Virunga national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Africa’s oldest protected area. It was established in 1925 as Albert national park when DR Congo was under Belgian colonial rule.
A sanctuary of 100 sq. km created mainly to conserve mountain gorillas was later expanded in the 1930s for purposes of natural resource use including tourism and scientific collection of specimens of flora and fauna. When DR Congo gained independence in 1960, the park was renamed as Virunga National Park.
The word Virunga is derived from a Kinyarwanda dialect Ibirunga which refers to the volcanoes in the region. The protected area forms part of the Virunga Mountains, a chain of 8 volcanoes that stretch across the borders of DR Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. This area is known as the Virunga Conservation Area (VCA) and contains three protected areas which include Virunga, Volcanoes, and Mgahinga gorilla national parks.
VCA is home to 604 mountain gorillas of which a third of the population is found in Virunga national park and there are 8 gorilla families that have been habituated for gorilla trekking safaris. Wildlife conservation and tourism is managed by the Congolese Institute for Conservation of Nature with the Virunga Ranger force of over 770 male and female rangers who protect the park against illegal activities including poaching and encroachment.
Daily patrols are carried out in parts of the park that are most vulnerable to look for and remove snare wires which can harm gorillas and other small animals like duikers and bushbucks. Rangers also intervene to treat sick or injured gorillas which have helped to keep a thriving gorilla population with the birth of 10 baby gorillas registered in 2024 alone.
Tourism activities including gorilla trekking and Nyiragongo volcano hiking are temporarily closed following the Covid-19 pandemic related travel restrictions. This was done as a precaution to safeguard mountain gorillas given that they’re susceptible to human infectious diseases including influenza, Covid-19, and ebola.
Virunga also faces several security challenges including the ongoing armed civil conflict in eastern DR Congo, diseases, and encroachment due to illegal mining, logging, farming, and charcoal burning. The International Gorilla Conservation Program recently introduced a digital tool called SMART that Virunga Rangers use for accurate monitoring and reporting of the gorillas and illegal activities.
Vegetation in Virunga national park
Covering 7,800 sq. km (3,000 sq. Miles), the protected area stretches from the northern shores of Lake Kivu at 680 meters to the rugged snowcapped peaks of Rwenzori Mountain Range to the north side of the park at 5,000 meters above sea level. As such, Virunga national park has a variety of vegetation including open savanna grasslands, lowland and montane forests, bamboo, Afro-alpine and Subalpine ecosystems.
Virunga is rich in biodiversity with over 2,077 plant species including rare giant Senecio and Lobelias in the Afro-Alpine belt on the slopes of Mount Mikeno and Mount Rwenzori above 3,500 meters sea level. Virunga national park contains several Albertine rift endemic plants including climbing ever green shrubs such as Peponium vogelii, Vigna membranacea, Argyrolobium tomentosum among others.
Papyrus swamps on Lake Edward contain flowering plants in the sedge family such as low bulrush (Isolepis costata) and bristle leaf bulrush (Isolepis setacea). The Mikeno sector has extensive lower montane forest that includes hardwood trees such as the African mahogany (Afzelia Africana).
Wildlife in Virunga national park
Due to a variety of habitats, Virunga national park is rich in biodiversity including 3 Great Apes which include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and eastern chimpanzees among other 22 primate species such as the black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys and golden monkeys.
In addition to primates, Virunga is home to 218 mammal species including the critically endangered Okapi, African elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, red-fronted duikers, and Kobus kobs thomasi which attract predators including lions and leopards. Lake Edward and rivers such as Semliki provide habitat to over 20,000 hippos, making for one of the largest concentration of hippos in Africa.
Another high concentration of hippos is found in the Kazinga channel in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth national park. Among other wildlife species in Virunga national park include 706 species of birds; 109 reptile species, and 78 amphibian species. The wildlife in Virunga accounts for half of Africa’s terrestrial species.
Sectors of Virunga national park
Virunga national park has three sectors which include the southern, central, and northern each with unique attractions. Those intending to plan a gorilla safari to Virunga, it is essential to know which sector to go to.
