Virunga National Park is located in the beautiful Democratic Republic of Congo the ideal place that offers tourists with the incredible safari. The park is known as Congo’s top safari destination for the mountain gorillas. The park is the right destination where tourists can carry out a gorilla trekking safari, where tourists get to sight on the largest gorilla species in the world.
Virunga National Park is Congo’s oldest national park, established in 1925. The Park is located in the eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo and covers a total land area of about 8090 square kilometers. And it’s gazetted as a national park mainly to protect and conserve the wildlife species in the park like the mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants and among others including the bird species.
Virunga National Park is home to over 218 animal species, numerous numbers of primate species like the black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, chimpanzees, and others. Virunga National Park is home to over 706 bird species, like the mountain sooty Boubou, yellow white-eye, Mackinnon’s shrub, and many others.
Getting to Virunga National Park.
Travelers traveling to Virunga National Park in Congo can easily access the park either by using road transport or air transport. But either way, travelers who opt to travel by road transport experience the best opportunities for the serene viewing of Congo, as in the process the road trip.
By Road transport.
Road transport is such very adventurous way the travelers can access Virunga National Park by road, as the park can be accessed by travelers from Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda. As the tourists accessing the national park from Uganda, they drive from Kisoro town to Goma town through the Congo-Uganda border at Bunagana. Because the route is a bit long, therefore, the travelers are advised that they will spend the night in Kisoro town. And then the next morning, it will take the travelers one hour to drive to Virunga National Park from Goma.
To a certain extent, there is another alternative that travelers can use and still access the park from the Rwandan side. The travelers can fly into Kigali International Airport in Rwanda. And then proceed to Gisenyi town in western Rwanda. From Gisenyi town, the travelers can head to Goma town using the ‘Le Grand Barrier’ border. And this takes a total time of 4 hours for travelers to drive from Kigali airport to Virunga Park in Congo.
Again, Virunga National Park can be accessed from Bukavu in Congo. This route is best for tourists who want to trek with gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. This takes tourists to use 5 to 6 hours, and it’s the right route where the visitors can experience a sight the scenic views along the way, including the beautiful landscapes, lakes, and others.
You are reminded that before crossing the Goma border, the visitors present their Congo visas to the immigration officials, and if you fail to present one, you can purchase one from the border. To avoid the inconvenience, you are requested to purchase one before the time of travelling. Then the tourists who wish to get the visa to Congo are advised to have the essential requirements like a valid yellow fever card, a valid passport, gorilla trekking permit in case you want to carry out gorilla trekking in the park.
By Air transport.
Travelling to Virunga National Park by air transport, fly to Goma International Airport. Ethiopian Airlines offers travelers direct flights from Kigali International Airport to Goma Airport. Then, upon your arrival, you can be picked up by officials from the park and transferred to the park’s headquarters in Bukima.
From Goma airport to Virunga National Park, it will take the travelers one hour to drive. Also, another option the visitors can fly into Kigali airport in Rwanda, then drive to Gisenyi town and the border to Goma. This takes travelers 3 to 4 hours to get to Virunga. Visitors visiting Virunga National Park are required to present the Congo Tourist Visa, a valid yellow fever card, a valid passport, gorilla trekking permit in case you want to carry out gorilla trekking in the park.
Where to stay in the park
Travelers visiting Virunga National Park are provided with comfortable accommodation facilities ranging from Budget to Mid-range to Luxury accommodation,s facilities like Nyiragongo Summit Shelter, Bukima Tented Camp, Mikeno Lodge, Virunga Homestays, Virunga Lodge, Virunga Hotel and Campsite, Lulimba Tented Camp, and others.
Book your charming gorilla trekking safari to the park and enjoy the best safari moments of being close to the giant of apes in such a magical style, where you will have unforgettable safari memories.