3 Days Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Safari

Luxury/Mid-range Gorilla tracking and culture photographic Safari to Mgahinga gorilla national park.

Safari Highlights
Gorilla tracking, Batwa Culture encounter

Equipment to bring
Camera, Wide angle lens, 200+ mm lens, Tripod, Water proof protection for your equipment, spare batteries and a charger. Snap Uganda gives one set of complimentary photographic accessories that include a trip/nonopod, gimbal, cotton carrier and beanbag for each trip.

What to Bring for Gorilla Tracking?
Good walking boots, wet weather clothing and warm layers for the evenings – it gets cold and damp at this altitude. The sun is still fierce during the day – even when overcast – so be sure to still wear sunscreen and a sun hat. You may also want to bring waterproof bags to protect cameras and other equipment when hiking. Water and snacks will be provided.

Safari Summary
Day 1. Leave Kampala for Mgahinga National park
Day 2. Tracking Gorillas and Batwa culture encounter
Day 3. Drive back to Kampala.

About the park
Mgahinga Gorilla national park covers the Ugandan slopes of the Virunga volcanoes of Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabinyo. Though small in size, just 33.7-sqkm, it adjoins Volcanoes National park in Rwanda and Virunga National park in Congo and these three collectively form the Trans boundary Virunga Conservation Area (VCA) which protects half of the world’s mountain gorillas. Read More »

Safari Overview
The 3 days Photographic safari will take you from Uganda’s capital (Kampala) to the smallest national park just 33.7 km2. The park in among the outline of the Virunga volcanoes with 3 volcanoes; Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabinyo and it adjoins Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National park in Congo. The 524km journey on the surfaced highway runs via Masaka, Mbarara and Kabale to Kisoro. The park is home to 76 mammal species including endangered mountain Gorillas and Golden Monkeys and has unique birdlife. The safari will give a chance to encounter the gorillas and the Batwa who have been in the park for generation and they demonstrate how they used to survive in the forest.

Detailed Programme

Day 1. Leave Kampala for Mgahinga National park.
You will be picked by our driver guide from you overstay hotel who will brief you about the trip and make sure you are set for the safari. Then you will drive to Mgahinga in south western Uganda via Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara and Kabale to Kisoro. You will have a stopover at the equator for the experience and then you will proceed and have lunch in Mbarara. After lunch, you embark on the journey to the highlands of Kigezi. Between Kabale and Kisoro is a winding drive through the hilly terrain dotted with beautiful terraces.

Meal Plan (L, D)
Accommodation: Up market – Gahinga Lodge
Midrange – Lake Chahafi Lodge

Day 2. Tracking Gorillas and Batwa culture encounter
After an early breakfast, our driver will drive you to Mgahinga National Park headquarters arriving in time for briefing about the dos and don’ts of gorilla tracking. You will then be led to the forest to search for the mountain gorillas following a trail of trampled and snapped vegetation across the mountain to spend an hour in the company of the mountain giants.

It takes 3-4 hours. After tracking, you will have lunch and after lunch visit the Batwa who will demonstrate the techniques of hunting, gathering honey and medicinal plants. They will also demonstrate how to make bamboo cups. Guests are invited to the sacred Garama Cave, once a refuge for the Batwa, where the women of the community perform a sorrowful song which echoes eerily around the depths of the dark cave, and leaves guests with a moving sense of the richness of this fading culture. Meal Plan (B, L, D)

Accommodation:
Up market – Gahinga Lodge
Midrange – Lake Chahafi Lodge

Day 3. Drive back to Kampala.
After breakfast, you will set of for Kampala and have lunch en route. Our driver guide will drop you at your hotel or airport if you have a late evening flight.

Meal Plan (B, L)

Tour Prices
This is a private Photographic Safari and can be booked by an individual or a group of a maximum of 4 people per vehicle.

Cost Includes