Kibumba sector
The southern sector known as Kibumba is the main area for tourism, where gorilla trekking and Mount Nyiragongo hike start at Bukima ranger post. The sector is located in the south of Virunga national park along the borders with Lake Kivu, Mgahinga and Volcanoes national parks. The area contains three volcanoes which include the active Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira and the dormant Mount Mikeno.
Mikeno area contains dense tropical forests where most of the park’s mountain gorillas reside. The slopes of Mikeno volcano also host chimpanzees and primate species including black and white colobus monkeys. In addition to gorilla and volcano treks, a new chimpanzee walk has been created offering visitors an opportunity to see man’s closest cousin’s.
Lulimbi
Lulimbi is the central sector includes part of Lake Edward, River Ishasha, and the Rwindi plains where mammal species including elephants, forest and savanna buffaloes, hippos, bushbucks, Kobs dwell. The sector adjoins with Ishasha wilderness in Queen Elizabeth national park, which is famous for harboring tree climbing lions.
The Ishasha wildlife corridor is an important ecological zone serving as a vital migration route for elephants, buffaloes, and lions allowing them to move between the two protected areas in search of food, water, and mating opportunities, which is crucial for maintaining healthy populations.
For instance, over elephants migrated from Uganda to Virunga in 2021 and have since remained there which is a sign that there’s now relative peace and security in the central sector of Virunga national park.
The sector is less developed with no tourist facilities and the area can be explored by a day excursion while staying somewhere else. Lulimbi sector offers an opportunity for game drives and boat safaris on Lake Edward a unique way to see hippos along the shores.
Northern sector
The northern sector of Virunga national park covers parts of the Rwenzori Mountain Range characterized by snowfields, eroded valleys of Ishango and Sinda, and afro-alpine vegetation that includes plants such as giant lobelias and dendrosenecio. The sector is also not developed, however. The park offers strategic guided visits for those intending to go off-the-beaten path.
Challenges facing Virunga national park
Virunga was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Tourism and conservation gained momentum with an average of 6,500 visitations per year. However, the progress was halted following the outbreak of the Rwandan genocide against Tutsi in 1994.
The mass influx of displaced people into eastern DR Congo eventually led to outbreak of the first Congo war (1996-1997) involving over 100 rebel groups of which 14 armed groups with members estimated at 1,500-3,000 individuals operate in and around the park. The World Heritage Committee declared Virunga a World Heritage in Danger along with other four protected areas in eastern DR Congo including Okapi wildlife reserve, Salonga, Garamba, and Kahuzi-Beiga national parks.
Solutions and opportunities
In 2013 the Virunga Alliance was formed to promote peace, conservation, and sustainable development among the local communities adjacent to Virunga. The Alliance has been able to manage conflict and address its most pressing challenges through creative conservation, sustainable agriculture, and clean energy.
The organization has also helped to build a better ranger force that has helped to disperse the armed rebel groups and the park experienced relative peace and security. There are over 5 million people living in the local communities adjacent to Virunga national park. The population density of 300 people per square kilometer is one of the highest in central Africa.
Most of them depend on natural resources for their livelihood through fishing on Lake Edward and subsistence farming. Virunga Alliance developed a program of hydro-electric generators to generate up to 600 mega watts of renewable energy making it accessible to 2 million people to tackle the threat of encroachment on the park for firewood and charcoal production which destroys the natural habitat.
The generators are also being used to pump clean water from Lake Kivu to 1 million people living in and around Goma city. Clean water is important given that it has helped to prevent water bone diseases including cholera. Clean energy is also employed in creating high value agricultural industries to support farmers transform from subsistence agriculture through secondary processing.
Based on growing of cocoa, the chocolate factory produces 50 tons per which is exported to Europe and the proceeds are invested back to conservation and also to benefit the families of the fallen Virunga wildlife rangers. This has created over 21,000 jobs of which some of those employed have surrendered from militia groups.
What to do and see in Virunga national park
Goma city
Goma capital city of eastern DR Congo North Kivu province is located at the shores of Lake Kivu, 15 km south of Mount Nyiragongo, and 44 km from Virunga national park. There’s an airport with a single asphalt runway for domestic fly in safaris and some international flights. Several airlines operate from Goma Airport including Uganda airlines connecting to major cities within the East African Community.
