushbucks, gigantic forest hogs, leopards, bush pigs, forest elephants, forest buffaloes, and various primates are among the other creatures.
Volcanoes of the Virunga
Of the eight volcano peaks in the Virunga mountains, three are located in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. like Mount Mubabura, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Sabyinyo. The ideal destination for hikers on a Ugandan hiking safari is the Virunga volcano, which has three difficult peaks to climb.
Caverns
A Uganda safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park must take advantage of the stunning caverns located on one of the high mountain sides. Lava tunnels created these caves. Garama Cave, one of the most well-known caverns, is situated in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park around 4 kilometers from the Ntebeko Visitors Center.
The native Batwa hunters and gatherers, who were forced to leave their ancestral forest in 1991, find the 200-meter-long cave frightening. Fortunately, they are now permitted to serve as guides and have made a living from tourism. The shortest people in the world, the Batwa guides, are referred to as pygmies by tourists.
You can learn from their explanations and see examples of their former forest customs, such as hunting techniques, the usage of natural medicines, gathering water from bamboo shoots, tree climbing, smoking house pipes, and evolution technologies, while strolling along the Batwa trail.
The Batwa Pygmy people
The Batwa Hunter is one of the other tourist attractions in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which makes it a popular place to visit when on a safari in Uganda. However, visitors may be drawn to the park primarily to see the mountain gorilla in Uganda. The Batwa, also referred to as the Pygmies, are hunter-gatherers who have spent a millennium residing in the nearby rainforest and Mgahinga Forest.
This indigenous population lived in a normal hunter-gatherer lifestyle, with women gathering wild honey and berries and males using rudimentary bows and arrows to capture birds, monkeys, tiny antelopes, and bushbucks. It is one of the things that draws so many visitors to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park because of all these incredible activities.