Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the smallest conservation area of Uganda covering an area space of approximately 33.7 square kilometers, the park is an extension of the great Virunga volcanic region from Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, it was gazette in 1991 after being declared a game sanctuary to protect mountain gorillas that keep roaming in the region in the 1930, the thick green forest with a variety of tree species having a diverse ecosystem is one place to find the Golden monkeys in Uganda. The national park derives its name from the mountain Ghahinga a local name to mean a pile of volcanic stones, the forests hosts three of the great volcanic mountains of the great Virunga volcanoes. The national [ark sits high in the mountains elevated at 2227m above sea level, and 4127m above sea level.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has got one habituated gorilla family, the Nyakagezi gorilla group this is a known mobile group and Knows no Boundaries, it can easily drift to the Rwanda side or be in Uganda at the time of visit The gorilla family is the only habituated group composed of 9 members, these are also famous for moving to Congo or Rwanda. However the family is one of the easiest to track as it prefers a narrow feeding, doing a lot of nesting and relaxation. Recently the group was joined by other members from Rwanda. Mountain gorillas is among the two sub species of the eastern gorilla, it is a critically endangered species listed under the IUCN red list, the primates are close to human DNA normally headed by the silverback(mature male), it is a gentle species considered to be very intelligent, ability to use tools like any other ape, communicating using vocal sounds. They are one of the strongest primates on average the weigh up to 180 pounds, they don’t live in captivity and while in the wild it takes over 40 years of life span.
The conservation area is an important area for the critically endangered Golden monkey, these live within then bamboo forested region of the park, they are very beautiful creatures colored in black and golden brown fur, their round filled cheeks are so lovely, and the golden monkey is distinctive from other primates and outstanding their noses face up wards, on a visit to the park they are not to miss,. The surrounding areas are homes to the Batwa community, these used to live in harmony together with other forest creatures, until they evicted from the forest, due to conservation purpose.
Popular activities of the national park include the gorilla trekking, it begins early morning with briefing from the park rangers, they will show you through the to the gentle primates, there are gorilla rules and regulations to be observed during the trekking for example keeping the 7 meter distance rule, guests with communicable disease are not allowed to trek, eating near the mountain gorillas is prohibited, tracking times take s2 or more hours depending on how far the gorilla families have moved. The golden monkeys just like the gorillas are tracked through the beautiful bamboo forest region of the park, Uganda wildlife rangers lead through the forest and are every knowledgeable about the forest. The park is dominated by 3 distinctive mountains this presents an opportunity to do the mountain hiking in the national park. All hikes are accompanied by the Uganda wildlife authority team.