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Mist and shafts of light over the Virunga volcanoes rising above open highland at dawn

Northern Province

Volcanoes National Park

Mountain gorillas in the forests of the Virunga Massif

The Virunga chain at first light

01The place

Volcanoes National Park covers the Rwandan slopes of the Virunga Massif, a chain of eight volcanoes shared with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Five of them stand in Rwanda, and the forest that wraps around their bases is one of the last places on earth where mountain gorillas live wild.

The park is small, steep and often wet. Trails climb through farmland, cross a dry-stone buffalo wall, and enter a world of bamboo, nettles and hagenia trees hung with moss. Somewhere above, a silverback is sitting in a clearing while his family feeds around him.

It is also where Dian Fossey established the Karisoke Research Centre in 1967 and spent eighteen years studying the gorillas she made famous. Her grave lies in the saddle between Karisimbi and Bisoke, reached on a hike of its own.

Region
Northern Province
Nearest town
Musanze
From Kigali
About 2 to 2.5 hours by road
Known for
Mountain gorillas, golden monkeys
Recommended stay
2 to 3 nights

02Why visit

  • 01

    An hour with a gorilla family

    Trekking groups are small and each is assigned to one habituated family. Once you reach them, you get one hour. It is the single most affecting wildlife encounter in Africa.

  • 02

    Golden monkeys in the bamboo

    A separate, easier trek finds troops of endangered golden monkeys crashing through the bamboo zone — fast, bright, and far more animated than the gorillas.

  • 03

    Volcano summits

    Bisoke carries a crater lake at its summit and can be climbed in a long day. Karisimbi, the highest in the chain at 4,507 metres, is a two-day climb with a night on the mountain.

  • 04

    Two hours from the capital

    Musanze sits close enough to Kigali that a gorilla trek is realistic on a short trip, and close enough to the park gate that you are not driving in the dark before a 7am briefing.

03Volcanoes in pictures

  • A mountain gorilla sitting among leaves, holding a stem and looking directly at the camera
  • A family group of mountain gorillas feeding together in dense green vegetation
  • Two volcanic cones of the Virunga range at sunset above terraced farmland
  • A golden monkey with orange and gold fur perched in the bamboo canopy
  • Layered volcanic peaks fading into blue mist above the forest
  • Mountain gorillas resting in a bamboo thicket

04Things to do

  • Mountain gorilla trekking
  • Golden monkey trekking
  • Hike to Dian Fossey's grave and the Karisoke site
  • Climb Mount Bisoke to its crater lake
  • Two-day ascent of Mount Karisimbi
  • Musanze caves
  • Twin Lakes Burera and Ruhondo
  • Community and cultural visits around Kinigi

05Attractions

  • The Virunga volcanoes

    Karisimbi, Bisoke, Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura form the skyline above the park. Sabyinyo's jagged ridge is where Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC meet.

  • Karisoke and Dian Fossey's grave

    The original research camp site sits in the saddle between Karisimbi and Bisoke. Fossey is buried beside the gorillas she studied, including Digit.

  • Musanze caves

    A lava tube running for kilometres beneath the farmland outside Musanze, with roof collapses that let shafts of light down onto the floor.

  • Lakes Burera and Ruhondo

    Twin crater lakes east of the park, ringed by terraced hills with the volcanoes behind them. A quiet half-day by boat.

06When to go

Trekking runs year-round. The two drier spells make the trails firmer and the forest less punishing underfoot.

  • JanJan: best time to visit
  • FebFeb: best time to visit
  • MarMar: shoulder season
  • AprApr: shoulder season
  • MayMay: shoulder season
  • JunJun: best time to visit
  • JulJul: best time to visit
  • AugAug: best time to visit
  • SepSep: best time to visit
  • OctOct: shoulder season
  • NovNov: shoulder season
  • DecDec: best time to visit
  • The long rains fall roughly March to May and the short rains around October and November.
  • Rain is possible in any month — this is a mountain rainforest, and gaiters and a waterproof matter more than the season.
  • Permits for the driest months are the first to go; plan well ahead.

07Getting there

From Kigali · Road
About 2 to 2.5 hoursSealed road the whole way via Musanze.
From Lake Kivu (Rubavu) · Road
About 1.5 to 2 hours
From Akagera National Park · Road
About 5 to 6 hours, usually broken in Kigali

08Where to stay

  • Lodges around Kinigi close to the park headquarters, from simple guesthouses to some of the most expensive lodges on the continent.
  • Musanze town has good mid-range hotels roughly 30 to 40 minutes from the briefing point.
  • Because briefings start early, staying close to the gate is worth more here than almost anywhere else in Rwanda.

09What to do here

Experiences in Volcanoes

All experiences →

10Journeys that go here

Tours including Volcanoes

All tours →

11Questions

Before you go

Ask us something else

  • It varies from about one hour to a full day each way, depending on where your assigned family has moved to. The terrain is steep, muddy and often at altitude above 2,500 metres. Reasonable fitness helps a great deal, and porters are available at the trailhead — hiring one is both genuinely useful and a direct contribution to local income.

Plan Volcanoes

Build a trip around Volcanoes

Tell us roughly when you want to travel and what you want to see. We will come back with an itinerary built around it, not a package pulled off a shelf.

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