Volcanoes National Park (French: Parc National des Volcanos Kinyarwanda: Pariki y’Igihugu y’Ibirunga) lies in northwestern Rwanda and borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in north, Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. The national park is known as a haven for the rare and endangered mountain gorilla and golden monkeys, which has attracted a number of visitors to this great park.
How to get to Volcanoes National Park
By Road
To get to Volcanoes National Park is quite easy as you have choice of options. You can decide to take a private means from the city center of Kigali or airport probably by a tour operator or take a public means to Musanze. Musanze is the most convenient gateway point to volcanoes. However, public means do not proceed to the park areas where the trekking starts. You will have to hire another private means will connect you between Musanze and the park at Kinigi, and also to and from the trekking starting point of the gorilla trekking date. In case you used a tour operator, you need not to worry, since they know all the routes and procedures necessary for one to get to the park at Kinigi. All activities start at 0700 hrs. in the morning.
For a tour operator, they are aware of this. So, in case you’re trekking the same day, it’s better to take a night public means that will get you to Musanze early so as to make a quick connection to the park or travel a day before the trek to Musanze and connect the next day. There is no public means from Musanze to the park headquarters; you will have to take a 4 x 4 jeep. The public means, stop at bus stations, so to get to your hotel, or park headquarters on trekking date, for your trek, you will need to hire a private means to connect you. However, we do not recommend you use the public means, if you wish too, it’s on your own risk. Also note that the terrain is very rough full of volcanic rocks, which needs a 4 x 4 safari vehicle / jeep. From Musanze to Kinigi, which is the park headquarters’, it’s just a 15 minutes’ drive. Many lodges are located near the park headquarters, with some which are 10 – 30 minutes’ drive away.
To Get to Gorilla Trekking point.
To get to gorilla trekking point, it’s a drive away from the park headquarters’ in Kinigi. There are a number of gorilla families, some are near, and others are far, like an hour drive away. This needs a good means of transport as the road are rocky due to volcanic rocks and explosions.
How far is the park from Kigali?
Volcanoes National Park is about 105 kilometers (65 miles) away from the Country’s city and Airport (Kigali), which is roughly a 2 and half hours’ drive from Kigali. We highly recommend booking through a tour operator, probably, who will easily make all the possible arrangement for you with no hustle for your gorilla trekking experience at Volcanoes National Park. In case you’re interested in car hire, we do own number of flight vehicles ranging from small jeeps to extended land cruiser, which are very comfortable for your transportation.
By Flight
You can make arrangement for a chopper to Musanze from Kigali, which will give you a great aerial view of land of 1000 hills as you explore the country on a flight to Musanze. You can take schedule flight or charter a private flight to Musanze, in case you’re using a tour operator, no need to worry, as they handle everything on your behalf. The flight is just 25 minutes away from Kigali; however, you still need road means to connect to your hotel where you will have an overnight, and also means to transport you to park headquarters for briefing and then to gorilla trekking point.
