Visiting Mgahinga national park in the dry season
Visiting Mgahinga national park in the dry season: Mgahinga national park is so amazing that a lot of people plan to go there any time soon. As you plan to visit Mgahinga national park, it’s better to know the season you are visiting the park. There is the rainy season happening from March to May and October to November and there is the dry season from June to September and December to February.
In today’s article, we are focusing on the dry season from June to September and December to February. Before going any further, we need to let you know that the dry season has been proven to be the best for visiting Mgahinga national park because of the so many advantages that come along with it.
Mgahinga national park can be visited all throughout the year just that we are focusing on the dry season alone this time. The dry season has so many advantages and disadvantages attached to it with the good ones being many. The dry season is characterized by little rainfall, thin vegetation cover, and an easy drive to the park. We are going to explain all these below.
Benefits of visiting Mgahinga national park in the dry season.
Tourists who visit Mgahinga Gorilla national park during the dry season find little and sometimes no rainfall. The dry season has more sunshine than rainfall and this keeps Mountain gorilla trekking trails very dry. Trekking becomes easier when the trails are easier to navigate and in case the animals you are looking for are near the starting points, the activity will take a shorter time.
The vegetation is short and scattered during the dry season in Mgahinga Gorilla national park. Vegetation is dried up by too much sunshine within the park and its growth rate is slowed down by the little rainfall received in the park. When the vegetation is scattered and short, tourists do get good views of attractions and clear photography as well as videos.
The roads getting to Mgahinga Gorilla national park during the dry season are in good condition. These roads to Mgahinga national park are in well constructed especially the main one from Kampala up to Kisoro. From Kisoro to the park, it’s a murram road but apart from it being dusty, it’s easily passable because it’s not slippery at all. Tourists traveling to Mgahinga will get there in time whether they use road transport from Kampala or fly to Kisoro where they connect to the park.
Disadvantages of visiting Mgahinga national park in the dry season
There are not so many disadvantages that come with visiting Mgahinga Gorilla national park during the dry season. One of the disadvantages is that the price of accommodation facilities is high. Lodges never give discounts during the dry season because there are so many people in the park fighting for the best lodges.
There is stiff competition for gorilla permits and golden monkey permits in Mgahinga Gorilla national park during the dry season. There are so many people that visit Mgahinga national park during the dry season and this brings scarcity of permits. It’s from here that we normally advise our clients to do early permit bookings in order to avoid last-minute booking disappointments.
Activities best done in Mgahinga national park during the dry season
Mountain gorilla trekking
Mountain gorilla trekking Mgahinga is best done during the dry season in Mgahinga national park. The experience is much more fun during the dry season because the park is receiving little or no rainfall. When there is little rainfall and a lot of sunshine, the trekking trails tend to be dry and easier to navigate. Locating the mountain gorillas during the dry season takes fewer hours when they are not so far from the starting points because walking is easy.
Mountain gorilla trekking Mgahinga starts in the morning at Ntebeko visitors center with a briefing about the rules and regulations of the activity. Ranger guides with firearms do lead trekkers into the jungle where they start searching for the apes. Because the vegetation is short and scattered, trekkers are able to see different wildlife. When mountain gorillas are spotted, 1 hour is given to trekkers to be around the apes, and watch them do daily activities.
Golden monkey trekking
Golden monkey trekking is another activity best done in Mgahinga national park during the dry season. Golden monkey trekking is carried in the thick bamboo and afro montane vegetation of Mgahinga national park. During the dry season, the vegetation within the park is dried up by too much sunshine which makes it short and scattered giving clear views of the monkeys.
Golden monkey trekking during the dry season takes you into the jungle that has dry vegetation cover and trekking trails. Trekkers do get out of the jungle not as wet and dirty as it is during the rainy season because plants and trails are dry. Searching for golden monkeys goes for 2 to 4 hours and when spotted, trekkers get 1 hour to be around members which enables them to do daily activities.
Hiking
Hiking any of the Virunga mountains of Mgahinga national park is best done in the dry season simply because the hiking trails are dry and easier to navigate. There are three mountains in Mgahinga national park available for hiking and these are Sabyinyo. Gahinga and Muhabura. Tourists that want to carry out hiking activities on a safari to Mgahinga national park should better visit during the dry season.
