VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
GORILLA TREKKING
Volcanoes National Park stretches 160 square kilometers in the Northern part of Rwanda in Musanze province, with an approximately 3hrs drive from Kigali International Airport which makes it the most accessible national park compared to all the other parks.
The name Volcanoes comes from the fact the park is composed of dormant volcano mountains that once erupted but years have passed since they last did. The park was initially made of Karisimbi, Mikeno, and Visoke volcanoes and these were gazetted to mainly protect mountain gorillas from poaching. However, it was later expanded to 8 volcanoes including Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Mount Gahinga, Mount Muhavura, and Mount Sabyinyo among others forming the Virunga volcano conservation covering Virunga National Park in Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
What our experts love about Rwanda
Uganda is renowned for its stunning natural beauty, including the Rwenzori Mountains, the Nile River, and numerous national parks like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, It's a prime destination for wildlife lovers
Lovy - Travel Expert
Volcanoes National Park is home to the highest number of Mountain gorillas in the Virunga conservation area with 22 gorilla families in the Volcano National Park including the Agashya, Amohoro, Muhoza, Kwitonda, Kwisanga, Umubano, Hirwa, Igisha, Isimbi, Susa, Sabyinyo which provides the best interaction and experience with the Gorillas as each family has its own characteristics.
Apart from the gorillas, the park is home to the golden monkeys, hyenas, buffaloes, elephants, bushbuck, and over 178 bird species including 29 species of Albertine endemics to the Virunga Mountains, reptiles, amphibians, and insects among others.
Activities Around Volcanoes National Park
The most carried out activity in the Volcanoes National Park is Gorilla trekking but there are other amazing and interesting activities including
Gorilla Trekking in volcanoes national park
The day starts with clients departing the lodge to the park headquarters for a briefing and registration. Clients need to be awake by 0600hrs and 0700hrs should find you at the park headquarters in Kinigi.
Guests visit different Gorilla families based on their location in the park and some treks start with a drive to the start point for example the Igisha Gorilla family trek requires an hour and 45 minutes to the start point and the Karisimbi gorilla group is found on Mount Karisimbi.
At the starting point, you will find porters who can assist you in carrying your bags during your trek and give you a hand whenever need be (You will need to give them some tipping at the end of the trip).
In the accompaniment of a gorilla tracker and ranger, you embark on your hike through the different vegetation zones of Volcanoes National Park. After an hour or more or less, you will find the Gorillas. Guests spend an hour with the gorillas taking photographs, filming, and listening to the sounds made by the gorillas, watching them feeding on the short bamboo trees, their infants suckling, and jumping from tree to tree creating memorable shots.
After your one hour of enjoyment with the gorillas, return to the starting point.
Tips for Gorilla trekking
- Wear fully covering clothes like long trousers and a full sleeved shirt
- Wear hiking boots and gaiters are important.
- Carry along your cooler box with enough water like 3 litres of water or more and packed lunch.
- Hand gloves to protect you from pricking of the thorns.
- Hire a porter to carry your bag and act as your support when the terrain gets tough.
- No flash light is allowed when taking photos of the gorillas.
A few points to note.
Only 80 people are to visit the gorillas per day with only 8 permits available to trek a gorilla family and this is done to avoid overcrowding and discomfort to the Gorillas in their habitants.
Gorilla permits are sold to both residents and non-residents and you are advised to book a permit in advance.
Gorilla Habituation in volcanoes national park
Different from other monkey species that can easily be found in several parts of the world, the golden monkey species are rare and not easily sighted unless tracked in the deeper parts of the forests, and on the African continent, this is only possible in Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo.
The Golden Monkey trek starts in the morning hours with a briefing from the professional rangers informing you of the dos and don’ts during the trek. Virunga volcanoes conservation is a home to most golden monkeys and these are habituated to get familiar with people which provides a secure environment for tourists.
Golden monkeys come out from their sanctums very early in the morning hunting for what to feed on in the bamboo forest jumping from tree to tree and usually do not go higher altitudes beyond the bamboo like the Gorillas saving the tourists from hiking for several hours.
During your trek, there is a probability of coming into contact with different animals like bush pigs, duikers, giant forest hogs, vervet, and colobus monkeys during the golden monkey is added pleasure.
We always advise our clients to carry along some essentials like water, camera, snacks and hiking sticks.
Volcano climbing in volcanoes national park
Volcano climbing is done on Mountain Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, and Mount Muhavura although; most clients prefer hiking Mount Karisimbi located at the border of DRC and Rwanda because of its snow-covered peak marked 4507m above sea level where the Volcanoes got its name from to mean White shell. Mount Karisimbi is the highest among the eight volcanoes of the Virunga field and the 5th highest in Africa.
Hiking Mount Karisimbi needs a minimum of 2 days through the bamboo, Afro montane and Savanah landscape on the slopes of the mountain ending at the snowcapped peak. Many clients find the hike more challenging in the wet season due to the boggy terrain from the melting snow as compared to the dry months of June, July, and August when the grounds are more solid.
Whereas the hike to the top of Mount Bisoke is a daily activity that takes you 3700 meters up the volcanoes to the Crater Lake at the summit and back to the bottom and this is the best option for clients who prefer a shorter hike.
Birding in volcanoes national park
Birds are one of the reasons the tourism industry is boasting in Rwanda. Volcanoes National Park is home to over 178 bird species including 29 endangered Albertine species like Rwenzori Batis, graver’s rush warbler, Rwenzori Turaco, archer’s ground robin, Rwenzori double collared sunbird, collared Apalis, red-faced woodland warbler, Handsome francolin among others.
Keen birders can focus on birding as a morning /evening activity or even as a full-day activity but also birds can be spotted during different activities like gorilla trekking, and golden monkey trekking among others.
Before walking to the forest, clients are briefed on the birds’ reaction towards different human behaviors like loud movements scaring away the birds, chasing after the birds is a very bad tendency that makes the birds uncomfortable, and also the birds tend to dump over touched eggs, especially in the breeding seasons, therefore, guests are requested to minimize that plus conserving the environment is key for a future generation of wildlife and biodiversity.
We always recommend clients to move with binoculars and cameras plus walking sticks as birding is a foot activity.
Masanze cave in volcanoes national park
A visit to Musanze caves is one of the ways of experiencing an ancient feel of the vulcanicity that left a 2km long underground cave out of the frozen lava after the eruption in the Musanze district and it is believed that underneath the caves stretches for over 1.25 miles in basaltic layers that came from Bisoke and Sabinyo volcanoes.
They have set up trails and stairs to ease the walk through the caves with a big opening to make the entire place secure enough. When you are inside the cave your first sighting will be the nocturnal bats hanging upside down and beautiful scenery on the rocks – perfect photography site.
The Musanze caves are also a memorial ground for the Rwandese as it was a hiding place during the Rwandese Genocide. There are guides available to provide you with more details and information about the caves.
How to get to Volcanoes National Park
You can access the park from Kigali City. Clients normally travel from Kigali city to Musanze province, which is a 3-hour drive / approx. 105kilometers. We strongly recommend using a tour operator for this transition because they know the routing and all tour operators are registered.
Clients who are in Uganda can either fly to Kisoro Airstrip or later drive for approximately 24 minutes to the Cyanika border where they later proceed to Musanze city, which is around a 2 hours’ drive, and this is based on the use of private means or a tour operator.
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