Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is part of the wider Virunga conservation region that also includes the volcanoes national park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park is located on the south-western corner of Uganda in the town of Kisoro. Mgahinga was upgraded from a game reserve into a full national park in 1991 mainly to protect the mountain gorillas that were in frequent conflicts with humans living within and outside the park. Mgahinga is the smallest national park in Uganda and covers an area of 34 square kilometers. The park gets its name from a Kinyarwanda word “Gahinga” referring to the small lava stones common in gardens at the foot of the mountain.