Volcanoes National Park Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park is Rwanda’s top tourist destination, covering an area of 162 square kilometers and bordering Uganda and Congo. The park is part of the Virunga Conservation Area and contains five of the eight Virunga volcanoes.
During Belgian rule, Volcanoes National Park was combined with Virunga National Park in Congo to form Albert National Park, established in April 1929, making it Africa’s oldest national park.
The park features a bamboo zone, rainforests, volcanoes, serene lakes, grasslands, and valleys. It is home to 178 bird species, 27 of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift region.
Gorilla trekking is the most popular activity in Volcanoes National Park, with several habituated gorilla families available for tourists. Gorilla trekking permits cost $1,500 per person. Visitors can also track golden monkeys along designated trails in the park.
Tourists can complement their visit with hiking, choosing to climb any of the five volcanoes, except Mount Sabyinyo, which is only accessible from the Ugandan side. Porters are available for hire to assist with luggage. Some hikes can be completed in a day, while others require two days, but all offer wide views of Lake Kivu, the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo, and the surrounding landscape. Some volcanoes also have craters at their summits.
Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is located in northeastern Rwanda, along the border with Tanzania. Established in 1934, the park originally covered 2,500 square kilometers. However, after the Rwandan genocide, part of the park was inhabited by refugees, reducing its size to 1,122 square kilometers.
The park is characterized by savannah plains, acacia woodlands, swamps, rivers, lakes, rolling hills, and wetlands, providing habitat for a wide range of wildlife. The Kagera River, which flows along the eastern border of the park, is a vital water source for many animals, including sitatunga antelopes, Masai giraffes, lions, oribis, hippos, crocodiles, buffalos, bushbucks, bush pigs, spotted hyenas, aardvarks, and striped jackals.
Akagera National Park is also home to over 500 bird species.
Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe Forest National Park contains Africa’s oldest natural Afro-montane rain forest, which survived the last ice age. It receives over 2,000mm of rainfall annually, making it one of the richest ecosystems in the region.
Located in southwestern Rwanda, bordering Burundi and Congo, the park covers an area of 980 square kilometers. It was first designated as a reserve in 1933 and became a national park in 2004.
Nyungwe Forest National Park offers a unique Rwanda chimpanzee trekking experience, costing $150 per person. Tourists can observe a chimpanzee family for one hour after finding them. The park is also home to 13 primate species, including colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, and blue monkeys.
A major attraction in Nyungwe is the canopy walkway, the first of its kind in Central East Africa. The walkway hangs about 50 meters above the ground, offering wide views of the tree canopy, primates, butterflies, and birds.
Gishwati-Mukura National Park
Gishwati-Mukura National Park can be reached within a three-hour drive from Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. This park is part of the rain forest extending from Congo and is known for its wide range of plant and animal life.
It is home to over 6,000 plant species, more than 100 mammalian species, and several bird species, some of which are found only in this region.
