While Bwindi Impenetrable Forest steals the limelight, the smaller Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda has arguably better views and is directly connected to the extended Virunga conservation area.

Travellers visiting the park can hike the extinct Virunga Volcanoes, track golden monkeys, join a gorilla trek or keep their eyes peeled for the buffalo, elephants and rare bird species which call these rainforests home.

Mgahinga is just one part of the larger Virunga Conservation Area which covers 434 square kilometres of volcanic mountains linking Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC. The bamboo forested slopes and calderas and views of Lake Mutanda below are reasons enough to visit this enchanting, picturesque border area.