Volcanoes National Park protects 160 square kilometres of the Virunga Mountains in northwestern Rwanda, including five of the range’s eight volcanoes. Their slopes are covered in rainforest and bamboo and dotted with mountain lakes, and the park is about two hours by road from Kigali.
This is mountain gorilla country. Of roughly 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the world, more than 600 live in the wider Virunga area, and the park itself is home to 12 gorilla families, each led by a silverback. Treks are guided and in small groups, and once a family is found you can spend up to an hour watching them feed, groom and play. The park also holds two habituated troops of endangered golden monkeys, about 80 animals in all, along with buffalo, bushbuck, spotted hyena, black fronted duiker and more than 200 bird species.
The zoologist Dian Fossey made these forests famous. She set up her research centre here, campaigned against the poaching that threatened the gorillas and is widely credited with helping to save them, a story later told in the film Gorillas in the Mist. Her work continues today and is celebrated every year at Kwita Izina, the traditional ceremony at which the year’s newborn gorillas are given their names.
Guided small group treks lead through bamboo and up steep forested hillsides to a habituated gorilla family, where you spend an unforgettable hour watching how the group lives. Sturdy boots and rain gear are essential.
A small group trek to find one of the park’s two habituated troops of endangered golden monkeys. Shy at first, they soon relax and put on a lively show as they leap from tree to tree overhead.
A tough but rewarding climb that starts in bamboo forest and rises through low bush country to a beautiful crater lake near the summit.
A 7-day Rwanda designed around Two mountain gorilla treks (Volcanoes National Park), Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest, Golden monkey habituation experience.
The dry season from June to September gives the best trekking conditions. Expect rain and mist at any time of year and cool days at altitude, with temperatures that can drop to around 16°C.
Rwanda
national park
Gorilla trekking permits cost US$1,500 per person and are limited, so book well ahead of your travel dates. The park is open from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM. All fees are confirmed in your quotation.
A 4-day Rwanda designed around Chimpanzee tracking with habituated group, Canopy walk 70 meters above forest floor, Colobus monkey troop observations (400+ individuals).
A 3-day Rwanda designed around Big Five game viewing (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo), Black rhino tracking experience, Lake Ihema boat safari with hippos and crocs.