Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes national park is in a small village called Musanze, previously well-known as Ruhengeri, which is very accessible by public transport from Gisenyi or Kigali or from the airport. The drive to volcanoes national park is 2 hours away and hence very convenient for travelers.
In 1929, volcanoes national park was extended into Rwanda and the then Belgian-Congo and was named albert national park managed and run by the Belgian colonial authorities. During the early 1960s, the park was divided as Rwanda and Congo gained their independence and by the end of that decade, the park was almost half of its original size.
In the early 1990s, the park became a battlefield for Rwanda’s civil war which paralyzed tourism activities until 1999. In 2005, in a bid to boost conservation and gorilla tours in volcanoes national park, Rwanda introduced the annual baby naming ceremony for baby gorillas known as ‘kwita iziina’ which has seen great results in as far as gorilla population in volcanoes is concerned.

Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes Park

Volcanoes national park is a stop center for all Rwanda gorilla safaris sheltering the highest number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga conservation area. The strategic location of the Virunga National Park roughly 2 hours’ drive from Kigali international airport make it the most accessible gorilla national park in the world. Besides gorillas, volcanoes national park is a home for golden monkeys, a variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects among other creatures which together make a complete Rwanda safari package.
Spanning on a 160 sq km area in the northern part of Rwanda, volcanoes national park is part of the great Virunga volcano conservation region spanning to cover Virunga national park Congo and Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda. It was initially a small area around Karisimbi, mikeno and visoke volcanoes which was gazetted to protect the mountain gorillas which were facing the threat of extinction because of poaching.