Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga National Park, the most scenic park with panoramic view stretching to Bwindi, is situated in the far southwestern corner of Uganda. It covers 34 sq. km, but the tropical rainforest cloaking the volcanoes is another mountain gorilla habitat. The park is contiguous with the park the Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda, and the Parc National des Virungas in Congo (Zaire). Together, the three parks form the Virunga Conservation Area which covers 420 sq km, and is home to half of the world’s mountain gorilla population of about 700 animals - or all of them if those found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are definitely classified as a sub-species.
At Mgahinga, a group of gorillas has been habituated to visitors, with 11 individuals, including 2 silverbacks. Three volcanoes loom large over the headquarters: Mhavura, Gahinga and Sabinyo. Mhavura has a crater lake at its summit and is the highest point in the park, at 4,127m. The park headquarters is about 12 km from Kisoro at Ntebeko Camp.
Mgahinga accommodates 76 mammal species, including mountain gorillas, leopards, elephant, Giant forest hog, bushpig, bushbuck, buffalo, the golden-monkey (a localised and distinctive race of the blue monkey), black- and- white colobus, black-fronted duiker, and a variety of rodents, bats and predators.
Birding in the Mgahinga
Although scenically rewarding, it is not necessary to climb to the tops of the volcanoes to see the specialties of the park. Most of the avian attractions may be found on the magnificent Gorge Trail, which loops half way up Mt. Sabinyo, traverses a variety of montane habitats and takes 3-4 hours to complete. Birds recorded in this place are about 117 species. Some of these include handsome Francolin, Dusky Turtle Dove, White-tailed Blue fly-catcher, Malachite sunbird, Montane Double-collared sunbird, Kivu Ground Thrush, Alpine Chat, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Black-headed Waxbill and Streaky Seedeater, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Bronze Sunbird and White-starred Robin among others.
Activities in Mgahinga
- Gorilla tracking
- Mountain hikes
- Nature walks
