Virunga National Park visit-planning guide for seasonal forest conditions

Africa's oldest national park protecting mountain gorillas and active volcanoes in the Albertine Rift

Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park occupies a remarkable position in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, stretching roughly 300 kilometers north to south along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda. The park was created in 1925 as the continent's first national park and has evolved to become one of Africa's most ecologically significant protected areas. Its geography is extraordinarily varied, encompassing the Rwenzori Mountains in the north with their glacial peaks, the volcanic Virunga massif in the south featuring two of Africa's most active volcanoes, and extensive wetlands and savanna plains surrounding Lake Edward in the central sector. The park is bounded to the north by the Puemba River and to the south by Tchegera Island in Lake Kivu. Three active volcanoes, Nyiragongo, Nyamuragira, and Mount Mikeno, dominate the southern landscape, with Nyiragongo hosting a permanent lava lake that has captivated scientists and visitors alike. The park's administrative center is located in Rumangabo, and the Mount Mikeno Hotel serves as a key tourism facility in the southern sector. Virunga's location in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift System, accounts for its exceptional biodiversity and endemism, with the Rift's mountains and valleys creating diverse microhabitats that support species found nowhere else on Earth.