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How to visit The Virunga National Park DRC

riverstrails — Sat, 9 Jul 2016 00:28:00 GMT

This is a how to guide to visiting the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic Of Congo, for a detailed story of my experience please click on the following link https://journals.worldnomads.com/riverstrails/story/141689/Congo-(Kinshasa)/Kigali-to-Virunga-National-Park-DRC-in-3-Days

It was thanks to the brilliant Netflix Documentary simply titled "Virunga" that got me planning on visiting this part of the world, no doubt that many of you planning this trip have got the same reason too. It takes a bit of planning but what i experienced in the couple of days there was without a doubt one of the best adventures Ive ever been on!

First of all the Virunga National park website www.visitvirunga.org should be your first port of call as you have 2 options when planning this trip: You can do it indpendently as I did or go with a travel agent. The National Park provides a full lisiting of approved travel agents, of course as I said I booked independently through the national park so cannot comment on any of those however whilst encountering a delay at the border into the DRC a gentleman from Kivu Travel approached us and offered his assistance which we were very much in need of so if this is how he deals with non-guests Im sure he would be a reliable individual to book with. The website also provides you with information regarding transport, accomodation and Visa's.

Ill now outline how I proceeded in booking and planning my trip:

Getting into the DRC

To get into The DRC one must have a visa which can be obtained through the National Park, you must book a Gorilla Trek or Volcano Trek or stay at Mikeno Lodge to apply for a visa. So once you have made any one of those bookings you will receive an order number, this will be required when you proceed to the online Visa application process via the "Visas" option on the website.The process is pretty starightforward and costs $105, the only response I got after I applied was from the National Park seeking a copy of my passport other than that nothing, the thinking is that if theres an issue youll hear about it otherwise everythings fine.I also recommend getting your Yellow Fever Certificate as this was asked for when crossing the border, please dont be like a gentleman I met along the way who didnt have it and let a health official inject him on the border!

Getting to The DRC
I got there via Rwanda and met many others doing the same, I did see some flights into Goma when researching this trip but other than that would have no more advice on that option. I flew direct to Kigali from Amsterdam with KLM and enjoyed a short stay there before moving on. I got a Kigali Coaches and Tours Bus from the main station, Nyabungogo, direct to Gisenyi which is the Rwandan Town right on the Border, these buses are quite regular as a lot of locals go to Gisenyi to enjoy Lake Kivu and costs around 3000franc. From Gisenyi its quite easy to negotiate a motorcycle taxi to the border, they’ll drop you just a short walk away from the border.
On a side note on my return through the border my bags were searched by Rwandan Officials for plastic bags as Rwanda has a ban on plastic bags.

Transport in The DRC
The national park also supplies you with the option of availing of their transport options and despite its high price I would definitely recommend it as it is very reliable: always on time, new and comfortable vehicles and you are always accompanied by an armed guard. The only time I didnt avail of their services was when I initially gained entry into Goma I again negotiated a motorcycle Taxi from the border to my Hotel, Lac Kivu Lodge.
The drive to the Bukima where you start your Gorilla trek is one where you would definitely need them as the road is quite rough and requires the capabilities of a 4x4 in parts. I have heard of people negotiating their own transport to Kibati Patrol Post for the Volacno trek but was persuaded by the national park that it was safer to go with them. At the end of the day the National Park, understandably, is doing their best to attract visitors so the last thing they need is bad publicity if anything were to happen to you. I would only advise it if you are an experienced traveller in Africa and are fluent in French as there is almost no English spoken there.
The transport can be booked online through the national parks website its only necessary to confirm your pick up locations such as your accommodation in Goma so that they know where to pick you up. The pick up time for the Gorilla Trek was 6:30am and the Volcano Trek 8:30am, upon completing the volcano climb the driver was there to take us back to the hotel to pick our bags up and then drop us straight to the Border.

