Are Gorilla Sightings in Mgahinga Guaranteed?

Are Sightings of Gorillas in Mgahinga Guaranteed? Mgahinga National Park is one of the two destinations in Uganda known for the gorilla trekking experience, located in the western part of Uganda in the Kisoro district. This park is the smallest compared to other parks in Uganda, such as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, covering about 33.7 sq. km of tropical woodland and bamboo vegetation cover. This park is one of the remaining few homes in the world where the endangered mountain gorillas reside. It’s home to several gorilla individuals, with one habituated mountain gorilla family open for trekking.

Are gorilla sightings in Mgahinga National Park guaranteed?

Several travellers planning to go gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park always ask about whether the mountain gorilla sightings are guaranteed! Well, they are very right because they want to attain that value for their money and time. Well, this could be because a lot of writers in their publications and articles have shown the world that Mgahinga National Park has the least population of these endangered primate species.
To consider the question asked, “Are sightings of mountain gorillas guaranteed in Mgahinga National Park?” Well, the answer is yes; per the park records, the park hasn’t registered any visitor cases claiming to have missed seeing these endangered species. Therefore, this means that there is more than an 85% chance of seeing mountain gorillas in their wilderness.

Being a small national park, therefore, mountain gorillas tend to rotate around a small piece of land every day, and secondly, because of their numbers, there is little competition for food. This helps to control their movement since food is enough for them to keep within the park all year round. Somewhere you will get to realise that these chimpanzees used to roam to the neighboring countries, but this habit stopped and is no more because the authority measures enabled them to settle in Mgahinga comfortably.

On the trekking day, visitors always arrive at the park information centre for a briefing about the rules and regulations concerning the activity. Visitors are accompanied by experienced ranger guides who will lead the team into the jungle in search of mountain gorillas. This search will take from 45 minutes to 5 hours, and upon seeing them, visitors spend a maximum of an hour studying their day-to-day activities, such as feeding, nurturing, leadership, carrying their babies, and playing, among others.

By whatever means, it’s really hard for visitors to miss out on seeing these endangered mountain gorillas in Mgahinga National Park, and this is because the Uganda Wildlife Authority employed several armed ranger guides to monitor the activities of these mountain gorillas. For instance, there is a group of trackers that goes into the jungle before anyone else to check and see where these apes slept the previous night. They always use radio callers to communicate with rangers about the location of these gentle giants.

Considering the question, are gorilla sightings in Mgahinga guaranteed? All travellers planning to visit mountain gorillas in the lush jungle of Mgahinga National Park should keep in mind that they must see mountain gorillas in Mgahinga National Park during their visit for the gorilla trekking experience. Remember, the park has only one mountain gorilla family that is monitored all day by the park’s armed ranger guides. Trackers within the park will always coordinate with the armed rangers about the location of the mountain gorilla family early in the morning. More still, they know which trails to use and where to find these gentle giants.

Gorilla Trekking Activity in Mgahinga National Park

The gorilla trekking in Mgahinga begins early at 7:30 am at the park information and briefing center at Ntebeko. Visitors are expected to be at this place on time for a briefing about the gorilla trekking experience in order to learn about the rules and regulations of the activity and the visitors’ expectations. A group of 8 people is allowed to track these mountain gorillas per session, and these members are led by armed ranger guides after the briefing session. This is done so because the armed ranger guides lead the trekking, safeguard visitors, and mainly because they know the best trails to lead them to these mountain gorillas and areas where the mountain gorillas could be.

Looking for mountain gorillas takes visitors and armed ranger guides to different parts of the forest where gorillas keep moving in search of food, and this goes for about 45 minutes to 5 hours. While in the lush jungle, the visitors have the chance to encounter other different wildlife species that live within the jungle, such as other primates like the golden monkey, red-tailed monkey, and black and white colobus monkey; forest elephants; and duikers, among others.

Once these endangered mountain gorillas are found, travellers are assigned a duration of one hour with these gentle giants. This helps them to learn their behaviours. Trekkers are given 1 hour to be around these apes, and this allows them to learn about their social habits and behaviour, take photos, and watch them do their routine activities like feeding, nurturing, climbing trees, nesting, coupling, and playing, among others.

What is the Cost of Gorilla Permits in Mgahinga?

Gorilla permits in Mgahinga National Park are official or legal cards that are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to allow visitors to visit mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The permit allows these travellers to spend an hour with them in the jungle. However, the gorilla trekking permit comes at a fee, which is used in the conservation of these mountain gorillas. A Uganda gorilla trekking permit costs $800 for foreign non-residents, $700 for foreign residents, and UGX30,000 for citizens of East Africa.

Considering the question, are gorilla sightings in Mgahinga guaranteed? The authority issues out 8 gorilla trekking permits in Mgahinga National Park, and these seem a little few compared to the demand for gorilla trekking. When planning to go for gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park, you need to book in advance to avoid last-minute booking. Visitors planning to do gorilla trekking in Mgahinga can always book with either the local tour operators or directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

When is the most appropriate time to sight mountain gorillas of Mgahinga National Park? The visit to the Nyakagezi family of Mgahinga National Park is done all year round, but some months of the year are more favourable than others, hence offering the best experience to visitors. The dry season months, which run from June to September and December to February, are the best months to visit the Nyakagezi gorilla family. This is because these months receive little or no rainfall, making the trekking trails slick, slippery, and muddy. The vegetation is always thin and short, with clear views of the gentle giants, or mountain gorillas, making roads leading to the park easily accessible.

Visitors can still visit the members of the Nyakagezi gorilla family during the wet season, which runs from March to May and October to November, hence conducive for budget travellers, who always enjoy discounts on accommodation and some tour packages due to low crowds. However, this rainy season receives heavy rainfall, which affects the trekking trails, making them slick and slippery, with thick vegetation cover and a lack of clear views of wildlife species.

Accommodation

Mgahinga National Park offers unique accommodation options to clients who are seeking glamour and comfort after the thrilling gorilla trekking experience and hiking, among others. These facilities offer exceptional services to visitors ranging from luxury, midrange, and budget options. These facilities include Mgahinga Safari Lodge, Mt. Muhabura, Climbers Rest Camp, Mgahinga Safari Lodge, Mount Gahinga Rest Camp, Mutanda Lake Resort, Gahinga Lodge, Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp, and Mgahinga Gorilla Triangle Lodge.