Despite being Uganda’s smallest national park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is one of only four national parks in the world where mountain gorillas live.
This 3-Day Mgahinga Gorilla Trekking and Golden Monkey Tour from Kigali lets you arrive, trek gorillas in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and depart, all from Kigali. With only 1 gorilla family, Mgahinga is a straightforward gorilla trekking destination and sits much closer to Kigali, about 3 hours away.
3-Day Mgahinga Gorilla Tour Highlights
- Day 1: Transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
- Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga
- Day 3: Golden monkey trekking and transfer back to Kigali
Detailed 3-Day Mgahinga Gorilla Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Depending on your arrival schedule, you’ll be picked up at the airport for a morning flight, or have breakfast at your hotel in Kigali first.
Take a morning city tour through Kigali, one of Africa’s cleanest cities. Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, opened in 2004 during Rwanda’s 10-year genocide commemoration, which serves both as a museum documenting the genocide’s history and as a place of remembrance.
Time permitting, continue to the Nyamirambo Women’s Center to try local food and see craftwork and pottery. Afterward, head to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, on Uganda’s southern border.
Mgahinga is home to mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, both found in this part of the Virunga region.
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Mgahinga
Today is your gorilla trek. Join a ranger guide and trackers as you make your way through Mgahinga’s mountainous terrain in search of the gorillas.
Meeting the gorillas up close is a memorable moment. Visits are limited to 8 people per family to minimize disturbance. The trek can be wet, steep, and physically demanding, but the encounter with the gorilla family makes it worthwhile.
Spend an hour with the gorillas as they feed, groom each other, and the juveniles play, all under the watch of the dominant silverback.
The trek also takes you through Mgahinga’s forest, with its birds, monkeys, and traces of other mountain wildlife such as buffalo and elephants.
Afterward, return to the starting point for a debrief with your guide, then head back to the lodge to rest and reflect on the day.
Day 3: Golden Monkey Trekking and Transfer Back to Kigali
After an early breakfast at the lodge, drive to Ntebeko Ranger Station for a different primate encounter, this time with golden monkeys.
Spend the morning trekking golden monkeys through the bamboo forests of Mgahinga, at the base of the Virunga volcanoes. Along the way, look for other monkey species, olive baboons, a range of birds including Virunga endemics, amphibians, and other wildlife.
Watch the golden monkeys play and move through the trees before heading back to Kigali.
Depending on your flight time, stop at a local craft shop for souvenirs before heading to the airport for your onward flight.
End of the 3-Day Mgahinga Gorilla Trekking and Golden Monkey Tour from Kigali.
