Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park is located in the North Western part of Rwanda covering an area of 160 sq kms in the vast Virunga Conservation region that includes Virunga national park and Mgahinga Gorilla national park in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, respectively.

The park was first established in 1925 making it the oldest national park on the African continent. It is the most popular and most visited national park in Rwanda, famously known to the world for being a home to the endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK AT A GLANCE

Facts

Oldest national park in Africa and in Rwanda
5 of the 8 volcanoes of the Virunga mountains are located within the park, Bisoke, Muhabura, Sabinyo, Karisimbi and Gahinga.
The park is situated in North West Rwanda adjacent to Mgahinga Gorilla national park in Uganda and Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Home to 2 endangered species, that is the Mountain Gorillas and the Golden monkeys which can both be trekked on your visit to the park.
This park was the research base of Dian Fossey, a world-famous primatologist that was so passionate about the mountain gorillas. Her tomb can be visited while in the park.
Mountain Gorillas are the main tourist attraction to the national park.
The park is characterized by rainforest covers, bamboo, grasslands and small shrub patches, wetlands and swamps in the valleys.
The park gets its name from the dormant volcanoes that make up the Virunga massif.

WILDLIFE IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

The Animals: The most famous animal in the park is the mountain gorilla. Other animals in the park include the endangered golden monkeys whose only home is the Virunga region and other rarely seen animals in the Volcanoes national park include the forest Elephants, giant forest hogs, bush pigs, duikers, bushbucks, buffalos, spotted hyenas and other primate species.

The Birds: Over 200 bird species have been recorded in Volcanoes national park including the Albertine Rift endemics. Look out for the Ruwenzori batis, great blue and Ruwenzori turacos, handsome francolin, archer’s ground robin, Rwenzori double collared sunbird among many others.

TOURIST ACTIVITIES IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

What to do in Volcanoes national park:

Gorilla trekking: this is the highlight tourist activity in this park. There are several habituated gorilla families in the park and each group of visitors is allocated to a particular group on the day of the trek.

Golden monkey trekking: the endangered Golden monkeys are an interesting primate specie to track.

Bird watching: Volcanoes has over 200 species of birds of which some are endemic to the Albertine Rift region. This rich birdlife allows for a rewarding bird watching experience in the lush green forests of the national park.

Hiking: For the more adventurous, this park offers amazing hiking trips to the different dormant volcanoes within the park. Hike Mt. Karisimbi, the highest volcano in the Volcanoes entire region on a 2-day hike and Mt. Bisoke on a 1-day adventure hike.

Guided nature walks and Mountain biking

Cultural tours to the Ibyi’wacu village and other communities around the park.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

What to see in Volcanoes national park:

Mountain Gorillas
Golden monkeys
Rich birdlife of over 200 species
Musanze caves
Kwita Inzina – Gorilla naming ceremony
Dian Fossey tomb tour
Buhanga Eco Park

GORILLA FAMILIES / GROUPS IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

Kwitonda
Amahoro
Hirwa
Sabinyo
Agashya / Group 13
Ugenda
Umubano
Susa (A)
Susa (B) / Karisimbi
Titus
Bwenge

CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

First gazetted in 1925 to protected the mountain gorillas in Bisoke, Karisimbi and Mikeno from the poachers.

The government of Rwanda has plans of expanding the park up to 23,000 hectares.

ACCESSIBILITY

The park is easily accessed from Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali.

How to get to Volcanoes national park

By road

2-3-hour drive from Kigali city, capital of Rwanda
30 minutes’ drive from Cyanika in Kisoro at Uganda’s border

By air

Visitors can charter domestic flights to the park by helicopter organized by Akagera aviation.

ACCOMMODATION IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

Where to stay in Volcanoes national park

The park being the most popular and most visited national park and tourist destination in Rwanda, it has a variety of accommodation facilities to carter for every visitor that visits the park. Most of these facilities are found in Kinigi and Musanze.

To mention but a few:

Virunga lodge
Sabinyo silverback lodge
Bisate lodge
Mountain Gorilla view lodge
Gorilla volcanoes lodge
Le Palme hotel
Le Bambou gorilla lodge
Muhabura hotel
Kinigi Guest house
Mountain Gorilla Nest lodge
Kwitonda lodge
One & Only Gorilla Nest
Garden Place hotel
Garr hotel

This national park is open to visitors all throughout the year. The recommended time to visit the park for gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking and other activities in the park is during the dry season when the park trails are drier. It is advisable if you are planning to trek the gorillas to book and pay for your gorilla trekking permit in advance prior to your visit to this park.