As such, Goma serves as a gateway for travelers heading to the Virunga national park and Nyiragongo Volcano. The city offers a variety of activities and attractions including Kivu lakeside beaches for relaxation. Those intending to shop for souvenirs can explore Goma market. You can visit the fresh lava fields given that Nyiragongo hike is still closed.
Gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking in Given that Rwanda permits are high cost and many people go to Uganda, DR Congo offers a fantastic off-the beaten path adventure to see gorillas in Virunga national park, there are 8 gorilla families that have been habituated for tourism.
Mount Nyiragongo hike
Hiking Mount Nyiragongo offers an opportunity to stay on the rim of Africa’s most active lava lake. The strato volcano has erupted over 32 times since the 19th century with the most violent eruptions recorded in 1977, 2002, and 2021. Nyiragongo volcano emits alkaline lava which is highly fluid and fast flowing lava with a melting temperature of up to 2,000 ˚F.
The 2022 Lava flows have reached up to Goma city and Lake Kivu 15 km south. Nyiragongo volcanic eruptions were thought to be limited to the summit crater, however. According to the Nyiragongo Volcano Observatory, a scientific facility established in 2002 to monitor and study the Nyiragongo volcanic activity, flank lava flows, streams of lava that erupt from the sides of a volcano rather than from the main summit crater have been observed with the 2019 and 2019 eruptions.
Nyiragongo eruptions are also associated with earthquakes, steam and gas emissions including sulfur dioxide and other gases. As such, the volcanic activity dramatically shaped the landscape around Mount Nyiragongo including drainage and expansion of the lava lake, creation of fracture and fault systems in the village of Monigi. Hiking Nyiragongo can be challenging due to the nature of terrain.
The hike begins at Kibati ranger post at 1,999 meters above sea level and can take 5-6 hours to reach the summit with regular stopovers. The elevation gain is about 1,400meters. You will sleep in built huts at the summit just a few meters from the rim of the crater. The huts contain basic foam mattresses and pillows. Visitors have to carry their own sleeping bags and blankets. Each hut accommodates two people and has a rope connected to the toilets to enable walking up and down.
Senkwekwe center
Gorilla doctors established the Senkwekwe sanctuary to take care of orphan mountain gorillas. The center is located in Rumangabo close to Virunga national park the headquarters. There are three gorillas which include Ndeze, Matabishi, and Ndakasi that were rescued from the hands of poachers by Virunga rangers.
As such, the gorillas sometimes get injured or suffer from trauma when poachers attempt to capture them for illegal wildlife trade. Once rescued, a team of Virunga national park caretakers will examine their health status and offer necessary veterinary health care depending on how sick or injured the gorillas may be. This has kept the orphaned gorillas in good health condition.
They will continue to grow from the sanctuary until the gorilla doctors deem it necessary to return them to the wild. Visiting Senkwekwe offers an opportunity to meet the caretakers and learn how they do their work while supporting the good cause. The center can be reached by a short drive from Goma city or from one of the accommodation in the park including Kibumba tented camp and Mikeno Lodge.
Where to stay
Virunga national park offers eco friendly accommodation at Mikeno lodge, Tchegera Island and Kibumba tented camps. These are the best options for those intending to stay inside the park. They are managed by the park; your stay helps to contribute to the conservation and development.
Kibumba tented camp
Situated on the edge of the slopes of Mount Mikeno, Kibumba tented camp offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains and the Nyiragongo volcano. The camp has well-furnished tents with en-suite bathrooms, providing comfort and warmth in the midst of the tropical forest.
Tchegera tented camp
A unique eco-lodge located on Tchegera Island in Lake Kivu can be reached by boat cruise from Goma city. There are five tents each with en-suit bathrooms and flush toilets, making for a great base for exploring the beauty of Lake Kivu and the Virunga national park. The views of the Virunga Mountains including Mount Karisimbi are spectacular from the camp, making for a good place to stay for a keen photographer.
Mikeno Lodge
The luxury lodge offers 12 cottages nestled on the slopes of Mount Mikeno inside Virunga national park. you will have easy access to the park headquarters and guests are offered a free complimentary visit to the Senkwekwe gorilla sanctuary.