Accomodation & Food
On arrival in Kigali I stayed at The Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel they can also arrange airport transfers for you for around $15 however its very easy to arrange transport upon arrival to Kigali as things are a lot more subdued shall we say as opposed to other places you’ll encounter when travelling around Africa. The Hostel was in a nice quiet residential area with some nice restaurants within walking distance.
As for Goma my research only found 2 suitable places to stay and I chose Lac kivu Lodge based on its reviews and ability to book online. Obvioulsy security is high on the list when choosing somewhere to stay and I can say that there was never a time when I didn’t feel safe staying there. As there were 2 of us we got a double room that cost roughly $40 per person per night (not cheap I know but as I said security is unfortunately a factor) that included breakfast although we didn’t know that until the second day as they didn’t mention it at all at check in. the breakfast was great when we did have it on the second morning with a great selection of pastries, cheeses and cold meats. The rooms were clean and modern, if anything it was probably the ebst place I stayed in my 3 months in Africa it even had a lovely pool which was great after a lengthy gorilla hike!
Alternatively The National Park also provide their own accommodation which as all else before can be book through their website. Again I cannot comment on these options as I didn’t stay with them but upon arrival to Bukima Camp for the Gorilla Trek the guys showed us around and I can say that the facilties looked top notch!They showed us Bush Tents that had everything you would need and more including a shower and toilet inside the tent.
Prior to arriving in Goma I packed a few bars, fruit and various other snacks which came in handy as understandably there aren’t really any well stocked supermarkets there, there is of course bottled water and the basics, there was also a bakery not too far from Lac Kivu lodge that came in handy too. Otherwise the best meals I had whilst there were in the hotel or a neighbouring hotel La Chalet, main meals were around $15, again not exactly budget I know but you gotta eat!The food was tasty and service was good.

The Treks
Always remember to have your permits on you for the treks.
Gorilla Trek
The National Park picked us up from our accommodation in Goma at 6:30am and after picking our armed guard up it was roughly a 2 hour drive along some very bumpy roads till we got to Bukima. You will be shown into a briefing room where you will meet your head tracker and they’ll give you a lowdown on the size and makeup of the family youll be visiting.
The trek itself took us around 45mins to an hour to finally reach the gorillas, its advisable to wear trousers, long sleeve clothing, insect repellent and water as its obviously quite physical hiking through dense forest. You get to spend an hour with the gorillas and the guides are really good at helping you get the best positon for great pictures, they’ll also clear the area between you and the gorillas with machetes so that you can get a clear view of them. After the hour had elapsed the guys lead us back out iof the forest and back to the camp before being driven back to Goma.

Volcano Trek
The National Park picked us up at 8:30am from Goma at and again picked up our guard before driving approximately 45mins to Kibati Patrol post. After showing our permits and signing in we were given a briefing on the climb. You have the option of availing of a porter to assist you on the climb this is something that entirely depends on youre own fitness level and just exactly how much you wanna bring up with you. The heaviest items I had to carry was the 4.5 litres of water I chose to bring which in the end was just right. I also got the hotel to make up a sandwich roll for dinner to compliment the small snacks I purchased from a shop. I would recommend however that you purchase the majority of your food before arriving in Goma because finding anything decent at a reasonable price in Goma was non existent. I brought a warm jacket and hat, sleeping bag and wore trousers that could be zipped off into shorts so as to save weight. The climb took under 6 hours to complete but that depends on the fitness of the group as the speed of the climb will go as fast as the slowest person. Once on the summit you are assigned a hut which is quite cosy and comfortable as it gets quite cold at the top. Obviously the climb down is shorter with mine taking roughly 3 and a half hours to complete.

Kigali to Virunga National Park, DRC in 3 Days

riverstrails — Fri, 8 Jul 2016 01:58:00 GMT

It was an early start at the Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel in Rwandas Capital of Kigali.After a breakfast of bread and potatoes and the nations finest Tea we jumped on a motorbike taxi to take us to Kigalis Central Bus Station. The station was alive with activity and needless to say we attracted our share of attention but thankfully before long we got ourselves onto the right bus bound for Gisenyi. We were greeted with a great cheer as we boarded the Bus as it turned out we had gate crashed a local football teams weekend getaway, thanks to my footballing knowledge we made friends before we had even reached the outskirts of this impressive little African Capital. As we made our way through the hills that Rwanda is famed for (at breakneck speed) conversation moved away from football and onto discussions of our separate cultures and society’s, their stories and passion of a modern and united Rwanda were truely inspirational. As we approached Gisenyi and the border with The DRC we were even accompanied by one of our fellow passengers as he was aware of the issues some foreigners may face at the border, so with the assistance of our local friend, Julien, we hopped onto a Moto-Taxi and headed for the border. Upon arrival we were met with stern faces that didn’t help our optimism of a smooth border crossing and after a lengthy wait I handed over my Passport with copies of my Visa application that I had made through the Virunga National Park website, there was also a brief visit to the neighbouring Health Office to show my Yellow Fever Certificate. Another lengthy wait transpired before my passport was returned, I was in! But Natasha, my travel buddy, wasn’t, and despite our best efforts those stern faces told us to wait for a National Park Official as they had no record of her applying for her visa. It wasn’t till 2 hours later that a man from Kivu Travel appeared at the border with guests of his tour Company and offered his assistance, he contacted the national park who finally made an appearance (it turns out much to our expectations that the border officials hadn’t contacted them). Thankfully much to our relief Natasha had her visa approved and her passport back in hand, now all we had to do was make our way across Goma to our hotel, easy! Julien, who had stuck with us the entire time was now called back into action to assist in arranging Moto-Taxis to our Hotel, Lac Kivu Lodge. The contrast in Nations was immediate as Goma was busy, loud and dirty. Rwanda has a ban on plastic bags making it one of the cleanest Nations I’ve visited in the 3rd World. We paid roughly $40 each per night which is high for us budget travellers but it is definitely an Oasis in this crazy city in a beautiful location on the shores of Lake Kivu. We settled in for the evening and prepared our bags for the following day.

