Virunga National Park, Virunga, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
The 7800 square kilometer Virunga National Park is the oldest national park in Africa and the second oldest in the world (after Yellowstone). The park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it borders Uganda as well as Rwanda. It derived its name from the Virunga Mountain (volcanoes) range that lie in the south of the park.
Virunga National Park comprises an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori at an altitude of over 5,000 m, and from lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes. The park however is much larger and stretches all the way north to envelop Lake Edward as well as the Rwenzori Mountains. Mountain gorillas are found in the park. Some 20,000 hippopotamuses live in the rivers and birds from Siberia spend the winter there.
The nightly glow from the lava lake within the Nyiragongo volcano can be seen from miles away. Virunga National Park is unrivalled in its diversity of landscapes and ecosystems. The parks boundaries envelop low land tropical forest in the north; high alpine forest in the Rwenzori Mountains; riverine forest around the Semliki and Rutshuru rivers; swamplands around Lake Edward, savannah north and south of the lake; montane forest on the hills of the Virunga volcanoes and old (and new) lava flow landscapes.
The Nyiragongo Volcano is famous for its lava lake which is the largest in the world. Climbing the volcano is a technically easy task from the direction of Goma. A trip to the top should take less than 6 hours. Most climbers stay overnight and sleep on the summit in the Nyiragongo Crater Cabanes with a view over the largest lava lake in the world. This also makes it possible to see the boiling lava by night, when it becomes even brighter. Nyiragongo Volcano Trek Permit is about $200.
Apart from climbing the volcano and seeing the mountain gorillas, tourists also visit the Tongo Chimps. Virunga National Park has a habituated Chimpanzee group in the picturesque hills of Tongo, located in the southern sector of Virunga National Park. Tongo is a unique forest island and home to a small population of chimpanzees at the west of Rumangabo, the park headquarters. The forest lies on one of the lava flows from Nyamulagira Volcano.
Tourists to the Virunga National Park can obtain a Rwenzori Mountain Trek Permit for around $200. The Rwenzori Mountains are a snow capped mountain range in the north of Virunga National Park on the border with Uganda. The highest peak in the range lies on the border and can be climbed from both countries. The trek to the glacier can be made in a 4-5 or 6 day trek. To start the trek visitors will need to travel to Beni by flight from either Goma or Entebbe.
Tourists wishing to see the mountain gorillas can access the Mikeno Sector of Virunga National Park in a number of different ways. To see the mountain gorilla sites at Jomba and Bikenge, tourists can come in overland through Uganda by crossing the Bunagana border which is about 1 hour drive to the sites. With a local visa which can be bought for $50 at the border, the border crossing gives no hassles. However, this visa is not a fully recognized visa and can only be used to visit the park and subsequently leaving the country at the Bunagana border post again. The permit to see the Mountain Gorillas is $400.
Also, with a pre-arranged visa, tourists can come into the DRC overland through Rwanda by crossing the Gisenyi/Goma border. Unlike crossing the Bunagana border via Uganda, crossing Gisenyi/Goma border without a pre-arranged visa will be difficult or expensive. Visas purchased at the border crossing cost around $280. Alternatively, with a pre-arranged visa, tourists can fly into Goma. Many flights from within the DRC connect to Goma but a flight to Entebbe is necessary if flying in from outside the DRC.
Sources: UNESCO, Wikitravel, Virunga National Park, VisitVirunga.Org
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