Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park is one of the must-visit parks once you visit Rwanda. The park is nestled between Virunga National Park in Congo and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. It is situated in Northwestern Rwanda and the park is famous for being the home of Gorillas-an endangered wildlife species which is only located in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda. While moving through this dense forested park, you will hear other chants of Monkeys and several wildlife species which inhabit within the park.

This park hosts five Virunga mountains and is part of the Virunga conservation area.  Muhabura (4.127 m), Gahinga (3.474 m), Bisoke (3711 m), Sabyinyo (3.674 m), and Karisimbi- the highest volcanoes among them are the five mountains which are located within the park. The park’s ecosystem which is mainly the Bamboo forest, swamp and heath are some of the factors why the park has been able to conserve the mountain gorillas.

Gorilla trekking

Gorilla trekking is the predominant activity. Tourists from all corners of the world visit Rwanda for gorilla trekking. One of the reasons why gorilla trekking in Rwanda is favored compared to Uganda and Congo is that is easy to do gorilla trekking within one day. You can drive from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, early in the morning to Volcanoes national park for gorilla trekking and come back the same day to Kigali. Although there are many gorillas, only those which have been habituated are the ones which are trekked. There are about 10 habituated gorilla groups in volcanoes national park and these are:

1. The susa  gorilla group
2. Amohoro gorilla group
3. Sabyinyo gorilla group
4. Umubano gorilla group
5. Karisimbi gorilla group
6. Hirwa gorilla group
7. Kwitonda gorilla group
8. group
9. Ugenda gorilla group
10. Bwenge gorilla group

Golden monkey Tracking

Golden monkeys are endangered species and these wildlife species are readily available to trek in Volcanoes national park. The price of trekking golden monkeys is cheaper compared to gorilla trekking.

Mount climbing adventures.

With the composition of several mountains within the park; it is possible to dedicate your whole tour on moving from hiking around the mountains. One of the common climbing routes is moving to the summit of Mount Karisimbi which is the highest mountain in the park.

Visiting the Dian Fossey tombs

Dian Fossey is one the best known anthropologist whose work was solely dedicated to protecting the gorillas. Because of her works, she was buried in this park, a place that she used to call home. Her conservation efforts are much appreciated today. You can take a tour to her tomb as part of your volcanoes national park activities.

it is possible to visit volcanoes national park by either air transport or road transport. If you prefer to road,  you can always hire a car to volcanoes national park in Rwanda  with Kigali car rentals.