Volcanoes National Park is a great tourist destination and one of the national parks in Rwanda, this park is best known for being a habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorillas and volcanoes that host the gorillas. Volcanoes National Park is situated in the northwestern region of Rwanda and covers an area of 160 square kilometers, volcanoes national park is part of the great Virunga conservation area, and it borders Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
Volcanoes National Park is also a paradise for hikers as it is dotted with 5 volcanoes that are part of the 8 Virunga volcanoes chain, these volcanoes include Mount Bisoke, mount Sabyinyo, mount Muhabura, mount Gahinga, and Mount Karisimbi. This article elaborates more about these beautifully scenic volcanoes, and it is a s follows.
5 Volcanoes To Look Out For In Volcanoes National Park
1. Mount Karisimbi
Mount Karisimbi is one of the 8 volcanoes making up the Virunga volcanoes chain found in Volcanoes National Park lying on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that is on the border of Volcano National Park and Virunga National Park. Mount Karisimbi is a dormant stratovolcano and the highest volcano in the chain of Virunga volcanoes standing at an altitude of 4,507 meters it is ranked as the 11th highest mountain in Africa, the mountain is part of the Albertine rift on the western branch. Mount Karisimbi is flanked by Mount Bisoke in the north, mount Nyiragongo in the west, and Mount Mikeno in the north.
Mount Karisimbi is named in reference to snow that is visible on top of the volcano in the dry season months that is June, July, and August, the snow on the volcano is referred to as “Amasimbi” a local Kinyarwanda which means snow. Mount Karisimbi is forested by various tree and flower species thus being a great home for mountain gorillas and one of the volcanoes that are trekked during mountain gorilla trekking safari, in between Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke there is the Karisoke research center founded and established by Dian Fossey with intentions of observing and carrying out research on mountain gorillas found in volcanoes national park.
2. Mount Muhabura
Mount Muhabura is an extinct stratovolcano lying on the border of Uganda and Rwanda that is of national parks Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks of Uganda and Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, mount Muhabura is also referred to as Mount Muhavura and it is part of the Albertine rift on the western branch of the East Africa Rift. Mount Muhabura stands at an altitude of 4,127 meters and is the third-highest mountain among the Virunga volcanoes chain.
Mount Muhabura is visible from both Uganda and Rwanda along both borders, the volcano is named after a local Kinyarwanda slag Muhabura meaning the guide.
3. Mount Gahinga
Mount Gahinga is a dormant volcano of stratovolcano type situated in Volcanoes National Park along the border of Uganda and Rwanda, the volcano is shared by both Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and Mgahinga National Park of Uganda. Mount Gahinga lies between Mount Muhabura and Sabyinyo and it stands at an elevation of 3,473 meters. This volcano is the smallest of these three volcanoes and on its summit, there is a swampy caldera believed to be about 180 meters wide.
Mount Gahinga is part of the Virunga volcano chain of 8 volcanoes, and it derives its name from a local Kinyarwanda slag Rufumbira a reference to small piles of stones visible on the slopes of the volcano. The slopes of Mount Gahinga are covered by afro-montane vegetation with bamboo forests which are inhabited by mountain gorillas and golden monkeys which are trekked during mountain gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking respectively.
4. Mount Bisoke
Mount Bisoke is a dormant stratovolcano lying on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo with its summit in Rwanda that is between Virunga National Park and Volcanoes National Park, this mountain also lies in the western branch of the East African Rift in approximately 35 kilometers northeast of Goma town and adjacent to Lake Kivu. Mount Bisoke is part of the Virunga chains standing at an altitude of 3,711 meters. The mountain is said to have last erupted in August 1957 and this eruption created a crater lake on the summit his lake is rated as the largest in the range.
Mount Bisoke’s summit is always shrouded in fog because of its high altitude. The summit has two crater lakes, one 400 meters in diameter and the other called Ngezi of about 11 kilometers. Mount Bisoke derives its name from these two lakes, the locals referred to them as Bisoke a local Kinyarwanda slag meaning soaked in water.
The slopes of Mount Bisoke are heavily covered with equatorial rainforest and alpine meadows which makes it a thriving habitat for the endangered mountain gorillas, and it is one of the trekked volcanoes during the mountain gorilla trekking experience. Between Mount Bisoke and Mount Karisimbi in the valley to the west, there is a Karisoke research center founded by Dian Fossey as a center for research about the endangered mountain gorillas.
5. Mount Sabyinyo
Mount Sabyinyo is an extinct stratovolcano type of mountain situated along the border of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mount Sabyinyo lies among the Virunga volcanoes chain of 8 volcanoes, and it is the oldest among them. This volcano stands at an altitude of 3,669 meters above sea level and it lies northeast of Lake Kivu and Lake Bunyonyi in the west. Mountain Sabyinyo is shared by the Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, Virunga National Park of the democratic republic of Congo, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park of Uganda.
Mount Sabyinyo holds religious significance to numerous local tribes living around its slopes. The volcano’s name Sabyinyo is a local reference to the perfect conical summit meaning old man’s teeth. Mount Sabyinyo is heavily forested and home to the critically endangered mountain gorilla.
