Gorilla Trek and Tour Guide in Virunga National Park, DR Congo Wildlife and Cultural Safaris
Best Things To Do In Virunga National Park: The Park is Located in eastern DR Congo and owes its existence, at least in part, to the presence of the endangered (once critically endangered) mountain gorillas. Today, they are probably the park’s most famous resident, and there are believed to be just over 1,000 remaining. Approximately one-third of the world’s population is found in Virunga National Park (the remainder is divided between Volcanoes, Mgahinga, and Bwindi Impenetrable national parks in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda).
Described by the Virunga park authorities as the Congo’s “real treasure” (rather than oil or metals), there are believed to be over 300 of these precious primates within the Virunga National Park. Of these, over nine gorilla families have been carefully habituated over the last thirty years. Every family comes with its dynamics, characters, and stories, and the Rangers have kept track of it all.
About Virunga National Park:
The oldest national park in Africa, Virunga National Park covers nearly 8,000 km2 (800,000 hectares) – an area roughly three times the size of Luxembourg. It conserves a diversity of habitats that surpasses any other park on the continent and is tucked along the eastern boundary of the Democratic Republic of Congo, protecting the eastward extremity of the Congo Basin. Virunga is part of the Albertine Rift (the western branch of the East African Rift) and stretches from the snow-covered peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains in the north to the Virunga Massif in the south.
The 300km-long Virunga National Park is divided into three primary sectors: northern, central, and southern, which together combine to protect an astonishing array of landscapes from alpine vegetation and montane forests to lava plains and wetlands. The most visited section is the southern sector, dominated by dense montane forests home to a vital population of Africa’s remaining mountain gorillas.
While many of the gorillas sensibly prefer to reside on the slopes of the dormant Mikeno volcano, the southern section is also the location of the two active volcanoes in the park – Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira. Here, Virunga reaches Lake Kivu and borders Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. Together, these three protected areas form the core of the Greater Virunga Ecosystem.
The central sector is centered around the banks of Lake Edward. It includes the Rwindi plains and the Ishasha River valley and is contiguous with Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park to the east.
This savannah-like section offers the best chance to spot the more “traditional” safari animals, including elephants, lions, and buffalo. The northern sector is characterized by the dramatic Rwenzori Mountains, with sharp peaks and plunging valleys that descend to the Semuliki River valley. This picturesque part of the park adjoins the Rwenzori Mountains and Semuliki National Parks in neighboring Uganda.
Virunga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its spectacular biodiversity, with over 2,000 plant species, 706 bird species, and nearly 200 reptile and amphibian species. The park is also home to a diverse array of fauna and flora, including over 200 mammal species and a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.
The name “Virunga” comes from the Kinyarwanda word “Ibirunga”, which means “volcanoes”. The Virunga Mountains that mark the southern sector of the park consist of eight major volcanoes, most of which are dormant. The two active volcanoes in the range – Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Nyamuragira – are in Virunga National Park, and both reach heights of over 3,000 meters.
Visitors who brave the climb to the summit of Mt. Nyiragongo are rewarded with a view of the world’s largest lava lake as it churns and bubbles. This site is at its most impressive at night, so most opt to camp on the rim of the crater. However, this is no idle volcano. Nyiragongo has erupted over thirty times since the end of the 19th century. The most recent eruption occurred in 2021 and had catastrophic consequences for the human residents of the city of Goma. Fortunately, stalwart sightseers can rest assured that the volcano’s moods are carefully monitored lest it decides to let loose its fury of molten lava.
Even the air is redolent with the scent of rich soil, and intrepid visitors find themselves besieged by butterflies and ebrious with delight at the natural life on the show. Throw in nocturnal displays of volcanic ambivalence, and the Virunga experience is far beyond the average escape from the humdrum of city life – it is an exhilarating embrace of everything that makes Africa truly wild.
Gorilla Trekking in the Virunga:
Every morning, rangers set out at the crack of dawn to track down and monitor their charges, and by the time guests have stirred and downed their first coffee, many families have already been located. After stringent health protocols (to avoid passing human pathogens to the immunologically gorillas) and a trek through thick vegetation, small groups of visitors are afforded the life-changing opportunity to spend an hour in the company of these gentle giants.
As anyone who has ever spent time with gorillas will tell you, it is an experience that defies words and borders on sacred. There is something about the familiarity of their facial expressions, their familial bonds, and the calm, contained power that makes gorilla trekking unlike any conventional animal encounter.
Senkwekwe Gorilla OrphanageM In Virunga National Park
The connection between man and gorilla can be further explored at the Senkwekwe Centre, the only mountain gorilla orphanage in the world. Here dedicated keepers have raised the young survivors of anthropogenic cruelty (poaching and snaring), as well as rehabilitating eastern lowland gorillas.
