Travel Guide Parc National Des Volcans

Volcanoes National Park lies in the northwest along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. It stretches for about 40 km, and its width varies between 1 and 8 km (120 km2). The altitude varies between 2,400 and 4,507 m. This park is the Rwandan part of the former Albert Park created in 1925 in Congo-Ruanda-Urundi, which was the first reserve in Africa. It was intended to save the last mountain gorillas, listed as critically endangered. In a territory that extends into Rwanda, DRC and Uganda, the latest census reports a thousand individuals (compared to 880 in 2010). For many, the only reason to go to Rwanda is to visit them. While there are many other reasons to visit, it is difficult to describe the emotion that grips the visitors before, during and after the "big meeting. Everyone has a dazzling memory of it. Twelve groups are open to tourists, others are reserved for scientific research. The new baby gorillas are "baptized" each year, during a ceremony called "Kwita Izina" in the Volcanoes Park. A film, Gorillas in the Mist, by Michael Apted, has contributed greatly to the enthusiasm of many backpackers to visit Rwanda. It recounts the life of the American ethologist Dian Fossey, who left in the 1960s to study gorillas. She was murdered in 1985. The cause of her death remains unclear. The brand new museum of the Dian Fossey Foundation is remarkable.