The most accessible Virunga peak, bamboo forests, golden monkeys and a swampy caldera.
Mount Gahinga is the smallest of Uganda's three Virunga volcanoes, rising to about 3,474 metres between Sabyinyo and Muhabura. But calling it the smallest can be a little misleading. Once you start walking through its bamboo forest and climbing towards the summit, you quickly realise that Gahinga has plenty of character of its own.
The name Gahinga comes from the local Kinyarwanda/Rufumbira word for a small pile of stones. The name is believed to refer to the piles of volcanic stones that farmers cleared from their fields around the mountain. Long before Gahinga became part of a national park, the surrounding forests were home to the Batwa people, who lived in and depended on the forest for generations.
Today, Gahinga forms part of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and is one of the three Ugandan Virunga volcanoes that can be climbed from the Ugandan side. The mountain has a completely different feel from its neighbours. Sabyinyo is steep and rugged, Muhabura is relentless, but Gahinga feels more forgiving. That doesn't mean it is easy. You are still climbing to 3,474 metres, and the weather and terrain can make the mountain demanding.
The trail begins around Ntebeko and takes you through thick bamboo forest before gradually opening into the higher-altitude landscape. As you climb, the vegetation changes and the trail eventually leads towards the summit area. One of the most interesting parts of the mountain is the crater swamp, which is roughly 180 metres across. Instead of simply reaching a rocky summit and turning around, you get to explore this strange, quiet landscape high above the forest.
What I like about Gahinga is that it gives you a taste of the Virungas without being as punishing as Sabyinyo or Muhabura. You still get the elevation, the changing vegetation, the volcanic landscape and the feeling of being high in the mountains, but the climb is more forgiving. And when you finally look back at the trail you've just climbed, you realise that the little mountain you thought would be easy still made you work for it.
Gahinga may be the smallest of Uganda's three Virunga mountains, but it has its own personality. It is green, volcanic, peaceful and surprisingly wild. Sometimes the smaller mountain is the one that catches you off guard, and Gahinga has a way of doing exactly that.