Located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Virunga is an ideal tourist spot for those who fancy a destination with inspirational sights, multiple allures and free from crowds.
Virunga covers a total area of 8090 square kilometers and is situated near the Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda.
Formerly known as Albert National Park, Virunga is the oldest park in Africa. It was gazzeted mainly to protect and conserve the Wildlife species in the Eastern DR Congo including the endangered Mountain Gorillas.
This Park is under the Virunga wildlife conservancy, a great joint where the West African rainforests meet with the East African Savanna grasslands. This notable zone stretches for about 300km along the Albertine rift.
Moreover, its diverse ecosystem that include volcanic mountains, crater lakes, rainforests, woodlands, open grasslands, swamps and wetlands provides shelter to diverse Wildlife including unique species that are not found other continents.
The Park was more affected during those times of the 1990 war period in Rwanda, thousands of Rwandan citizens encroached the park’s areas seeking refuge.
In 1994 the Park was declared a World Heritage Site under danger; it became a ramser site of international importance in 1996.
After all that, the big thanks goes to the Virunga foundation. It has played a great role as far as restoring Virunga National Park into a secure tourism destination. It’s now a major allure for most travelers to DR Congo.
Virunga area is good not only at Wildlife but also boasts a lively plant life totaling to about 2077 plant species including 264 trees and 230 species of grasses and shrubs.
Some of the plant species are endemic to the Albertine Rift. All these are found in an area that consists of swamps and wetland, grasslands, rainforests, alpine vegetation in the highlands and montane forests.
Besides plant life, Virunga National Park is home to over 218 species of mammals including 22 primates, 109 reptiles, 65 amphibian species and 706 species of birds.
Primates are widely sighted in the rainforests, alpine vegetation and montane forests. Chances of spotting the blue monkeys, central African red colobus, grey cheeked mangabey, Dent’s mona monkey, Hamlyn’s monkey, black and white colobus, and olive baboons are higher for those who trek Mountain Gorillas or track chimpanzees in Tongo forest.
Getting to Virunga.
Most of DR Congo’s routes to Virunga are hard to access except the one through Goma town. This town is 32 km close to the Park. All visitors to DR Congo land in Rwanda at Kigali International Airport.
Transfer from Kigali by road to Goma border through Gisenyi. Cross Goma border and it takes about two hours for the drive to the Park headquarters at Bukima
From Uganda, you can also connect to DR Congo via Bunagana border after Kisoro town. From this border, it takes one hour for a drive to Bukima. Transportation from Goma or Bunagana border is provided by the Virunga foundation.
Top Activities in the Park
Mountain Gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking tops the list among the main highlights for most trips to Virunga National Park.
Gorilla trekking excursions in Virunga start early in the morning after the briefing conducted at the Park offices.
After, start the trekking journey to the jungle. When you discover their location, you are allowed to be in their presence for only one hour. After one hour you descend back to the Pack offices or your lodge.
Nyiragongo Hike
Nyiragongo is an active volcano in the Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. It lies in the Virunga massif.
Hiking to the top and observe boiling molten lava gush out of the earth crust is a thrilling experience to remember for the rest of your life.
The adventure is done in two days. It includes an overnight stay at the top. The journey to the top is strenuous but rewarding once you make it up to there.
Chimpanzee tracking /habituation
Chimpanzee tracking usually grants tourists the chance to meet the chimpanzees in the Jungles.
While in Virunga National Park, you can do this experience in the Tongo forest. The tracking sessions start very early in the morning, usually the time taken and distance moved in the Jungle depends on the location of these primates.
Bird watching
With its diverse birdlife, Virunga National Park is a must for bird watching excursions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It houses over 706 species and you can see some species like the grey throated barbet, narrow-tailed starling, African fish eagle, Madagascar bee-eater and more.