Frequently Asked Questions about Volcanoes National Park

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Volcanoes National Park. Volcanoes National Park lies on the North Western border of Rwanda with D.R Congo and Uganda. The park occupies about 160 sq. km of forest land. From Kigali airport, a road trip goes through winding roads for about two and half hours to arrive in Ruhengeri.  Towering Volcanoes National Park are 5 Virunga Volcanoes that is Karisimbi, Bisoke, Gahinga, Muhavura, and Sabyinyo.

This park is home to Rwanda’s endangered mountain gorillas shared by only Uganda and D.R.Congo in the entire world. Each day gorilla trekkers wake up to briefing at the park headquarters ORTPN, divided into groups of a maximum of 8 clients.

In Volcanoes National park, you get the chance to spot other primates like golden monkeys, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, pottos monkeys, blue monkeys, and others.

Abundant birdlife spends the day in Volcanoes National Park including Albertine endemics. Some birds you may get to see include Rwenzori Turaco, White-Tailed Blue Flycatcher, Scarley-tufted Malachite Sunbird, and Kivu Ground Thrush to mention but a few.

What to do in Volcanoes National Park

Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

The main activity in Volcanoes National Park is gorilla trekking which starts with booking a gorilla trekking permit. You have to state the date you wish to do gorilla trekking and the rest of your entire itinerary is tailored around those dates.

Volcanoes National park has about 13 gorilla trekking families that are open for tourist visits. Some include the Amahooro family, Sabyinyo family, Susa Gorilla family, Group13, Kwitonda, Karisimbi, Umubano family, Hirwa gorilla family, Ugenda family, Bwenge gorilla family, and others.

The topography of Volcanoes National Park is generally steep making the hike to locate the gorillas a little more strenuous. This is why you need to do some fair exercises before gorilla trekking to keep your muscles in shape. You need to withstand the slope difficulties before locating the mountain gorillas.

Only one hour is allowed to be with mountain gorillas because they are habituated to being in the presence of humans for just that time. They need to be left free to feed with no human interference. Their sheer size needs a good amount of foliage to support it throughout the day and night.

Kwita Izina  Day

This is the Gorilla naming ceremony in Rwanda. Each year, when New Born mountain gorillas are registered, a ceremony to mark this achievement is made. It is Kwita Izina day and people travel from all over the world to attend this special function that brings out the beauty of conservation.

Remember mountain gorillas had been on the verge of extinction before the 1990s and the zeal for their conservation has led to the steady increase in numbers of mountain gorillas to about 800 from about 250 over the years.

The date for this function is set by Rwanda Development Board every year and you can also book your gorilla trekking safari based on such a day when publicized.

Golden Monkeys Trekking Volcanoes National Park

Golden monkeys are some of the endangered mountain gorillas in the world only existing in the Virunga area. Their body size is larger than normal monkeys and is covered with golden brown far in the back. In nature, these monkeys are extremely active throughout the day.

To enable tourists to follow the golden monkeys, they have been habituated to slow down for a bit but still, nature overpowers ad they keep you on your heels. Their enchanting moves are what makes them special to follow.

They live in troupes of about 100 to 200 members with an alpha male as their leader.

The golden monkeys permit is booked from ORTPN at $ 100 per person per trek. Trekkers have a briefing from the ranger station before heading for golden monkeys trekking then a ranger guide escorts you into the forest to start searching. Never enter the forest without a guided ranger because the jungle is vast you may get lost.

Birding in Volcanoes National Park

 Volcanoes National park is the Rwanda birding destination. The park is the habitat of more than 178 bird species inclusive of Redlist IUCN Albertine endemics. You need to have packed birding gear including a camera, sound trackers, a pair of binoculars, and tracking boots because of the steep nature of the topography of Volcanoes National park.

Some birds you may get to see include White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Scarley-tufted Malachite Sunbird,  montane Double-collared sunbird, and handsome Francolin Dusky Turtle Dove to mention but a few.

Hiking In Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National park has about 5 volcanic peaks that are Mountain Karisimbi, Mountain Bisoke, Mountain Muhavura, Mountain Sabyinyo, and Mountain Gahinga. Hiking one of these huge mountains takes and day but no special mountaineering gears are required. Different vegetation zones come into view when hiking these mountains and on a clear day, the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains can be seen.

1. Hiking Mountain Karisimbi

This is the highest mountain of all of them and hiking may take about 2 days. With your ranger guide, you hike to about 3700 m above sea level then complete the next day. The peak stands at an altitude of about 4507 meters above sea level.

