Is Virunga National Park Safe?

Is Virunga National Park safe? Is Virunga safe? Is Virunga safe for tourists? All these questions are about safety in Virunga National Park, raised by travellers intending to visit the Congo and Virunga National Park in particular. Virunga National Park is one of the most visited Congo national parks famous for hosting a number of the endangered mountain gorillas and the active volcanoes of Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Nyamulagira. Virunga National Park gives travellers an opportunity to encounter the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, as well as hike the Nyiragongo Mountain to see the boiling lava lake at the rim. 

Virunga National Park is one of the four mountain gorilla destinations in the world, where you can find the last population of the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Virunga National Park is part of the Virunga Conservation Area, which also encompasses Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park of Uganda, all of which inhabit the endangered mountain gorillas. The other mountain gorilla destination in the world, which alone hosts over half the total world population of the mountain gorillas is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park of Uganda. 

Given that Virunga National Park hosts the mountain gorillas and has an active volcanic mountain, Mount Nyiragongo which has a lava lake at the rim, Mount Nyamulagira, Mount Mikeno, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Sabinyo and Mount Muhabura which all give great hikes and amazing views. The bird life in Virunga National Park, as well as plant life and other wildlife in the park all make one’s stay at the park all the more interesting and active with various activities in Virunga National Park.

With all the attractions in Virunga National Park, many travellers do visit to experience them all. Some of the activities in Virunga National Park that travellers can do include gorilla trekking, hiking Mount Nyiragongo, mountain climbing of other volcanoes in Virunga National Park, gorilla habituation, visiting the Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage, among others. All these activities do interest a number of travellers, but the question is Virunga National Park safe always comes up.

Virunga National Park is located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country that has seen many civil unrests over the years. Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest national park and is a dense rainforest area with thick and lush vegetation cover that has in the past been good hiding grounds for different rebel groups and militias during the times when wars were ravaging the country. There have been a few incidents of insecurities in Virunga National Park such as kidnappings of tourists as well as killings of park rangers. In 2018 for example, Virunga National Park had a kidnapping incident of two British tourists which resulted in the closure of the park till February 2019 with increased security measures in place.

Virunga National Park has in recent years been taking great steps towards ensuring safety of the travellers who do visit the park and the general security of the park. Virunga National Park increased on the number of armed and trained park rangers; up to 700 rangers were deployed in Virunga National Park following the reopening of the park in 2019. While on various activities in Virunga National Park say gorilla trekking among others, travellers are well protected by the well trained and armed rangers in Virunga National Park. Travellers should not therefore be in fear while enjoying these activities in the park. All activities in Virunga National Park are safe to take part in, for the park avails the military to escort you in addition to the park rangers of the park to protect you and safeguard your property. Before the start of any of the activities in Virunga National Park, travellers are briefed not only about the activity in hand say gorilla trekking, but also what to expect and do and not while in the park; tourists are for example asked to always follow the lead of the ranger assigned to them. While in Virunga National Park doing different activities, travellers have rangers both in front and behind the last person of the group. The rangers are always fully armed and ready to protect the tourists with their life.

To access Virunga National Park safely, travellers are advised on booking a Congo safari tour to Virunga National Park through a reputable tour operator who is also very knowledgeable about the Congo and the security precautions to consider. The safest route to use to get to Virunga National Park is through Goma town. From Goma, travellers are escorted with a military convoy to Virunga National Park in the company of a park representative.

Given the security precautions put into consideration, booking a Congo safari tour to Virunga National Park should be done in advance to allow park officials prepare for your safe stay. Is Virunga National Park safe? Yes, Virunga National Park is safe. Take time to reach out a knowledgeable and reputable tour operator to help you plan one of the best Africa safaris yet. Check out the Virunga national park website for more information on the safety and security in Virunga National Park.