Accessing Mgahinga national park by road
Accessing Mgahinga national park by road: Although located in the extreme southwestern corner of Uganda, Mgahinga national park is easily accessible. Situated very far in the southwestern part of Uganda, the road transport route is fairly easy to access the park.
A lot of travelers start their safari to Mgahinga national park from Entebbe/Kampala while others start from Kigali. From Entebbe/Kampala to Mgahinga national park is 9 to 10 hours while Kigali to Mgahinga national park in Uganda is 4 to 5 hours. Road transport is the most popular way to travel to Mgahinga national park because it’s very affordable.
Accessing Mgahinga national park by road
It’s possible to book a good safari vehicle to transport you from Entebbe/Kampala or Kigali to Mgahinga national park. It’s also possible to book a road trip to Mgahinga national park and at the end of the safari, you fly back to Entebbe or Kampala.
On your safari to Mgahinga national park using road transport, you need to know that it takes 9 to 10 hours traveling so there is an overnight stay at any of the accommodation facilities before taking part in any tourism activity. The safari activities such as gorilla trekking normally start the morning of the following day.
Mgahinga national park has the main entry at Ntebeko Visitors Centre. The main entrance has got a briefing point as well where activities such as gorilla trekking do start from. Tourists who are visiting Mgahinga national park for gorilla trekking don’t pay the park entrance fee to enter as it comes on the gorilla permit fees.
From Kampala/Entebbe to Mgahinga national park, you go through districts like Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, and Kisoro. On your way to Mgahinga national park, you will have stopover for relaxation, sightseeing, and even lunch. The first stopover can be at Mpambire village where drums are made. Those that want drums can always purchase them here.
Another stopover on this highway is at Kayabwe which is in Mpigi district. The equator being the line that dives the world into two equal hemispheres tourists like to stop here. At the equator, tourists get an opportunity to stand in two hemispheres at the same time. There are craft shops at the equator and tourists who want African crafts can always purchase them here.
From the equator, tourists will see different attractions along the way among which include farms of rice, sweet potatoes, cassava, and much more. You will go through different towns along the road and when you get to Masaka you will go through the Lwera wetland and also pass over River Katonga that passeds through Masaka district.
In Mbarara city, you can pass via Igongo Cultural Centre for lunch. If you are interested in the history and culture of Ankole you can visit the Museum (Ekijukiro). From Igongo Culture Centre there is no other stopover you will drive up to the park. Kisoro and Kabale being hilly areas you have stunning views of the hilling and the well-terraced gardens.
From Kampala/Entebbe to Kisoro airstrip the roads are well contrasted since they are connecting points used by a lot of people even those that are not travelers. However, as you branch off from Kisoro the Mgahinga Gorilla park, expect to use marram road. In the dry season, it’s passable but it’s slippery and during the rainy season it’s muddy and slippery which increases the time taken to access the park.
Mgahinga national park is not accessed by road transport only. It can be accessed using air transport which takes even lesser hours. By air transport, luxury travelers or those that hate traveling for long distances access Mgahinga Gorilla park by flying to Kisoro airstrip. There are daily flights to Kisoro airstrip by Bar Aviation Uganda, Aerolink Uganda, and other airline companies.
To fly to Mgahinga Gorilla park one needs to do an advance booking of the seats in any of the airline companies with chartered flights in the country. A local tour operator is always there to help with the booking as they have direct contact with the people working with the airline companies. You will be asked for your personal details to be included on your flight ticket.
On the day of your flight, you will have to keep time and since all flights are very early in the morning it’s better you sleep in Entebbe or nearby areas. Flights to Kisoro airstrip start from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe international airport and land at Kisoro airstrip. From Kisoro airstrip you are driven to the park using road transport but this is for a few hours.