The following morning our driver, Eric from The National Park arrived on time at the hotel at 6:30am, as we left the city the streets were crammed full with locals with their yellow drums making there way to the lake to collect water. Just before leaving the city we pulled up at a rangers compound and picked up our armed guard, Angie, and continued on out the city passing the South African Army UN Compound on the way. The road was very bumpy even by African standards but Eric was an expert driver, the scenery was beautiful along the way especially when we started into the mountains. After roughly 2 hours we arrived at Bukima, Eric and The Camp manager were keen to show us around the accommodation they had on offer, they were very impressive and modern bush tents and had an amazing view of Mount Mekino. Eric showed us the briefing room where there was another couple joining us on todays trek, thats just one of the many benefits about choosing The DRC as opposed to neighbouring Rwanda or Uganda where the Visitor numbers are much higher. Richard, our head tracker for today told us about the family we would be visiting, it was a family of 8 consisting of 2 silverbacks. We made our way out of the camp and through neighbouring farm fields that pushed right up against the boundary of the park. Richard eventually led us onto a very small track into the park before meeting some other trackers, they informed us that the gorillas were nearby, from here on in the machete skills of our guides were on display as we carved our way through the dense vegetation. After hiking just short of an hour we found them!We approached slowly as the guides made a grunting noise that helped to put the Gorillas at ease with our presence. They also cleared the surrounding area in no time allowing us to get a clear view of these amazing creatures! The hour we spent with them will last with me forever it was amazing how close you could get to them. Unfortunately it came the time to leave, Richard and the other trackers then guided us out of the park and back to the Camp and thanked the guys for an amazing experience. Even after Eric had dropped us back to the hotel I was on such a high and couldn’t sit still. That night we walked to a neighbouring Hotel, La Chalet for dinner, it too had a lovely location on the lake and it was just so hard to believe I was still in The DRC after seeing the poverty outside the gates. It was a Sunday and the majority of it patrons were NGO or UN workers. We returned to the hotel after a tasty pizza and prepared our bags for the following days trek up Mount Nyirnagongo.

Making sure to get a good breakfast we got picked up at 8:30am again by an official from the National Park, he kindly stopped at a very basic supermarket along the way so that we could pick up water and other snacks and just as we had done the day before we collected our guard and set off down that same road as we had the day before. We arrived at Kibati Ranger Station at 9:30am, signed in and showed our permits but had to wait till 11am before starting the hike. In my commitment to remain a Budget Traveller I refused the services of a porter, carrying 4.5liters of water was a solid workout, this wasn’t helped by the intense humidity that only subsided about 2 hours into the hike! The group was a combination of people who had like myself and Tasha booked through the National Park and those who had booked through a travel agency, the group was assigned 2 armed guards by the National Park who lead the hike and then a separate Tour Guide who was part of the Travel Agency group. Needless to say we all climbed as one group and it was only at dinner time that the group was somewhat separated as they not only had a guide but a cook too! The climb took around 5 and a half hours and that included 3 stops along the way, once at the summit we were assigned our cosy little Crater Huts. I couldn’t wait to climb to the edge of the crater and look down at the bubbling lava, it was incredible! Despite our distance from the edge of the crater and down to the lava you could still feel the heat! We ate our sandwiches that we had purchased from the Hotel for dinner and sat and watched as the sun went down, the darkness adding to the atmosphere and only serving to increase the intensity of fiery red lava. It was almost hypnotic just sitting and observing the Volcanoe it was other worldly and it was only due to my exhaustion that I managed to drag myself away from it and off to bed.

Waking up on the summit at 5:45am high above the clouds and watching the sunrise over neighbouring Mt Mikeno was another beautiful sight. Sadly the time came to hike back down, this was tricky at times especially on the loose lava rock but we all managed to make it down unharmed by 10:30am. Another Park official met us at the bottom and brought us to the hotel to collect our bags and then dropped us at the border which thankfully on this occasion was very much straightforward. After locating the bus station in Gisenyi we didn’t have to wait long before piling in to a bus heading for Kigali and finally The Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel where after a lovely African Buffet I fell into bed after a draining yet amazing trip to The Virunga National Park!

Photos: Africa

riverstrails — Wed, 6 Jul 2016 01:28:00 GMT

A 3 month trip through Africa