Batwa trail, Mgahinga National Park.
Ever heard of the Batwa people? Once you meet them, you’ll see the love of the forest in their eyes and overall lifestyle. The Batwa people are one of the interesting icons to be unveiled by travelers to Mgahinga National Park. The Batwa live a typical hunter-gatherer life that they have been known for all over the ages.
They are forest lovers and coexist with several animal species peacefully in their habitat. The Batwa inhabit sections of Mgahinga National Park and offer extremely exciting African local community experiences when encountered. The Batwa trails originate from the base of Mount Muhabura, In the caves. The walk through their homesteads is more like a live museum. One gets a glimpse of their life for the past centuries by just merely stopping and staring. The Batwa are a pygmy tribe. They are fierce warriors though extremely harmless unless provoked.
Mgahinga National Park as home to the Batwa trails.
Mgahinga is home to the Batwa people. The park lies in the southern arm of Uganda. It covers an area of approximately 33.7 square kilometers and is the smallest in the country. It hosts one of the most exciting community encounters. Mgahinga boasts of her exceptional biodiversity that allows her to host several animal species, especially primates and Great Lakes region endemic bad species especially the African spoonbill, eastern plantain eaters, bar-tailed trogons, standard winged night jars, hamerkops, African fish eagles, turacos, Abyssinian ground hornbill, black-bee eaters, cinnamons, egrets, African paradise flycatchers and African jacanas. All these can be viewed while on the Batwa trail, making it an even more rewarding adventure.
The Batwa trail experiences.
The Batwa trails present travelers with opportunities to scoop deep insights into the rural and traditional way of life of a typical African society. This is more like a glimpse into the early man’s life due to the likeliness of the practices of these people with that of the early man.
Visitors have the opportunity to explore the Ngarama caves while on the trail. This means a lot to the Batwa people as they are affiliated with them because of the historic monuments they hold. Several rituals were and still are conducted in these caves and that’s why they treat them as significant icons in society.
While on the Batwa trails, travelers are presented with stunning views of the volcanoes in Mgahinga National Park. It is worth noting that Mgahinga spans about three of the eight Virunga volcanoes that is to say Mt Gahinga, Muhabura, and Sabinyo. Visitors get to move through these mountain bases while setting their eyes on some of the most exciting and uncommon flora and fauna species. Several wildlife creatures can also be seen while on the trail especially primates, Wildcats, bird species, and reptiles. The nature walks through the Batwa villages provide a relaxing feeling to the visitors and help one observe life from a completely different perspective helping boost self-esteem and appreciation of nature.
The Batwa trails are usually undertaken in the afternoon. The activity is normally done after a successful mountain gorilla trek. Visitors have the golden opportunity to spend the entire afternoon and evening interacting with this exciting rare tribe of people.
Best times to go for the Batwa trails.
It is important to note that the Batwa society is a welcoming and hospitable African setting that is always open to visits all year round.
The dry months, however, are the most appropriate months and seasons of the year in which visitors can embark on the exploration of the Batwa trails with limited interruptions from weather. The dry seasons are characterized by low rainfall which assures the travelers of steady grounds while maneuvering through the rainforests and mountainous terrain.
The dry months in Mgahinga are categorized into two according to the duration that is to say the long dry season which starts from late May to September and the short dry season which runs from December to early March.
How to get there.
The Batwa trails in Mgahinga can be accessed by road transport using the Kampala – Mbarara – Kisoro Road which takes approximately a 10 to 11 hours’ drive.
Visitors can also opt to fly to the park. This can be realized by boarding from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kisoro Airstrip from where they can embark on an onward transfer to the National Park under the company of a professional tourist guide to go embark on the exciting Batwa trails adventure.