In the northern part of Rwanda lies a conservation area made up of mountains, national parks, vegetation, and wildlife. This is the Virunga Conservation Area.
The area is shared by three countries: Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In this article, we describe one of the famous national parks located in this rich region – Volcanoes National Park.
This park includes five of the eight mountains found in the Virunga Conservation Area, making them accessible from any of the three countries for travelers.
The parks are famous for being home to the endangered mountain gorillas, as well as other primates and mammal species.
Traveling to the northwestern part of Rwanda, about a two-hour drive from the capital Kigali, is where you will find Volcanoes National Park. The park covers about 62 square miles of tropical rain-forest in the Virunga Conservation Area.
Volcanoes National Park was created around the chain of dormant volcanoes that make up the Virunga Massif. These include Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga, and Sabyinyo.
Sabyinyo, being the most frequently hiked mountain, gives tourists a good chance to view Volcanoes National Park.
The park borders all three countries: Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC. It borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
Volcanoes National Park is home mainly to mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. It is because of this that a primatology facility was set up beside the park by Dian Fossey, who studied the primates and later wrote a book titled “Gorillas in the Mist” based on her work in this park.
Before the 1920s, mountain gorillas faced extinction because of poaching. A small area bounded by Karisimbi, Bisoke, and Mikeno was gazetted in 1925 to protect the mountain gorillas and other endangered species.
Later, the park’s borders were extended further into Rwanda and Congo to form the greater Albert National Park, which covered a large area. It is known as the first national park ever created in Africa.
During the Rwandan civil war, Volcanoes National Park became a battlefield and was attacked in 1994. This stopped all tourism and research activities until 1999, when the area was declared safe and tourism resumed.
Volcanoes National Park is home to many plant and animal species. The vegetation depends on the altitude. There is lower montane forest, Neoboutonia forest, and bamboo forest, which covers over 30% of the park area.
Secondary thickets, meadows, marshes, shrubs, swamps, and small lakes also exist, although they cover a smaller area.
Volcanoes National Park is most known for mountain gorillas. However, other primates like golden monkeys also live here, as well as non-primates like buffaloes, bushbucks, black-fronted duikers, elephants, and forest hogs.
Birds add beauty to the park, with up to 178 species recorded.
There are 11 habituated gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park, making it a very good place for a gorilla trekking adventure.
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is a special experience because of its rainforest, its terrain, the singing birds, and the sounds of the golden monkeys.
Volcanoes National Park also has historical sites inside. These include the Buhanga Eco-Park, an ancient woodland forest with important Rwandan folklore, and the Musanze caves, which were created by volcanic eruptions many years ago.
The park is also a good place for other activities besides gorilla trekking.
These activities include hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, bird watching, climbing Karisimbi Volcano (the highest peak), climbing Bisoke Volcano, visiting Lake Kivu, touring the twin lakes, cave exploration, cultural village tours, visiting the Karisoke Research Center, and hiking to Dian Fossey’s grave.
Why visit Volcanoes National Park?
The answer is to have a unique experience in a place that is home to a quarter of the world’s total mountain gorilla population. It is home to golden monkeys, five of the Virunga mountains, and offers good hiking experiences. It is also a historical center for mountain gorilla research.
Most of the revenue collected from park fees is used for conservation work, wildlife protection, local community development, and some is kept by the government to fund other projects.