During this hike, you get a view of Mountain Muhavura, Nyamulangira Volcanoes and the active Volcano Nyirangongo in D.R.Congo various vegetation zones make up the slopes of Mountain Karisimbi.

• Hiking Mountain Bisoke

Standing at about 3711meters above sea level is Mountain Bisoke neighboring D.R. Congo. Some beautiful craters come into view during the hike of Bisoke Mountain and the marvelous Virunga forest canopy.

Hiking Bisoke Mountains may take about 6 hours.

• Hiking Mountain Gahinga

Towering over the Uganda-Rwanda border is Mountain Gahinga. It stands 3474 meters above sea level and even if you have no experience in hiking you can try this. The hike takes about 6 hours and as you ascend you get to enjoy the crater view, lash vegetation cover, and others.

• Hiking Mountain Muhavura

             Elevated on the deep South Western corner of Uganda and Rwanda is 4127 meters high mountain of Muhavura. Hiking this mountain takes about 8 hours and when you get to the top  Lake Ruhondo and Lake Burera come into view.

• Hiking Mountain Sabyinyo

Placed at the pivot of Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.Congo is Mountain Sabyinyo. When you reach its top, you can see these three countries. This mountain lies in Volcanoes National park in Rwanda and Mgahinga National park in Uganda.

At about 3645 meters above sea level, Mgahinga Mountains stands up decorated with varying vegetation zones, deep gorges has a muddy scramble as you move up.

The trek take approximately 8 hours on a 14 km round trip.

Dian Fossey Trek

Walking in the steps of the fallen Mountain Gorilla hero Dian Fossey is one of the touching Rwanda Adventures. After realizing how endangered the mountain gorillas were, the American primatologist Dian Fossey staged her studies in Volcanoes National Park in 1967. She set up the Karisoke Research center just to understand the mountain gorilla.

Here enthusiastic move to protect the mountain gorillas from a human invasion led to here brutal death in 1985. Her remains were buried amongst the mountain gorillas whose friendship she treasured.

Many researchers all over the world base their information about mountain gorillas on her findings and an institute was set up in her memory.

What Accommodations To Book In Volcanoes National Park

Enjoying overnight within or out of the Volcanoes National Park is part of the adventure. You may opt to stay in Kigali city or Rive to Ruhengeri for overnight before gorilla trekking.

A wide range of accommodation facilities are available to book when in Volcanoes National Park. All budgets are catered for ranging from Luxury accommodations to Mid-range accommodations to modest accommodations. Some accommodation include

Virunga Volcanoes Lodge, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Kinigi Guest House, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Le Bambou, Hotel Mille Collins, Best View Hotel, Faraja Hotel, and Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge to mention but a few

How To Get To Volcanoes National Park

Traveling to Volcanoes National park is mainly by road from Kigali Airport. You go through winding roads for about 3 hours. Daily public transport is available from Kigali but it stops at Musanze. You need to hire private means to connect to Volcanoes National park.

What To Pack For Volcanoes National Park

 Tracking comfortable boots that will enable you to hike to locate the mountain gorillas. The topography of Volcanoes National Park is generally steep and at times the gorillas feed from the slopes so you need to find them there in the Bamboo area.

A rainproof gear or poncho to protect you from getting wet when it rains or the dripping dew on the leaves that falls like drops of rain.

Long-sleeved shirt and trousers with a dirt-friendly color like Khaki that will protect your skin from pricking sharp surfaces in the jungle and biting nettles.

Insect repellant that is friendly to your skin and won’t bring any skin reaction. The jungle has stinging insects that can bite you while in the jungle

An extra mask to change into when with the gorillas because they are affected by human infectious diseases like Covid-19, and flu.

A camera that is flash-less to keep memories of your gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park

What Is The Best Time To Visit Volcanoes National Park

All year round volcanoes National Park is open for Tourist visits. The peak seasons June to September and December are busiest so if you are planning your Africa gorilla trekking safari in that period you need to reserve the gorilla trekking permit in advance for at least 3 months.

This period also has drier months and the ground along the trails is not so boggy because of more sun rays that penetrate the ground.

The wet months of March to May and November are also open for visitors but carry all your gorilla trekking gear, especially rainproof gear because it rains severely and the weather is extremely cold. These months sometimes call for discounted gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda. The terms and conditions of the Rwanda Development Board apply to secure discounted permits.

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