How to get to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park
How to get to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park: Because of its famed mountain gorillas, Volcanoes National Park is one of Rwanda’s most popular tourist sites. The national park is located near Musanze village in the northwestern section of Rwanda, bordering Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Volcanoes National Park was founded in 1925 primarily to save and protect the endangered mountain gorillas, and it is thus Africa’s first and oldest national park. Rwanda is one of four African nations where endangered mountain gorillas may be seen in national parks, including Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks in Uganda.
This national park is well-known for its mountain gorillas, with around 14 habituated gorilla families available for trekking on a daily basis, with a limit of 8 persons per gorilla family spending no more than one hour with the gorillas in their natural environment. Volcanoes National Park in the north-eastern part of Rwanda is also home to endangered Golden monkeys, wildlife species such as Forest Elephants, Buffaloes, Duikers, Bushbucks, Giant Forest Hogs, Bush Pigs, Spotted Hyenas, bird species, and 5 Virunga Mountains volcanoes including Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Mount Muhabura, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Sabyinyo.
Activities Offered in Volcanoes National Park.
The national park offers a variety of activities for visitors on a wildlife safari in Rwanda, including the most popular gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, bird watching, hiking the volcanic mountains, nature walks that provide great scenic views of bamboo, montane, and grassland vegetation, and visiting local communities, among other activities that make your safari adventurous and memorable.
How to get to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
The national park is accessible by both road and air.
Air transport is the quickest mode of transportation, with visitors flying to Kigali international airport and then connecting by road to Kinigi park headquarters in the national park. Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is around 105 kilometers from Kigali Airport and takes approximately 2 hours to reach the park headquarters.
Visitors who wish to access Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park from Uganda can fly into Entebbe International Airport, then arrange chartered or scheduled flights to Kisoro or Kihihi airfields, from whence they can go by vehicle to the national park via the Cyanika border.
Road transportation is the most frequent mode of transportation for guests traveling to the national park in private automobiles. Visitors utilize road travel after arriving at Kigali International Airport, where they can take public transportation to Musanze town and then rent a private vehicle to Kinigi Park Headquarters, as there are no public transportation options to the park headquarters.
When driving from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda, visitors will drive in private automobiles across the Cyanika border at Kisoro and then link to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, which takes around 3 to 4 hours. You may also travel from Kabale town to Volcanoes via the Katuna border.
Because the national park is easily accessible, people can travel to Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking and then link to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park via the Cyanika border near Kisoro for golden monkey trekking, thereby seeing two wonderful gorilla sites.
Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is a unique destination where visitors can trek gorillas and still return home on the same day, unlike Bwindi and Mgahinga gorilla national parks in Uganda, where it is impossible to trek gorilla families and return home because the parks are located in south western Uganda and take approximately 8 to 9 hours from Kampala.
Best Time to visit Volcanoes National Park.
Volcanoes National Park in the north-eastern part of Rwanda is open all year, with the dry season lasting from June to mid-September, December to February, and the rainy season lasting from March to May and October to November. The best time to visit the national park for gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, hiking, and nature walks is during the dry season, when there is little or no rainfall, short grass for easy viewing of gorillas and other wildlife species, and dry grounds for easy trekking, among other things. However, rain can still fall during the dry season because the park is a tropical rainforest.
Visitors may also visit the park during the rainy season since activities will continue. Hiking in the tropical rainforest will be challenging due to muddy and slippery terrain, but with the assistance of a porter, trekking will be successful.
Volcanoes National Park in Ruhengeri, Rwanda is a wonderful site for visitors to indulge in activities such as gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, hiking on Mount Karisimbi, seeing local communities, and other activities that provide exciting lifelong experiences to guests on a gorilla safari to Rwanda.
