Tag: Virunga NP /DR Congo/
area: 7,769 km2/3,000 mi2
UPDATE, December 2025: Virunga National Park is currently closed for tourism.
The oldest national park in Africa is a site of staggering environmental variety: from the Congolese side of the Virunga volcanoes through the savannah up to the permanent snow on the Mountains of the Moon i.e. the Rwenzoris (5,109 m/16,762 ft). The park includes Sabyinyo (3,669 m/11,959 ft), Karisimbi (4,507 m/14,787 ft), Bisoke (3,711 m/12,175 ft), Mikeno (4,437 m/14,560 ft), Nyamuragira (3,058 m/10,031 ft) and Nyiragongo (3,470 m/11,400 ft).
To climb the active Nyiragongo volcano and spend a night next to the lava lake is simply an experience you should come to the Gorilla Highlands region for. Tourists can also visit six mountain gorilla groups here, starting their tracking from Goma or Rubavu.
For our main Gorilla National Parks page with travel advice please click here.
Our Stories:
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Virungas vs Bwindi: Where to Track Gorillas in 2025?
If you’re not a huge fan of crowds, wrestling through dense bushes or sweaty hikes, you may find that the Virunga volcanoes offer a more enjoyable gorilla tracking experience than the better-known Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is Uganda’s go-to spot for seeing gorillas, but the Virungas — linking DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda —…
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Go-To Guide: Track Gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda & DR Congo
Better late than never! Because we tend to emphasise the intriguing human side of our region, we have never had one dedicated source that brings together all the facts that matter to a gorilla enthusiast. Here it is, and we shall update it and improve it over time! If you fancy more in-depth coverage by…
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Can Primate Parachuters Be Responsible Tourists?
If our goal is to make travel in the Gorilla Highlands region more responsible, what do we do with Primate Parachuters? The Primate Parachuter (PP) shall be a provisional term for a tourist who is only interested in seeing mountain gorillas, and maybe chimps. For many PPs, time in Rwanda/Uganda is severely limited, usually because…
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Holiday Mode Problem
33mm, f5.0, 1/400s, ISO125 I once showed up for a Gorilla Highlands Press Trip a bit bruised and bloodied, having been knocked down by drunk football fans in a half-hearted robbery attempt in Kampala the evening before. Seemingly completely random and opportunistic, this remains the only such experience I have had in over ten years…
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Never Gets Old
70mm, f/5, 1/250s, ISO400 As much as we try to focus on highlights, attractions and activities other than gorilla tracking, this remains — undeniably and deservedly — the region’s top drawcard. I am fortunate enough to have lost count of the number of occasions I have been out with gorillas. My first time wasn’t exactly conventional.…
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Anything Still There in the Nyiragongo Crater?
Don’t miss: a photo gallery in the Guardian and a video on Africanews bring a welcome visual update from the top of Nyiragongo. Last month’s eruption has emptied the lava lake (the left side of the featured image) but some red-hot residue remains at the bottom of the crater. The days of Nyiragongo as a…
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Showered Siblings
500mm, 1/400s, f/4, ISO800 Well, this takes me back quite a few years! My first gorilla experience was actually in DR Congo, in Virunga National Park. I had just spent a few weeks in Uganda, where I met Miha and a few other members of the Gorilla Highlands team who are still part of the…
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Nyiragongo Has Finally Erupted
Today’s spectacular volcanic eruption near Goma, DR Congo, profoundly changes one of our region’s biggest attractions, Mt Nyiragongo … Nyiragongo was famous for being a hiking destination with an overnight near the lava lake (our members can watch it in In-Sights: The Region), but it has been closed since the beginning of the Covid pandemic,…
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Travel Advisory for the Democratic Republic of Congo: Insider Info & Superb Images
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a challenging place in many ways. It is best known internationally for poverty, civil war and Ebola. At the same time, it is also a land of opportunity. The population is rapidly growing (it has passed 80 million), GDP is on the march, there is an increasing…