MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Gorilla Trekking, Golden Monkey, Birding, Community, Culture & Batwa People

Mgahinga is a part of a larger ecosystem, the Virunga Conservation Area (434sq. km) which includes two adjacent parks in Rwanda and Congo. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park sits high in the clouds, at an altitude of between 2,227m and 4,127m. It was formed to protect the rare Mountain Gorillas that inhabit dense forests, and it is also an important habitat for the endangered Golden monkey. Its most striking features are its three conical, extinct volcanoes, part of the spectacular virunga ranges that lie along the border region of Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda. Mgahinga forms part of the much larger Virunga Conservation Area which includes the adjacent parks in these countries.
The park offers a soothing aura of majesty with cool temperatures owing to the mountainous nature of the park. It’s a home to part of 300 gorillas located in the Virungs massif. It is indeed where gold meets silver where gorillas are house with the same habitat of the golden monkeys. The cultural heritage featuring folklore and traditional healing practices for local people covers the north slopes of the three northern Virunga volcanoes-Muhavura, Gahinga and sabinyo.

The park derives its name from “Gahinga” a Kinyarwanda word for a pile of volcanic lava stone heaps around which cultivation is carried out. On the other hand, Muhavura means “guide” as you can see it from many directions while Sabinyo means the “Old Man’s Teeth”. It is bordered to the south by Rwanda and to West by DR Congo.

While Sabinyo is deeply eroded with jagged crown and deep gorges and ravines, Gahinga has a swamp filled- crater about 180m wide and Muhavura has a small crater lake about 36m wide at its summit. While at the top of Sabinyo, you get to be set foot in all the three countries of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo at the same time. Its view of the Volcanoes and gorges with the cool breeze of freshness is unrivaled. On some of the steep mountain slopes are caves formed by lava tubes, one of them being the famous Garama cave located near Ntebeko, The park headquarters.

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