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Mountain Gahinga Hiking experience

Mountain Gahinga Hiking Experience: Mount Gahinga is a dormant volcano situated between Muhabura and Sabyinyo and also regarded as the smallest of the three volcanoes. In the local language, Gahinga literally means a pile of stones and consists of a swampy caldera on its peak believed to be about 180 m wide. Mount Gahinga has an elevation of 3,473 meters and is part of a chain of the eight volcanic mountains of the Mufumbiro ranges.

Hiking

This takes place all year round and is usually one of the most enjoyable activities done here. Tourists that are interested in taking up this activity should be physically fit, as a lot needs a lot of energy, and this will also require one to have a hiking permit. This is made possible with the help of your reliable tour operator that goes ahead to book the permit on time. Hiking begins as early as 7 a.m. with a briefing from the rangers at the briefing point. Tourists are always advised to follow the rules and regulations governing hiking to Mount Gahinga so as to make it both flexible and memorable for them, as well as easing the ranger’s work.

As the hiking begins, tourists always take breaks at different stopover points so as to be able to eat a snack, take photographs, and identify different bird species. A hiking stick is provided at the start of this adventure, and also tourists that wish to hire porters can as well do so. The best season to hike Mount Gahinga is during the dry season, when the trails are less slippery. This is also the best season when the grass is short, hence the beautiful views of the mountain.

There are additional activities to engage in after the Mount Gahinga hike.

Golden Monkey Tracking

This is done in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which has the most recorded population of these endangered primates. Tourists can either do chimpanzee trekking or habituation so as to spend more time with the golden monkeys. It is a wonderful experience seeing these primates play and swing from one tree to another.

Gorilla Trekking

This is one of the activities tourists should not miss on their safari to the Pearl of Africa. Tourists can trek the Nyakagezi family since it is the only habituated gorilla family in Mgahinga gorilla national park. Spending one full hour is such a thrilling adventure and wonderful experience of a lifetime.

Cultural Encounters

Batwa cultural experience is also another activity most tourists to the Pearl of Africa participate in. Visiting a Batwa community as tourists listen to the history of the Batwa dating back to the days they lived in the forest and hence named the forest people. Participate in the traditional dances conducted by the Batwa women.

Bird Watching

Mount Gahinga and its surroundings are known as home to over 200 bird species, of which 12 are endemic to the park. Most of these are usually spotted in the bamboo forest and the gorge between Gahinga and Mount Sabyinyo.

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