Visit Volcanoes National Park

Situated in the North western part of Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park is one of the popular places to visit while on your Rwanda safaris trip. It is also located within the Virunga massive that is shared between Uganda, Democratic republic Congo and Rwanda and the best place to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.

Volcanos National park is also home to five of the eight Virunga mountains (Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Mount Muhabura, Mount Gahinga and Mount Sabinyo). Mount Karisimbi is the highest at 4507m and receives average annual rainfall of 1975mm with mean annual temperature of 9.6°C.

The park, primarily known to be home to the world famed mountain gorillas, was an area where Dian Fossey, an American primatologist had her research base for 20years until she was murdered in 1985.

Fossey played a big role in fighting poachers who had threatened the lives of the gorillas and is thought her death could have been as a result of the effort to keep away poachers, and she was buried in the park, that is where her grave lies.

The park is rich in both flora and fauna, with diverse flora due to its different altitude ranges. The vegetation ranges from bamboo forest, hagenia woodland, Afro-Alpine moorland, to grassland and marshy areas.

There is diverse fauna, with a variety of primates, which include the famous mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons. Other mammals include spotted hyena, buffalo, black-fronted duicker, bushbuck, and elephants.

It’s also home to over 180 bird species, 13 species and 16 subspecies of which are endemic to virunga and Rwenzori Mountains. Some species of birds you are likely to spot here include handsome francolin, Rwenzori turaco, Rwenzori double collared sunbird, Rwenzori batis, strange weaver, dusky crimson-wing, collared apalis, red-faced woodland warbler and Archer’s ground robin.

Activities to do while within Volcanoes National Park

Gorilla trekking

Your visit in this park is incomplete if you do not get the opportunity to see man’s closest relative right in their natural habitat as they roam freely, play and feed. There are 8 habituated gorilla groups, and these offer a chance to see the impressive giant animals behave and move gently with in their natural setting. To be able to see gorillas within the volcanoes, you will need to have acquired a gorilla trekking permit which can be purchased through a tour operator from the Rwanda development board.

Golden Monkey tracking

Volcanoes National Park is one of the few places in the world where you can these endangered species as they hang on tree branches and right in their natural habitat. The other place where will be able to spot the golden monkeys is Mgahinga National Park located in the south west of Uganda. Like gorilla trekking tracking, you will need a permit to get an up close experience of these species. Before embarking on a golden monkey tracking experience, you will be briefed about the guidelines you are expected to follow while close and during the tracking experience.

Mount Karisimbi hiking experience

this is a two day trek, where you are to climb up to 3800m, with an overnight camping. While at the summit, you will enjoy incredible and scenic views of the Virunga massive. The hiking experience can be stenous but the whole experience is rewarding as it does introduce you to the diverse and rich ecosystem found within the park. On your hike, you will come across various wildlife species such as mountain gorillas, several species of birds, golden monkeys and much more.

Birding in Volcanoes

The park is also among the best places where you are likely to spot the various species of birds as they roam freely. Some of the birds you are likely to see here include; rwenzori turaco, rwenzori double collared sunbird, narina trogon, lesser honeyguide, rwenzori batis among others.

Dian Fossey’s grave

situated within the volcanoes, is great conservationists grave where she was buried and is still remembered for her tough conservation measures and it’s also believed some of the tactics used to habituate gorilla were used by Fossey during her research on gorillas.

Mount Bisoke hiking experience

To hike to the summit of this volcano, it will take you a day. A hike to the summit of this active volcano will give you the opportunity to see the two crater lakes found along here. Unlike Karisimbi, the hike to Mount Bisoke’s summit is less tenous but you will need to be really fit to have a hassle free experience as you climb.

Best time to visit Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park can be visited throughout the year but for the best and memorable experience, you will need to visit the park during the dry season of the year. This does take place during the months of June to September and December to February.

During this time, the trails and routes within the park are dry and less slippery which eases movement. This also means that the park receives little or no rainfall at all that may hinder with your itinerary.

You can as well visit the park during the wet season of the year but this is when the wet season kicks in. this season takes place during the months of March to May and October to early December. During this time, the park is always receiving significant amount of rainfall and for the best experience, you will need to have a 4×4 car to navigate easily to the park.

The beauty about traveling during this season, you will enjoy the amazing discounts on car hire and offers by various accommodation options in the park.

How to get to Volcanoes National Park

Accessing volcanoes National park is quite easy. The park can be accessed by either road or air. By road from Kigali to Musaze – the town where the park is located, it will take you between 2hr -2.5hrs to reach and the best way to arrive here is by hiring a private car from a tour operator or car rental agency like Your Drive Rwanda.

By air, you will need to use a chartered flight Kigali International airport and this will take you 25 minutes to get to the park. However, you will need ground transport to get you to your booked accommodation and to the starting point where you are to track gorillas.

What to pack on your gorilla trekking safari

To have the best experience, there a few things you will need to pack. These do include;

Rain coat: it can rain anytime in Volcanoes so you will need a rain coat to protect you from the rain especially during gorilla trekking.

Long sleeved shirts and trouser: to protect yourself from the thorns and insect bites its important you carry these along with you. Since this is a dense rainforest, it has various insect species and also thorns that could harm you.

Hiking shoes: Gorilla trekking takes you through the dense rainforest and this involves hiking steep slopes. For a hassle free experience, you will need such shoes to easily traverse through the rugged trails with ease.

Camera: to capture these endangered species once you get close to them. This helps you keep the memories with you forever.

Insect repellent; to protect yourself from insect bites especially mosquitoes, this will be an add on to your packing list for safety purposes.

Garden gloves: during your trekking experience, you will go touching various surfaces and these gloves protect you from thorns that may prick you.

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