Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest national park and one of the most biologically diverse protected areas on Earth. Established in 1925 in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo the park covers 7800 square kilometres of extraordinary habitat diversity from active volcanoes including the lava lake of Nyiragongo to equatorial forests, savanna, and the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains. Virunga shelters about one-third of the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas alongside eastern lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, and forest elephants. The park has endured decades of conflict and its rangers are among the most courageous conservation heroes in Africa with over 200 having lost their lives protecting its wildlife. When conditions permit visitors can track mountain gorillas on the volcanic slopes, summit Nyiragongo to gaze into the world’s largest lava lake, and explore the savanna sector for hippo and elephant. Virunga represents conservation at its most heroic.