Double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park
Double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park: Mgahinga national park is located in southwestern Uganda near Rwanda and DR Congo borders. The national park is one of the two that harbors mountain gorillas said to be endangered according to the IUCN. Mgahinga national park was gazetted in 1991 to protect the mountain gorillas, vegetation, and other wildlife species which were living in the park.
Mgahinga national park is the smallest national park of all national parks that harbor mountain gorillas as it harbors 33.9sq.km. The national park as small as it is harbors over 100 mountain gorillas that keep roaming in the small protected area day by day. of the few mountain gorillas surviving here some have been habituated and used to human presence around them.
Nyakagezi is the only mountain gorilla family which has been habituated here since the time of gazetting the national park. Nyakagezi mountain gorilla family started its habituation in 1991 and by 1993 it was already open for trekking activities. Till np wots the only fully habituated mountain gorilla family in Mgahinga and its one for trekking each day.
A maximum of 8 people does trek Nyakagezi mountain gorilla family every day. This means that a tourist who would love to trek twice will need to choose two days and visit the same gorilla family. Two treks give out different experiences because a traveler does get enough time to be with the mountain gorilla family.
Double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla park means two hours around the gorilla family and it also comes with chances of meeting different wild species within the park. The more a tourist stays with a mountain gorilla family the more they study their behaviors, the more the photography, and the more the videos.
How is double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park like?
Double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park means trekking the same mountain gorilla family twice. Tourists must know that only one mountain gorilla family is fully habituated in Mgahinga gorilla park therefore it’s the same gorilla family trekked twice. Trekking Nyakagezi mountain gorilla family twice is done on different days because the family is trekked once.
Tourists will need a 4 days safari or more if they want to double trek Nyakagezi mountain gorilla family. The first day is for getting to the park, the second day is for first gorilla trekking and one will need to choose themselves when to go for the second gorilla trekking again based on their fitness as well as the number of days they have on the safari.
Asking yourself why some people would double trek Nyakagezi gorilla family well there are a lot of answers. Tourists who double trek a mountain gorilla family in Mgahinga gorilla park get enough time to be around the members which helps them to learn a lot of things about their behaviors. Tourists do get an opportunity of watching the mountain gorillas carry out their day to day activities and in the two treks one is able to watch as many activities as possible.
Double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park also comes with enough time for photography or videos. A trekker might decide to use the first gorilla trekking for studying about mountain gorillas and watching them do daily activities while the second trekking can be used to photography and recording.
What to pack for double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park
To have the best of double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park, you need to have packed the right essentials enough for all the two days you will trek. Things that you should pack for your double gorilla trekking safari in Mgahinga national park include long cotton stocks, waterproof hiking shoes, a pair of gaiters, long-sleeved shorts, long-sleeved shirts, a rain jacket, a hat, a sweater, a pair of binoculars, a camera, a light backpack, sunscreen, insect repellents, drinking water bottle, and energy giving snacks among others.
How much would a double gorilla cost in Mgahinga national park?
For anybody to carry out double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park, they need two gorilla trekking permits. Tourists should know that a gorilla trekking permit is used once therefore when booing they should purchase two permits. A single gorilla trekking permit costs $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of East Africa member states. Tourists who want to do double gorilla trekking will pay twice the money based on their category.
When to do double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park?
Double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga national park can be done at any time of the year however certain months are better than the rest. The dry season months are the best to have double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga because they are characterized by little or no rainfall. The trekking trails are dry, vegetation is short with very good views of wildlife, and roads leading to the park are passable.
Tourists can still do double gorilla trekking in Mgahinga gorilla park during the rainy season which is from March to May and October to November because the park is always open. The rainy season is not the best for double gorilla trekking because the trekking trails are muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of wildlife while marram roads leading to the park are impassable.
Getting to Mgahinga national park
Tourists visiting Mgahinga national park for double gorilla trekking can access the park using road transport or air transport. The national park can be accessed using road transport from either Kigali or Entebbe. From Kigali to Mgahinga national park tourists do drive through Cyanika border and then Kisoro to the park and from Entebbe tourists drive via Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Kisoro to the park.
By air transport, luxury travelers and those that hate the long journey can fly to Kisoro airstrip and visit Mgahinga national park. There are airline companies like Bar Aviation Uganda and Aerolink Uganda that have flights to Mgahinga national park. There are daily flights at Kajjansi airstrip and Entebbe international airport taking 1 hour and 25 minutes to get to Kisoro airstrip.
