Volcanoes National Park – Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park is the most popular and visited national park in Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills. It is known as a haven for the mountain gorillas, the most threatened species of the primates’ family in Africa. The park lies in the Northwest of Rwanda, bordering the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
It should be noted that those three National parks are combined to be referred to as the Virunga Massif. Besides Bwindi Forest, the Virunga Massif is the only other place to find Mountain Gorillas. Volcanoes National park is home to five of the eight volcanoes of the Virunga Mountains (Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo), which are covered in rainforest and bamboo.
History of the Park
This was the very first National Park to be created in Africa, gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by Karisimbi, Visoke and Mikeno with an intention to protect the gorillas from poachers.
In 1929, the borders of the park were extended further into Rwanda and into the Belgian Congo, to form the Albert National Park, a huge area of 8090 km², run by the Belgian colonial authorities who were in charge of both colonies.
However, in 1958, 700 hectares of the park were cleared for a human settlement. After the Congo gained independence in 1960, the park was split into two, and upon Rwandan independence in 1962 the new government agreed to maintain the park as a conservation and tourist area, despite the fact that the new republic was already suffering from overpopulation problems.
Dian Fossey and the Volcanoes National Park
The park was then halved in area in 1969 and between 1969 and 1973, 1050 hectares of the park were cleared to grow pyrethrum. Later alone, Volcanoes became the base for the American naturalist Dian Fossey to carry out her research into the gorillas after her arrival in 1967.
Dian Fossey is widely credited with saving the gorillas from extinction by bringing their plight to the attention of the international community. She was then murdered by unknown assailants at her home in 1985, a crime often attributed to the poachers she had spent her life fighting against.
Fossey’s life later was portrayed on the big screen in the film Gorillas in the Mist, named after her autobiography. She is buried in the park in a grave close to the research center, and amongst the gorillas which became her life.
Earlier Political Threats to Tourism in the Park
Just like its counterpart in Congo, the Virunga National Park, peace in the Volcanoes has ever been threatened due to Political issues. The Park became a battlefield during the Rwandan Civil War, with the park headquarters being attacked in 1992. The research Centre was abandoned, and all tourist activities including visiting the gorillas were stopped.
However, tourist activities in the Volcanoes resumed in 1999 when the area was deemed to be safe and under control. Though there has been occasional infiltrations by Rwandan rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda in subsequent years, they are always stopped quickly by the Rwandan army and currently, there is no threat to tourism in the park.
Attractions and Tour Activities
Volcanoes National park offers a lot to see besides being the haven of Mountain Gorillas. From the wildlife (animals) itself to the varying vegetation, there is a lot to enjoy during your visit to the park.
Vegetation
Vegetation within the Volcanoes National Park varies considerably depending onto the large altitudinal ranges. Lower montane forest though now mainly lost to agriculture, the Neoboutonia forest between 2400 and 2500m, the Arundinaria alpine (bamboo) forest between 2500 and 3200m, the Hagenia-Hypericum forest, Lobelia, grassland, secondary thicket, meadows, marshes, swamp vegetation among others.
Wildlife
The park is best known for the Mountain Gorilla. Volcanoes is the second park with a high concentration of these endangered creatures after Bwindi Impenetrable forest of Uganda. The park also inhabits the rare monkey species of the old-word Monkey family, the Golden Monkeys that are endemic to the Virunga massif. This calls for Mountain Gorilla and Golden Monkey tracking in the region.
Other mammals in the park include the black-fronted duiker, buffalo, Spotted Hyena and bushbuck among others. There are also reported to be some elephants in the park, though these are now very rare.
There are over 178 recorded bird species, with at least 13 species and 16 subspecies endemic to the Virunga and Ruwenzori Mountains respectively calling for Bird Watching in the region.
Other Tour Activities
Besides Mountain Gorilla Tracking, the highlight activity of the park, there are other activities that can be done to make your visit memorable. These include;
Mount Karisimbi & Bisoke Hike
Mountain Karisimbi, a stratovolcano and the highest of the eight major volcanoes of the Virunga massif as well as the 5th highest in Africa. It is located along the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda on the western branch of the African Rift valley.
The hike to Karisimbi’s summit affords sights of several bird varieties, primates like monkeys, varying kinds of exotic plants in its four belts of vegetation, from the dense forest at its base to the barren volcanic core at the summit among others.
On the other hand, mountain Bisoke offers one of the top thrilling adventures while in Rwanda with offering spectacular views of a crater lake atop. The hike to the summit of this Volcano simply takes 5 – 6 hours including the 2 hours for descending.
Iby’Iwacu cultural village Tour
Iby’Iwacu village is located around the Volcanoes National PARK in Nyabigoma, Kinigi, Musanze district, Northern Province. Visiting this village gives you a rare chance to meet local people in their environment, with a taste of the Rwandan culture and traditions.
Expect to share with the locals home and heritage treasures including lifestyles, activities, artifacts and ways of life.
Dian Fossey Tomb Hike
The trek to the tomb of this great conservationist involves a 30 minutes’ drive from the park headquarters to the trail head to access the Karisoke research camp where visitors walk for 10 minutes to the park boundary .The hike offers good views of forest hogs, forest elephants, a variety of primates and bird species.
Accommodation;
There are a number of facilities for accommodation and dinner/ breakfast that visitors to the Volcanoes Ntional Park can use. Some include the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Best View Hotel, and Mountain Gorillas Nest Lodge among others.