Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is 33.7km2, making it Uganda’s smallest National Park.

The park takes its name from “Gahinga” – the local word for the piles of volcanic stones cleared from farmland at the foot of the volcanoes.

The British administration declared the area a game sanctuary in 1930; it was gazetted as a National Park in 1991.

Mgahinga has one habituated transboundary gorilla group the Nyakagezi family .

The Nyakagezi gorilla family is the only fully habituated gorilla group in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Given that it is the only habituaed gorilla family, it offers visitors a great opportunity to track the rare mountain gorillas in the wild. The Nyakagezi family is composed of 9 members; 4 silver backs, 2 infants, 2Adults females 1 juvenile. The dominant silverback is Mark who took over leadership from his father Bugingo. The other members include Mathew and Mafia (silverbacks), Nyiramwiza and Nshuti (adult females), Nkanda (juvenile), Mutagamba and Rukundo (Infant). Bugingo the oldest silverback is believed to be more than 54 years. A rare but an interesting fact about the Nyakagezi group is that Bugingo still lives in the family yet in most cases, once the dormant silverback is overthrown, he is banished and dies in isolation or seeks refuge from other gorilla groups. For example in Mubare group, after Kanyonyi took over leadership from Ruhondeza, the latter left the group and lived a solitary life until he died.

About the Nyakagezi Family

This gorilla group is found in South-Western Uganda, just in the renowned slopes of the three Virunga Volcanoes that includes the Muhabura, Sabyinyo and Gahinga. Nyakagezi is a place in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park where there is a lot of food attractive to the gorillas. Nyakagezi family is one of the easiest to track given the fact that it prefers a narrow home range for feeding, nesting, relaxing and recreation.

The group is popularly known for gorilla trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. It is composed of nine (9) mountain gorillas that are easily identified by their names. They include; Baby Rukundo, Nvuyekure, Nshuti, Mutagamba, Bugingo, Mark and Mathew. The Nyakagezi gorilla group was once led by Silverback “Bugingo” for some period of time but amazingly, Mark is said to have succeeded over throw his leadership.

Bugingo silverback is estimated to be 53 years and still thriving in the gorilla family some thing uncommonly seen in gorilla life. In normal occasions, any silverback gorilla that happens to be overthrown from the main group would resort to a lonely life or totally abandons the family like the case of Mubare gorilla group in the Buhoma North of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Tracking the Nyakagezi Family

The Nyakagezi gorilla group was famous for their migratory behavior across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. However, this gorilla group has today settled in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda where tourists are assured of gorilla trekking experiences.

Though this group is mobile and crosses over to Rwanda and DRC, it is considered the easiest to track in Uganda because they are found in areas of lower altitude and prefer a small home range for nesting, relaxing and feeding (because of abundance of food). The Nyakagezi group is one of the most interesting gorilla groups worth tracking in Uganda because of it being the only gorilla group in Mgahinga, their mobile behavior and the fact that the silverbacks of the family (especially the oldest silverback “Bugingo” and the reigning silverback) live together happily.

Since 2012 the gorilla family has been settled within the Mgahinga National Park and the sucess rate to see these great apes stands at over 95% chances. Now it is easier to track this gorilla group because they have a permanent settlement unlike initially where they were always on the move. More and more tourists are now visiting the Park to track this interesting group. Due to their mobile and unpredictable behavior, gorilla permits for Nyakagezi group have to be booked at the Uganda Wildlife Authority Park headquarters in Ntebeko and it is always important to first confirm within 24 hours to ascertain whether they are within the Park or have crossed to other countries. Because it is the only group in the park, UWA sells only 8 gorilla permits for this Park per day.

Visiting the Nyakagezi gorilla group shouldn’t be an experience that centers on mountain gorillas but also an excitement that is built around the most incredible three Virunga volcano summits, the gorge and then the magnificent flora. Indeed you will appreciate taking gorilla safari to Uganda’s most gifted remote national park. However, there are only 8 (eight) gorilla permits that are always available for visitors to track the Nyakagezi gorilla group and this also be quantified to only 8 visitors per trek.

Besides tracking the Nyakagezi group, tourists can engage in Golden Monkey tracking because this is the only Park in Uganda where Silver meets Gold, the interesting Batwa trail (that takes you through the life of the “People of the Forest” who were hunter-gatherers), Birding and mountain hiking to Mt Sabyinyo, Mt Muhavura and Mgahinga.

The Batwa were self-sufficient – and visitors can see how during a fascinating tour with a Batwa guide to learn the secrets of the forest.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is at an altitude of between 2,227m and 4,127m. As its name suggests, it was created to protect the rare mountain gorillas that inhabit its dense forests, and it is also an important habitat for the endangered golden monkey.

As well as being important for wildlife, the park also has a huge cultural significance, in particular for the indigenous Batwa pygmies. This tribe of hunter-gatherers was the forest’s “first people”, and their ancient knowledge of its secrets remains unrivaled.

Mgahinga’s most striking features are its three conical, extinct volcanoes, part of the spectacular Virunga Range that lies along the border region of Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda. Mgahinga forms part of the much larger Virunga Conservation Area which includes adjacent parks in these countries. The volcanoes’ slopes contain various ecosystems and are biologically diverse, and their peaks provide a striking backdrop to this gorgeous scenery.

Mgahinga boasts of over 76 mammals which include elephants, giant forest hog, bush pigs,bush back. Buffalos, leopards, A bird checklist of over 180 species including the 14 endemic Albertine rift notably the Kivu ground thrush and turaco.