The Virunga Mountains are a range of six extinct and three active volcanoes on the border of Uganda and DRC. Within them lies the Volcanoes National Park (Parc des Volcans) protecting the mountain gorillas.
The tallest of the mountains which is Karisimbi at 4507m. The landscape and vegetation is similar on both sides of the border, with swathes of bamboo forest and woodland. This was the park in which Dian Fossey worked in her study of mountain gorilla behaviour, until she was murdered at Karisoke Research Centre in 1985. The park was closed in 1994 due to the genocide in Rwanda, but reopened in 1999.
The gorillas are obviously the main attraction in the Virungas, where about 300 of these endangered animals live, spread across 420km in three countries. There are also enjoyable nature walks and other quite strenuous hikes to take here including a 'Golden Monkey' hike which takes about 4-5 hours and visits a troop of animals which have become used to humans, there are about 40 animals in the group. There is also a strenuous hike to Karisoke, the remains of Dian Fossey's research station and grave site which takes about 6 hours or you can do a nature walk on Mt Bisoke which is done with a parks guide as wild animals such as buffalo may be found along the way.
The terrain in the Virungas is hilly, very muddy and tracking gorillas can involve climbing through dense vegetarion - be prepared for a tiring day and the trek could take anything up to 8 hours (though they are usually found in around 2-3 hours). See seperate trip details for more about the actual gorilla trek.
