Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda is the world’s most celebrated destination for mountain gorilla tracking. The park protects the Rwandan portion of the Virunga Mountains — a chain of extinct and active volcanoes straddling Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Approximately one-third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live within the park and Rwanda’s highly successful gorilla conservation programme has made tracking permits among the most sought-after wildlife experiences on Earth. The trek through bamboo forest and hagenia woodland to reach a habituated gorilla family is physically demanding but the reward of sitting just metres from these magnificent great apes is life-changing. Beyond gorillas the park offers golden monkey tracking, volcano summit hikes including Bisoke crater lake, and the historic research site of Dian Fossey.