Travel Guide Parc National Des Virunga

Located on the equator in South Kivu province along the Rwandan and Ugandan borders, Virunga National Park (PNVi) is the oldest park in Africa (originally the Albert National Park established in 1925). It covers a surface area of 784 386 hectares and is classified as a UNESCO World heritage site. It has an incredible variety of landscapes: active and extinct volcanoes; Tropicale tropical forest; mountain forests; glaciers and snow of Ruwenzori (the highest point in the country and third summit of the continent); grassland savanes of La; and a multitude of marshes, lakes and rivers, including Lake Edouard border with Uganda.Its biodiversity is the richest of the entire African continent. It hosts many animal species, most endemic and threatened with extinction: more than 700 bird species and nearly 220 mammal species, without a comprehensive list. Among the emblematic species distributed on the different biotopes of the park, one can quote: Okapi (small population in the far north of the park); the lion; the buffalo; the elephant, the hippopotamus (Virunga had until recently the largest population in the world of these ungulates); the antelope; warthog, serval… and, of course, the famous primates whose park houses 22 species, including three varieties of great apes— one among all protected areas in the world— namely: mountain gorilla; a few specimens of plains gorilla (the majority in the neighbouring Biega-Biega park in South Kivu); and the chimpanzee.But Virunga Park paid a heavy price for the war of the 2000 s that took place inside the park. This resulted in the severe destruction of the natural environment, the systematic poaching and death of many guards. Since 2009, which marks the end of unrest and the takeover of the majority of the park by ICCN, there is an increase in the number of visitors each year. Despite the forced interruption in 2012-2013 because of the M 23 movement in action around the park. But since early 2014, the visitors have again responded to the call, and hopefully for a long time…The park's managers are, moreover, on a wide range of projects, tourist and economic, to ensure the park's survival and defence. With new sites soon accessible to the public, including Tongo (chimpanzees observation); Tchegera Island on Lake Kivu; a future circuit on the savannah plains near Lake Edouard… Which complements a little more the wonderful tourist offer proposed by Virunga, and which confirms its quite simply exceptional site status across the country, the continent and the world.