Luxury safaris to Mgahinga national park
Luxury safaris to Mgahinga national park: Mgahinga national park is one of the national parks that Uganda has. The national park was gazetted in 1991 to protect the vegetation, mountain gorillas, and a number of wildlife species. The national park is allocated in the southwestern part of Uganda and it’s famous for the endangered mountain gorillas. The 33.9 sq. km of land protects over 100 mountain gorillas which are not so easy to find in many national parks of the world.
Luxury safaris to Mgahinga national park are usually organized for tourists who love to travel a luxury style, sleep in luxury accommodation facilities and be part of activities of their choice. This article is going to help you know different things about luxury safaris in Mgahinga national park. Using air transport or even road transport, you will be able to get to Mgahinga national park and have your luxury gorilla trekking safari.
Mgahinga national park is one of the two places in Uganda where mountain gorilla trekking does take place. The other area is Bwindi impenetrable forest national park located not so far from Mgahinga national park. Gorilla trekking is the main activity carried out in these two national parks however more luxury activities can be carried out there since they are homes to different wildlife species.
Activities to do on your luxury safari in Mgahinga national park
Mountain gorilla trekking
This is the most done activity in Mgahinga national park and it’s every person’s dream come true. Mountain gorilla trekking is a major activity on anybody’s luxury safari in Mgahinga national park. Mgahinga national park is one of the areas where mountain gorillas can be found in the whole world. Only one mountain gorilla family is available in this park and a maximum of 8 people can trek it a day.
On the day of gorilla trekking, you will wake up very early and move to Ntebeko Visitors Centre by 7:30 am for a briefing about the activity. Ranger guides with firearms lead you into the jungle where you start searching for where the mountain gorillas could be. The search takes you through different trekking trails, and areas where they normally hang. It takes 2 to 7 hours to locate the mountain gorilla family and once you do 1 hour is given to be around the members which helps you to watch them do daily activities and take photos.
Bird watching Mgahinga
On a luxury safari in Mgahinga national park, bird lovers can participate in bird watching activities where they will encounter different bird species living in this area. Bird watching in Mgahinga national park is an activity that gives birders an opportunity to watch over 180 bird species that have been recorded within the park. If you have your luxury safari in the months between November and April, you will be able to encounter migratory birds.
Bird watching in a luxury safari in Mgahinga national park will give you an opportunity to watch bird species such as Rwenzori turaco, moorland chat, dusky turtle dove, blue-headed coucal, brown crowned tchagra, alpine chat, yellow vented bulbul, strange weaver, Kivu ground thrush, African paradise flycatcher, lagden’s bushshrike, montane double collared sunbird, grey capped warbler, regal sunbird, cinnamon bracken warbler, white starred robin, cinnamon bracken warbler, double colored sunbird, cinnamon chested bee-eater, red-billed fire finch, and strange weaver among others.
Batwa cultural experience
There are luxury travelers who love to explore the African culture therefore while on a luxury safari in Mgahinga national park one of the things to do is visit the Batwa people. The Batwa people used to live in Mgahinga before 1991 when the government evicted them to protect mountain gorillas and vegetation.
The Batwa decided to settle at the outskirts of Mgahinga national park and this is where tourists who would love to visit them meet them. A visit to the Batwa people will give you an opportunity to visit different homesteads among which include those of cattle keepers, winemakers, crafter makes, traditional healers, and much more. The Batwa visit will give you an opportunity to listen to stories of long ago where you will learn how they used to survive in the jungle.
Golden monkey trekking
Golden monkey trekking is only carried out in Mgahinga national park in the whole country. Luxury travelers who would wish to spend time with the golden monkeys have a chance to while on their luxury safari in the park. Golden monkeys are endangered species of primates that love to stay in the bamboo type of vegetation.
The golden monkey trekking activity is carried out like mountain gorilla trekking where a group of trekkers goes into the jungle with armed ranger guides. The search takes trekkers through different trails and bamboo areas where they like to stay. While on Golden monkey trekking, when the monkeys are spotted, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around the apes, watch them do daily activities, take photos, and much more.
When to have luxury safaris in Mgahinga national park
Travelers can have their luxury safaris in Mgahinga national park at any time of the year however some months are better than the rest. The dry season months are the best for luxury safaris in Mgahinga national park and they occur from June to September and December to February. They are good because they are characterized by little or no rainfall that keeps trekking trails dry and easier to navigate, vegetation is short and scattered with good views of wildlife, and roads leading to the park are in good condition.
Travelers can as well go for luxury safaris in Mgahinga park in the rainy season from March to May and October to November because the park is always open. Tourists should know that these months are full of plenty of rainfall which makes the trekking trails trials be muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall with unclear views of wildlife, and roads leading to the park are slippery. What might be good about the rainy season are the discounted accommodation facilities and the tour packages.
Accessing Mgahinga national park for luxury safaris
Accessing Mgahinga national park by air: Tourists visiting Mgahinga national park for luxury safaris have chartered flights they can use to the park. Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda have daily morning flights to Kisoro airstrip which is close to Mgahinga national park. The flights take 1 hour and 25 minutes to fly from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Kisoro airstrip. Here a safari driver guide transfers you to the park in less than 1 hour using good safari cars.
Luxury travelers who are okay with traveling for long distances can as well visit Mgahinga national park using road transport
Accessing Mgahinga national park by road transport, it’s takes 9 to 10 hours to move from Entebbe/Kampala via Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, and Kisoro to the park. Luxury travelers who will use road transport will get an opportunity to see different attractions along the way.