Planning to visit Mgahinga National Park on a self-drive but you do not know which routes are best for you to take? Well, Mgahinga National Park sits suitably in southwestern Uganda, Kisoro district approximately 540 kilometers off Kampala capital city center. A road trip to this magnificent park may take you about 9-10 hours to drive and to get here, we recommend renting a 4×4 car for a safari to this park. It is Uganda’s smallest park but comprises of remarkable wonders ranging from mountain gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking and golden monkey habituation, hiking, Batwa encounters, birding and many others.

To get this tiny park, there are many routes one can take while on a self-drive and incredibly. They are well-maintained as they are frequently been used by visitors on gorilla safari. Usually, visitors’ journeys to this natural wonder kick starts from Kampala or Entebbe then you head off to southwestern where you spend nearly the whole day on road but your road trip will be a great one.

The mostly used routes to take you from Kampala/Entebbe about 8 hours’ drive to Kisoro. From here, you connect to the park on your car hire about 2 and half hours. Alternatively, take a flight from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi air field and land into Kisoro airstrip where you still connect by car. There are so many cars for hire around Kisoro for you to rent to help you connect to the park. The other route takes you from Kampala via Kabale and Kisoro about 510 kilometers or take a 434 kilometers road trip from Kampala to Kabale which is about 8 hours’ drive on tarmac road. One of the most scenic routes for you to take include the main route at Kabale and then drive via the shores of magnificent Lake Bunyonyi to rejoin the Kabale-Kisoro main route at its highway point at Muko.\

At Mgahinga National Park, Ntebeko is its main entry point and this is about 14 kilometers’ drive from Kisoro through dirt road with rock and steep parts. Equally, you get to this park from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park especially from the southern sectors of Nkuringo and Rushaga. From here, Kisoro is situated about 28 kilometers south and Mgahinga 14 kilometers. If you are in Buhoma sector, you will spend about 4 hours. Via dirt routes from Buhoma, cross over Ruhija sector and join Kabale-Kisoro tarmac route.

Alternatively, you can connect from Kigali where you will spend about 3 hours driving but this may depend on the border crossing you take to Mgahinga National Park. You take a flight and land into Kigali airport using RwandAir, Brussels, Qatar, Turkish Air, Kenya Air, Ethiopian Airlines, KLM, Emirates and others. This means Kigali is a gateway to Mgahinga National Park and you can take a flight and track mountain gorillas in this spectacular park as well as other parks like Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, Lake Mburo National Park and then fly back home from Entebbe Airport.

The other option is for you to fly from Entebbe to Kisoro-southwestern Uganda. This is usually considered as the fastest and convenient. Flight takes you over the scenic gorilla highland, Lake Bunyonyi, Virunga Volcanoes prior landing into Kisoro. However, it might be costly when it comes to luggage transportation. With this, you realize that you have 2 alternatives to take a flight if you are connecting to Mgahinga National Park-via Kigali Rwanda and Entebbe Airport or Kajjansi airfield.

However, a visit to Mgahinga National Park offers you a chance to engage in a number of exciting activities that include among others gorilla trekking of which only one group (Nyakagezi) has been habituated for visitor experiences, the fact that it inhabits 3 volcanoes that make up part of the Great Virunga Massif, it is also an ideal area for hiking. The notable volcanoes here include Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo, meaning this park forms part of the Virunga Conservation Area. The other activities include golden monkey tracking, bird watching, hit the Batwa trail, Garama cave exploration and others.

In conclusion, there are many routes that you embark on as a self-driver to Mgahinga National Park for you to realize your dreams. Visit this park and you will be rewarded with amazing experiences right from primate adventures to cultural encounters.