Things to consider before booking a flying safari to Mgahinga National Park
Things to consider before booking a flying safari to Mgahinga National Park
About Mgahinga National Park.
Though tiny among national parks in Uganda, this one is beautiful and offers plenty to see. Situated high in the clouds between 2227 and 4157 meters, the park is part of the South Western Part of Uganda. Covering 33.7 square kilometers, Park lies in the Kisoro District. Only three national parks—Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Volcanoes National Park, and Mgahinga National Park—contain East African mountain Gorillas, which live among humans.
The only park in Uganda where Gorillas Co-Exist with golden monkeys is where Gold Meets Silver, alluding to the Gorillas and Golden monkeys. Mgahinga National Park is a component of the much larger Virunga Conservation Area, which comprises surrounding parks in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DR Congo. Its borders stretch west from the Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo and south from the Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda.
The slopes of the volcanoes have different ecosystems and are ecologically varied; their summits provide an amazing background to this stunning landscape. Taking flight to Mgahinga National Park. With the option to fly, this has made it much easier to do safaris to the less crowded park, and another alternative to visit when there are no Gorilla permits in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Traditionally, safaris to Mgahinga were done by road, and many travellers did not like to visit the Park just because of the 8-9 hours’ drive involved from Entebbe to the park. The planes here get to the park in about one hour. Operating in the area are Aerolink and FlyUganda. Your driver collects you from Kisoro Airstrip and drives to the park where you have reserved for the evening; the travel merely takes forty-five minutes. The flights run all year round.
One significant remark is that all flights are booked for the morning when it is still quiet, as the weather in Kisoro, between Bwindi and Mgahinga National parks is quite erratic. Any planes trying to get there find it difficult in the afternoon winds. Sometimes planes take a bit longer to go there or depart because they sometimes link via Kihihi Airstrip and Kasese, in case they have customers to pick up or drop off while they travel.
When should one plan fly-in safaris to Mgahinga National Park? Although Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is open all year long, the ideal months to visit it are December through March and June through October—the hottest and driest months. Tracking is much simpler in the dry months, but the Gorillas and Golden Monkeys travel far more in search of food. This does not imply that one cannot track during the rainy season.
There are many fewer opportunities to view gorillas than in the dry months of the year. Travelers must make prior bookings on all services; booking is done all year round. Accommodation, as well as availability and permits, before they sell out, depend on flights. Although we advise booking at least two months before the date, once you send an inquiry to us, all services are booked for your trip.
Therefore, send that inquiry and one of our consultants will reply to you within no time, even if last-minute bookings are made, and services become available. Activities for a flying safari in Mgahinga. While on a fly-in safari in Mgahinga National Park, there are very many things one may engage in; alternatives you can only acquire if you choose a fly-in package. Among them are the ones below. Mostly, gorilla tracking is the activity.
With Gorilla permits having to be secured in advance, this is by far the most popular activity accessible in the area. One must arrange at least three months in advance; gorilla permits are USD 800.00 per person. Get in touch; our safari advisers will look for your availability. Mgahinga has one Gorilla family, the Nyakagezi group, consisting of nine individuals with four silverbacks, two young adults, two female adults, and one young child.
Mark, the family’s head, replaced this father, Bugingo, who is said to be more than 55 years old, in charge. This group is special in that the silverback Bugingo still resides with the group—an uncommon occurrence because take over normally follows after a battle, and the loser is expelled and sent into isolation or dies. Monitoring Golden Monkeys.
Not somewhere else, these lovely monkey species call the Bamboo woods of the Virunga mountains home. Families of around forty to sixty soldiers call visitors who engage in this activity a pleasure; those here for photography are very striking. This exercise begins simultaneously with Gorilla tracking under direction from a briefing at 7:30 am. You also get the chance to participate in the Golden Monkey Habituation Experience, which provides you with more researcher information and an up-close view of the Golden monkeys.
For those who cannot afford the USD800.00 for the Gorilla permit, the Golden Monkey permit is USD90.00 for usual monitoring, suggesting it is a reasonably priced alternative. The most fascinating part about the activity is that it can be done on the same day you arrive from Entebbe; depending on what you book, a morning or afternoon trek is what you find most engaging. Apart from securing your permissions, Katland Safaris helps you arrange your trip.
Batwa experience of the community.
Batwa people are very small people (pygmies), hunters and fruit gatherers, among the oldest groups living in the Virunga National Park. After being moved from the woods to the National Park by UNESCO to preserve the forests since they were also home to the endangered Mountain Gorillas, more than eighty percent of the Batwa people are now landless.
Formally, they relied on woods for all their livelihood and remedies for years; pulling them out of the forest caused considerable disturbance in their way of life and pushed them to dwell around the park margins, where they have since flourished for years.
By means of programs to enrich them and expose them to modern life through activities to promote agriculture to them and development projects to augment their source of income, the United Organization for the Batwa Development in Uganda has helped improve their livelihood.
The Batwa. Designed for guests to travel through and experience the daily lives of the Batwa, a nature walk allows one to see how they cook, their kind of housing, traditional cuisine, and dances. The funds generated immediately go toward offering the Batwa access to health care. The crafts serve to provide the individual with a living. Book and we will arrange a stroll through the lives of the Batwa people. Volcanoes on foot. These are within reach and fit for a day.
The 3 mountains of Sabinyo, Muhabura, and Gahinga in the Virunga range trekking adventure. One may catch a plane from Entebbe and still get it in time for the climb via this one-day excursion, which begins at 8:00 am. Mount Muhabura, the tallest at 4157m; Mount Sabinyo, second at 3667m; last but not least, Mount Gahinga at 3474m, observing birds. Mgahinga National Park is not one to omit; Uganda is a birding paradise for people who like over 1050 bird species; so, individuals interested in birding may follow paths to locate these species in this national park.
Working with an experienced team of Bird guides and the ground crew at Mgahinga National Park, Katland Safaris makes sure you get the finest service on your birding tour. Restitution. From affordable to mid-range to luxury lodging, Mgahinga National Park has a range of possibilities for where one stays. Fit all budgets and travel only one hour from the Airstrip within drivable distance.
Booking a flying safari to Mgahinga National Park with Katland Safaris.
With competent services and the finest fit for all your tour-related activities, Katland Safaris is still the firm you should choose. Our packages span three days or whatever length of time you have and fall into all budgets and ranges. Get in touch to avoid regretting your choice of us. TripAdvisor and safari reservations strongly suggest recomend us.