The orphanage is named for a silverback killed in a devastating poaching incident in 2007 that claimed the lives of seven members of the Rugendo family. It is headed by André Bauma, a man who has become almost as famous as his gorilla charges. Bauma’s love for his primate “family” endeared him to the audiences of the Oscar-nominated film, Virunga. He even attended the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles.
Other wildlife in the Virunga:
Mammals in Virunga National Park
Mountain gorillas aside, Virunga’s great ape collection also includes eastern lowland gorillas (Grauer’s gorillas – Gorilla Beringei Graueri) and chimpanzees. Park officials are in the process of habituating the chimpanzees, and accompanying the habituation teams is another of the activities on offer in the park. In contrast to the relatively sedate gorilla trekking, chimp habituation more often than not involves an adrenaline-filled race through the forest to keep up with our arboreal relatives. The Grauer’s gorillas consist of a handful of individuals isolated to the inaccessible Mount Tshiabirimu region of the park.
Chattering troops of flamboyant eastern black-and-white colobus monkeys often frequent the lodges while the booming calls of De Brazza’s monkeys echo through the valleys. There are four recognized subspecies of the African buffalo in Africa and two of these – the Cape and forest – are found in Virunga. Some biologists even believe that a fifth subspecies, called the mountain or Virunga buffalo, should be recognized.
In addition, the plains support several ungulates, including topi, Ugandan kob, waterbuck, warthog, red river, and giant forest hog. These, in turn, keep the lions of the park suitably satiated. Together with Queen Elizabeth National Park, Virunga is considered by the IUCN to be a “Lion Conservation Unit”.
It is also a vital elephant habitat, as evidenced by the unexpected migration of nearly 600 elephants from neighboring Queen Elizabeth at the end of 2020. Massive pods of hippo lurk around the shallows of Lake Edward and wallow in the various rivers, and bongo antelope have been spotted in the park’s northern reaches.
The Virunga National Park is a crucial habitat for giant and tree pangolins, crested porcupines,s and even Lord Derby’s scaly-tailed squirrel (a rodent with a very similar design to flying squirrels). However, another creature is arguably Virunga’s (and Africa’s) most peculiar offering.
The okapi is the closest known relative to the giraffe and looks very much as though someone crossed a zebra, antelope, and giraffe. Okapis are endangered, and there are probably only a few thousand remaining. While sightings of these animal oddities in Virunga are few and far between, they were spotted in the northern sector before the arrival of the militia.
Birds in Virunga National Park
With a checklist of 706 different species, there are more birds in Virunga than anywhere else on earth. Furthermore, a substantial number of these are Albertine Rift and Congolese endemics. Notable species include the prehistoric-looking shoebills, dashing Rwenzori turacos, mind-blowingly cryptic African green broadbills, and bizarre red-collared mountain babblers whose closest relative forages the slopes of Mt Jupe in Cameroon.
There are melodic Kivu ground thrushes, mythical Grauer’s cuckoo shrikes and yellow-crested helmetshrikes, mysterious Albertine owlets and ghostly Congo Bay owls, dazzling purple-breasted and Rockefeller sunbirds, raucous white-headed woodhoopoes, dainty Rwenzori batises, data deficient and endangered Itombwe nightjars, Prigogine’s greenbuls, Grauer’s swamp warbler and golden-naped weavers.
Where to Stay in Virunga National Park
There are a couple of different lodges scattered throughout the park, and the choice of activity (gorilla treks, Lava treks up Nyiragongo, game drives, and so on) will determine the best place to stay. Most visitors opt to rotate through the different options. Ultra-luxury is not the order of the day in Virunga, but there are high-end accommodation options, and all the camps are comfortable.
Each offers a different view of the lush vegetation and exquisite vistas. Tourism remains a cornerstone of the park’s conservation efforts, and to that end, all of the lodges within the park are non-profit, with all proceeds fed back into keeping the park protected.
Best Time to Visit Virunga National Park
Though Virunga is accessible year-round (if open to visitors), the best time to visit is during the drier months, from June until September or December until February. However, wet seasons are a good option for those with a pair of solid, waterproof boots looking to take advantage of the low-season discounts. Most visitors access the park via Rwanda and pass through the border at Goma.
All in all, Virunga is a biodiversity spectacle, and in this near-forgotten corner of Africa, adventurers, soul-seekers, and naturalists will find an electrifying celebration of life at its most raw – a kaleidoscope of nature’s wonders and a living history of human and wild resilience.
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