3 Days Batwa Trail and Golden Monkeys in Mgahinga

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   

   Kigali to Kisoro and Lake Mutanda

   Our driver-guide meets you at Kigali International Airport or your hotel in the morning and heads north through Rwanda’s terraced hills to Musanze, about two hours away. From there the road runs along the foot of the Virunga volcanoes to the Cyanika border post, where you cross into Uganda; the formalities usually take under an hour. Kisoro town is only about 12 km beyond the border, and Mgahinga’s three volcanoes, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo, stand directly above it. After lunch, continue to your lodge on the shore of Lake Mutanda, a long, island-dotted lake with the volcanoes as a backdrop. In the late afternoon you can take a dugout canoe out on the water with a local guide, passing fishing families and reed beds where otters sometimes feed. The area around Kisoro is home to Bafumbira farming villages and to the Batwa, who lived in the forests of Mgahinga and Bwindi until both became national parks in 1991. Dinner and overnight at Chameleon Hill Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge or Mount Gahinga Lodge.

   • Drive to Kisoro and canoe on Lake Mutanda
   • Chameleon Hill Lodge, Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge or Mount Gahinga Lodge
   • Lunch, dinner
2. Day2
   

   The Batwa Trail to Garama Cave

   After breakfast, we drive about 45 minutes up a murram road to the Ntebeko gate of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. At 33.7 square kilometres, this is the smallest national park in Uganda, but it sits on the slopes of three volcanoes rising to 4,127 m. The Batwa Trail was opened in 2011 so that Batwa guides could show visitors the forest the way their families knew it, and the community receives a share of every trail fee. Over about four to five hours, your Batwa guides lead you along forest paths on the lower slopes of Mount Gahinga, stopping to show how they hunted with bows and nets, gathered honey, found medicinal plants and made fire by spinning a stick. The walk ends at Garama Cave, a long lava tube that once sheltered the king of the Batwa and his people. Inside, in the dark, the Batwa sing a song of their history, and the sound rolls around the rock walls. Afternoon free at the lodge or a walk through a Bafumbira village. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

   • Batwa Trail and Garama Cave
   • Lodge near Kisoro
   • Breakfast, lunch, dinner
3. Day3
   

   Golden Monkey Trek and Return to Kigali

   An early start takes you back to Ntebeko for a golden monkey trek. These monkeys live only in the Virunga volcanoes and a few nearby forests, and their orange-gold backs stand out against the green bamboo that covers the lower slopes of the park. The walk is easy to moderate: usually one to three hours in total, with one hour spent with the troop once the rangers find it. Golden monkeys move fast and jump between stems, so a camera with a quick shutter helps. On a clear morning, the view back across the farmland reaches Lake Mutanda and the Bwindi hills to the north. Mgahinga is also home to the Nyakagezi gorilla family, the only habituated gorilla group in the park, and if you have booked a gorilla permit as an extra, you can trek them instead. After lunch, we drive back to the Cyanika border and on to Kigali, about three and a half hours in total, for your hotel or an evening flight from Kigali International Airport. End of the trip.

   • Golden monkey trek
   • Breakfast, lunch