The park is about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) by road south of the town of Kisoro and approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) by road west of Kabale, the largest city in the sub-region.[2]
Climate
The area experiences two wet rainy seasons: February to May; and September to December. The average monthly rainfall varies from 250 mm (9.8 in) in October to 10 mm (0.39 in) in July.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is Uganda's smallest national park,[6] receiving one of the fewest annual visitor numbers of any national park in Uganda.[7] Popular tourist activities include mountain gorilla tracking, golden monkey tracking, volcano hiking, nature walks including to the gorge platform, bird watching and meeting the Batwa community.[6] Tourists visiting Mgahinga Gorilla National Park make a 9 hours drive from Kampala to reach the park.[8] The park is also connected by daily domestic flights from Entebbe International Airport and on to Kihihi Airstrip, which land at Kisoro Airport.[9]
History
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park was established in 1991 in an area that used to be a game reserve between the 1930s and 1950, but was partly converted to crop fields in lower altitudes. Biological surveys were initiated in 1989, wire traps destroyed, rangers trained and trees planted. Settlers were relocated to areas outside the national park's borders in the early 1990s.[1]
In November 2013, the M23 Movement, a Congolese rebel group, surrendered in the park after being defeated by the Congolese Army in the M23 rebellion.[10]
^Twinomugisha, D.; Basuta, G.I. & Chapman, C.A. (2003). "Status and ecology of the golden monkey (Cercopithecus mitis kandti) in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda". African Journal of Ecology. 41 (1): 47–55. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2028.2003.00409.x.
^Briggs, P. (2020). Uganda: The Bradt Travel Guide. England: Bradt Travel Guides Ltd. p. 527. ISBN978-1-78477-642-8.
^Owiunji, I.; Nkuutu, D.; Kujirakwinja, D.; Liengola, I.; Plumptre, A.; Nsanzurwimo, A.; Fawcett, K.; Gray, M. & McNeilage, A. (2005). Biological Survey of Virunga Volcanoes(PDF). New York: Wildlife Conservation Society.