DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK

This is the smallest of Uganda's national parks, covering a mere 33.7 sq. km. The park takes its name from ``Gahinga`` - a local word for the piles of volcanic stones cleared from farmland at the foot of the volcanoes. That is 550 Km away from Kampala and an estimated driving period of 9 - 12 hours. There is an option into Kisoro for flights to/from Entebbe Airport and connecting flights to/from other Parks. The tropical rainforest spreads across three dramatic extinct volcanoes and, extends to the neighbouring countries – the contiguous Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Parc National des Virunga in the DRC.

It was created in 1991 to protect the rare mountain gorillas that inhabit its dense forests, and it is also an important habitat for the endangered golden monkey. Through conservation effort, it is now home to half of the world's mountain gorilla population.

Gorilla tracking is the main attraction, but it is less popular than Bwindi impenetrable National Park because it has one habituated trans-boundary gorilla group that tends to duck across the mountains into Rwanda or the DRC. The park also serves up some challenging but rewarding treks and an interesting cave, plus golden-monkey tracking is just as fun.

The resident elephants, buffaloes and serval cats are rarely seen. But the 115 species of bird can be spotted as they flutter through the forests, including Rwenzori turaco and mountain black boo boo.

Other activities:

• Nature walks

• Hiking

• Cultural tours – The indigenous Batwa pygmies is a tribe of hunter-gatherers believed to be the forest’s “first people”, and their ancient knowledge of its secrets remains unrivalled.

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