The Virunga conservation area contains two of the world’s most active volcanoes, the beautiful Virunga National Park, Rwenzori Mountains, Lake Edward and the Rwindi Plains in sub-Saharan Africa. For a long time, the region has been brutally exposed as a result of armed conflict but has survived because of the devotion of the park rangers and wardens, private donors, conservationists, politicians, and the European Union. Virunga Region borders Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and is the most geographically diverse protected areas on the planet with far-fetched and exclusive flora and fauna.
The region is home for the mountain gorilla since the times of Dian Fossey. There are key things that have attracted so many visitors to the Virunga as a result has become one of the most visited places in Africa.
Mountain Gorillas
There is a tropical rain forest in Virunga Mountains along the volcanic slopes, which harbors the gorillas. It is believed that most of the world’s population of mountain gorillas lives in the Virunga Mountains in Central Africa.
Virunga tropical forest lies at the crossroads with the three countries and therefore the national parks take different names of Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga National Park
Mgahinga National Park is in Virunga region on the Ugandan part. The park has only one habituated and tracked gorilla group “Nyakagezi”.
The park’s main tourist attraction is gorilla tracking although there is only one habituated gorilla family that has a tendency of moving across to DRC or Rwanda. This activity, in the end, generates revenue to a great extent for the Uganda Wildlife Authority and to the adjacent communities, which help in gorilla conservation.
There are a number of strict rules followed by tourists during gorilla trekking so as to minimize the risk of disease dispersal to the gorillas. There are so many more offers at Mgahinga, which include; volcano hiking in the stunning Virungas, Batwa trail experience, cave explorations and golden monkey tracking.
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
The Volcanoes National Park is located in northern part of Rwanda. It is the most popular and the most accessible park in Rwanda. Volcanoes national park comprises of 10 habituated gorilla families which are visited daily.
One can get to Volcanoes National Park using either public transport from Gisenyi or Kigali or from the airport which takes about 2hours. When planning to go for a gorilla trek in Volcanoes National park, one opts to wake up early and be at the Kinigi headquarters of ORTPN briefing point by 7:00 am.
You also have a chance aside gorilla trekking to go for hiking Karisimbi volcano, Mt. Bisoke volcano hike and visiting the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Bulera.
Gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park previously faced recurring political instabilities in surrounding places in DRC. So many people and gorillas lost their lives in cold blood and the place was hit by so much poverty in that poachers started to hunt gorillas for sale and meat and severe cutting down of trees for sale and charcoal.
For 2 years now, a good number of tourists have visited the park purposely for gorilla trekking. This was aided by the commitment of the park rangers and the extensive monitoring in the park together with community education programs.
Visiting the mountain gorillas in Virunga National park is a compensating life-changing experience as you see the good-natured human-like creatures. Mountain gorillas are calm, highly intelligent with a silverback that shows its powerful presence and the mothers show tenderness and care to the juveniles that spend most of their time playing which is mesmerizing to view.
Dian Fossey’s grave
Dian Fossey an American conservationist closely studied and researched the mountain gorillas day and night purposely to protect them and Volcanoes National Park became her home for about 18 years.
Gorilla numbers were slowly reducing in 1967 due to poaching and hunting and this forced Fossey to make the mountain slopes of the Visoke volcano her home till her death in cold blood by the poachers.
Golden Monkeys
The golden monkeys of the Virunga Region are unique species that live in the bamboo forest in groups of up to 30 individuals. Golden monkeys are only seen in the Virunga forests of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.
These rare endangered primate species love to eat potatoes aside fruits and leaves just like other primates. Males appear more golden than the female monkeys have more concentrated orange back. As you trek through the bamboo trees, you see and hear the monkeys jumping through the tops.
Golden monkey is scientifically called (Cercopithecus mitis kandti) have a lifespan of up to 19 years and measures about 48 to 67cm in size where male measure 46 – 53cm. Males weigh 4.5 – 7kg/12kg and females weigh 3.5 – 4.5kg.
The Virunga Mountains
Virunga Mountains are about 9 volcanoes that cover a great range of habitats on 790,000 hectares. The area has a lot of savannas and lava plains, unique giant herbs, swamps, lowland and montane forests to volcanoes and the snowfields of Rwenzori over 5,000m high.
The park lies in the western rift valley on the adjacent mountains of Rwenzori and volcanic Virunga massifs with savanna, and swamp-edged.
The Virungas are famous because of the scenery formed by the unique mountain range. The region consists of eight major volcanoes 2 active volcanoes of Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Muhabura Mount Nyamuragira, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Mikeno Mount Bisoke and Mount Gahinga which lie 3,462 metres 3,063 metres 4,507, 3,634, 4,437, 3,711and meters high respectively.
Batwa Pygmies
The Batwa Pygmies called “Twa” in Rwanda are the majority of local inhabitants in the northern part of the Virungas. This pygmy tribe was known for carrying out forbidden traditional hunting and was later forcefully evicted from the forests so as to gazette the areas as national parks however the Batwa never carried out any farming nor charcoal making there was no destruction of the forest and they protected the environment as they are said to have lived in harmony with wildlife especially Gorillas and the forests.
The Batwa People are slowly diminishing and are now less than 3,000 since they resettled and intermarried with people from the local communities and are believed to become extinct in many numbers. Today, the Batwa people are found either Mgahinga Gorilla National Park or Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Visiting the Batwa communities gives you a chance to learn their history, culture and lifestyle especially you have the Batwa Cultural Experience and the Buniga Forest Walk.
In the end you realize that the life of the “twa” drastically changed since 1991/1992 since now they have a right to be heard with the start of various Batwa organizations within Rwanda and Uganda that are making a difference on their own behalf and also foreign non-profit organizations that started and devoted themselves to serve the Batwa People in southwest Uganda since 2002. These organizations, for example, the American medical missionaries purchased land for building homes schools, a hospital, and clinics for the Batwa and also established programs to improve their living like income generation and water sanitation projects.