Volcanoes national park is located in the northeastern part of Rwanda and it’s among the tropical destinations found in the land of a thousand hills. The parks rich history dates back as far as 1925 when it was first established as a national park by the Belgian colonial government. The park is very popular among tourists because of its habituated mountain gorillas which are the major attractions within the park. Being part of the volcano massif, the park shelters over 300 mountain gorillas which are trekked by tourists all year around.
The park is located in Musanze town in the north-western province of Rwanda. The park is blessed with a number of birds and plant species with an area cover of 160 square kilometers of rainforest and bamboo. The park is bordered by virunga national park in Congo and Mgahinga national park in Uganda. The national park has 5 of 8 volcanoes of the virunga volcano region and these include; Mount Karisimbi, Mount Sabinyo, Mount Gahinga, Mount Muhabura and Mount Bisoke. The park is a home to a number of mammal species such as vervet, white and black colobus monkeys, forest elephants, buffaloes, bushbucks, and spotted hyenas among others. It has 178 bird species of which 13 species and 16 sub species are found in the virunga conservation area and Rwenzori Mountains respectively.
HISTORY OF THE VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK IN RWANDA
Volcanoes national park was extended from Rwanda into Congo in 1929 and was originally known as Albert National park after king Albert 1. The park was under the management of the Belgian colonialist government at that time. Later in 1960s, the national park was divided between Rwanda and the DRC following their gain of independence. This greatly reduced the park to half size and hence giving the rise to the renowned Virunga national park in Congo.
In 1966, a renowned researcher Dian Fossey begun studying mountain gorilla groups in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and in 1967 she set up a base in the park. After her murder in 1985, she was buried at a grave site located within the park.
The national park later became a battle front for the Rwanda civil war in the early 1990s. The genocide war not only affected the lives of the people within Rwanda but as well reduced the tourism activities in the area up until 1999. However in 2005, the Rwandan government introduced the baby naming ceremony for baby gorillas `Kwita Iziina’. This was done in a bid to revamp tourism and conservation activities within the park. The ceremony for naming baby gorillas happens annually and involves the participation of both local community and tourists.
The park headquarters are currently based in Kinigi which is a small village located within the town of Musanze, which was formerly called Ruhengeri. The parks headquarters in kinigi is where trekking permits are issued and as well as briefing of tourists visiting the park.
ACTIVITIES OFFERED IN THE VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
GORILLA TREKKING
This is the major activity carried out within the park. Gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda cost USD 1500 and it’s important to note that tourists intending to do a gorilla trekking within the park should make a booking at least 6 months in advance. This is to avoid inconveniences especially during the peak season between June and September to guarantee availability of permits.
GOLDEN MONKEY TREKKING
Golden monkey trekking within the volcanoes is another activity that is offered at the park. It’s a great substitute especially for tourists who can’t afford to do gorilla trekking within the park.
DIAN FOSSEY HIKE
The Dian fossey hike basically involves hiking to Dian Fosseys grave site and also taking a tour of the karisoke research facility where Dian and her team carried out a number of research studies on the mountain gorillas that live within the park.
Other activities offered in the volcanoes include; exploring musanze caves, birding, ibyiwacu village community tour and guided nature walks.
