How to get to Mount Sabyinyo
How to get to Mount Sabyinyo : Mount Sabyinyo is one of the ideal volcanoes one can look at visiting on a Rwanda safari or Uganda safari. The Mount Sabyinyo is one of the Virunga Mountain ranges located in the Albertine rift valley. The Mount Sabyinyo is currently an inactive and considered extinct volcano as it has not had any volcanic activity for thousands of years. The Mount Sabyinyo is the oldest of the Virunga mountains and the other Virunga volcanic mountains are the Mount Karisimbi, Mount Muhabura, Mount Bisoke, Mount Mikeno, Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Nyamuragira, Mount Gahinga.
The Mount Sabyinyo and the Mount Muhabura are located close by each other and only separated by a 20-meter-wide crater lake. The Mount Sabyinyo has a physical appearance of chipped edges thus the name Sabyinyo which mean old man’s teeth saying the peak looked like those of an old man and these can be seen from far ranges.
The Mount Sabyinyo is elevated at a height of 12,037 feet and with the summit being shared by the three countries, Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Mount Sabyinyo is famous for the wildlife such as the mountain gorilla family, the forest elephants, buffaloes and the smaller antelopes. The Mount Sabyinyo can however only be hiked from the Ugandan side as plans to hike from the Rwandan side are also underway.
The Mount Sabyinyo is a unique mountaineering experience and this mountain is located in the Mgahinga gorilla national park of Uganda, the second home of the mountain gorillas in Uganda. The Mount Sabyinyo is under the management of the Uganda Wildlife authority and this is the body that offers the activity permits. A hike to Mount Sabyinyo permit goes for 80 USD. The activity starts by 7 am with a briefing and is usually a 6 to 8 hour hike up hill and usually expected to be at the summit by 3pm if not you will not complete to the top.
- How to get to the Mount Sabyinyo
By Road.
Once you have purchased your hike permits to the Mount Sabyinyo from the Uganda Wildlife Authority office either in Kampala or in Kisoro or through a trusted tour operator like the Explore Rwanda tours, you will make your way to the park headquarters. Ensure to book your permit a day or even much earlier before your preferred hiking date to avoid being disappointed when the hike permits are sold out for that day.
The Mgahinga Gorilla national park is a 9-hour drive from Kampala so it is advisable to spend a night close to the park so drive the day or days before for this activity. The park offices are a 14-kilometer drive from the Kisoro town so plan accordingly in the morning of the hike.
Accessing this park is much more convenient once you have booked with a tour operator and have a driver guide who is more knowledgeable with the place. If you opt to travel on your own, you can get a boda boda ride which may cost you about 20,000 Ugandan shillings or opt for a vehicle hired from the Uganda Wildlife Authority that will cost you about 35 USD for pick up from the Uganda Wildlife Authority offices.
There is another option of connecting from the Rwandan side as the Kigali International airport is closer to the Mgahinga national park. It is a 4 hour drive from Rwanda into Uganda via the Cyanika border. Incase you find the Entebbe International airport of Uganda is quite far, you can use this land border if it is open.
By air
There are two domestic flight handlers that guests who prefer to spend less time on the road can use from Entebbe to Kisoro. There is an airstrip in Kisoro which is a 14-kilometer drive away from the Mgahinga park. You can book a domestic flight from the Bar aviation or the Aero link and these are 7 am morning flights from Entebbe.
The visibility to the summit may not be clear all times of the year so it will be important to know when best to visit Mount Sabyinyo. We look forward to hearing from you about your visit to the mount Sabyinyo.
