The gorilla national parks of Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo are superb hiking destinations, with the Virunga volcanoes as the centrepiece. The highest peak is Mt Karisimbi (4,507m/14,787ft), usually conquered over two days.
But some exceptionally fit people manage the climb in a single day. Rangers at Volcanoes National Park whisper about seven hours being the quickest, though sadly there’s no record of that record.
On the Fastest Known Time website we find 8h35min from September 2025, achieved by Callum Bayliss, a hiker from Manchester on a mission to climb each country’s highest mountain.
Luckily he chose our 2025 Friendship Camp participant, Jean D’Amour Maniragaba, as his trekking buddy, so we can share some details. JD first made sure that Bayliss understood what he was signing up for, then took him for an acclimatisation climb of Mt Mwiko, a hill separating Rwanda’s Twin Lakes. Bayliss completed the 12.14 km/7.5 mi trail in 2h14min — an impressive warmup!
9 September 2025 was the D-Day. At 5:30 am Bayliss checked out of his Musanze hotel, and was driven straight to the park headquarters in Kinigi. The permits were in order, the staff moved efficiently, and soon they were assigned ranger Becky (Berchmas Habumugisha), a porter, and two armed soldiers. By 7:26 am they were at the trailhead.
With disciplined pacing and high energy, the first stretch to base camp was steady and smooth. Then the mountain revealed her true character: a punishing slope and misty silence broken only by footsteps and heavy breathing. Across the border, the volcanic bulk of the Congolese peak Mt Mikeno rose magnificently, while below lay the rolling beauty of Rwanda’s farmlands.
At 12:03 pm, after 4h37min, Callum stood on the summit. His joy was uncontainable, arms lifted, eyes misting with both exhaustion and triumph. The descent was equally swift: 3h43 min.
Bayliss returned to Kigali the very same day, flying out after midnight. In his bag: coffee, souvenirs and a documented record from the roof of Rwanda. Who’s going to beat it?
photos by Jean D’Amour Maniragaba (from several Karisimbi hikes)
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