Volcanoes National Park is Rwanda's most iconic wildlife destination, covering 160 km across the Virunga massif, five dormant volcanoes straddling the Rwanda-DRC-Uganda border.
Home to approximately one-third of the world's remaining mountain gorillas, the park offers one of the most extraordinary wildlife encounters on Earth. Each gorilla family group is habituated to human presence and monitored daily.
Beyond gorilla trekking, the park supports golden monkey habituation, forest bird watching across afromontane habitats, and challenging volcano summit hikes.
The park is historically significant as the site of Dian Fossey's Karisoke Research Center, where decades of gorilla conservation research began.
June to September and December to February offer the clearest trekking conditions with lower rainfall.
Rwanda
national park
Gorilla trekking permits are $1,500 per person per trek. Golden monkey permits are lower. Book well in advance as permit numbers are strictly limited.
Habituated mountain gorilla groups offering visitors a magical, strictly controlled one-hour audience.
A dramatic chain of five dormant volcanoes draped in lush afro-alpine moorland and dense bamboo.
Rare, highly active, and brilliantly colored primates endemic to the high-altitude bamboo forests of the Virungas.
