Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Uganda’s smallest national park is situated in Kisoro district in southwestern Uganda, bordering both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Click here to see mountain gorilla trekking safaris.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park was established in 1991 and now encompasses approximately 33.7 square kilometers of different vegetation series, such as montane forest, bamboo, montane woodland, and afro-montane. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park animals include mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, forest elephants, bushbucks, buffaloes, duikers, bush pigs, and big forest hogs. Click here to view our recommended mountain gorilla trekking tour.

Gorilla trekking is a major tourism activity in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, where visitors get a chance to trek on foot in the forest searching for habituated mountain gorilla families. Once gorillas are seen, travelers spend an hour with these mountain gorillas in their natural environment. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park houses one gorilla family.

Mountain gorilla trekking begins with an early morning briefing regarding the rules and regulations at Mgahinga Gorilla National Park headquarters. After the briefing, travelers are assigned a Uganda Wildlife Authority park guide who has experience with mountain gorillas, and then your trekking in the jungle while searching for mountain gorillas begins, which takes approximately 30 minutes to four hours depending on the location of gorillas. 

During your mountain gorilla trekking, you may be able to spot other primate species such as golden monkeys, mammal species such as giant forest hogs, bush pigs, forest elephants, buffaloes, bird species, plants, and tree species.

A mountain gorilla trekking permit in Mgahinga gorilla national park can be booked through the Uganda Wildlife Authority directly or through a trusted tour operator like Devine African Safaris. The Uganda Wildlife Authority issues permits for mountain gorilla trekking to anyone over the age of 15. You are kindly advised to book your gorilla trekking tour six months before your travel date.

Mountain gorilla is the most popular tourist activity in Mgahinga National Park. It involves travelers hiking into dense tropical forests searching for gorillas, and once located, tourists can only spend an hour with the gorillas in their natural environment. Mgahinga National Park protects one mountain gorilla family called Nyakagezi that is available for tracking every day.

Mountain gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park begins with a short morning briefing regarding dos and don’ts at Ntebeko, the park’s headquarters. After the briefing, trekking mountain gorillas in the jungle begins with an expert park guide and park rangers with different gorilla trekking trails.

Trekking mountain gorillas in Mgahinga gorilla national park may take between 30 minutes and 6 hours, depending on the location of the gorillas alongside other primate species such as chimpanzees, forest hogs, L'hoest, and black and white colobus monkeys.

Golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park

Golden monkey trekking is another exciting tourist activity to be done in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, like mountain gorilla trekking. Golden monkey trekking starts with a morning briefing about the rules and regulations. Then head to the forest with experienced park guides and rangers, searching for golden monkeys.

Golden monkey trekking takes tourists to the bamboo shoots, where they can easily spot other wildlife species such as primate species, tree species, bird species, and butterfly species. Once golden monkeys are found, tourists are only allowed to spend an hour with them in their natural habitat while taking pictures and observing them play or jump from one tree branch to another.

Volcano hiking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga gorilla national park protects three Virunga volcanoes: Mount Muhabura standing at 4127 m, which hiking takes about 8–10 hours round trip; Mount Gahinga standing at 3474 m, which hiking takes about 6–8 hours round trip; and Mount Sabinyo standing at 3669 m, hiking takes approximately 8–10 hours. During hiking the volcano, you can possibly see different wildlife species such as golden monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees, and many others.

Batwa Trail Experience in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

The Batwa pygmies trail experience is another interesting activity in Mgahinga gorilla national park. During the Batwa pygmies trail experience, tourists will go into the dense tropical forest where they used to live before they were relocated. They will discover how they used to contract grass-thatched houses, how they used to fetch water using bamboo cups, and the herbs that were used to treat different diseases.

Bird-watching in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga gorilla national park protects more than 180 species, including the 12 Albertine rift endemic, forest birds, and migratory birds. Bird watching in Mgahinga gorilla national park is normally done within the gorge between Mount Sabinyo and Mount Gahinga, where tourists are accompanied by expert guides. Mgahinga national park bird species include black-headed waxbill, red-faced woodland warbler, Kivu ground thrush, bronze sunbird, cape robin chat, blue-headed coucal, African paradise flycatcher, Rwenzori batis, black kite, olive woodpecker, and dusky turtle dove, among many more.

Mgahinga National Park can be visited all year round, but the best period to tour is during the dry months of June to September or from December to February. During those months, mountain gorilla trekking trails are dry and vegetation is thin, which makes viewing gorillas and other wildlife species so easy.