5 fun Facts about Volcanoes National Park : Volcanoes national park is famously known as tourism destination in Rwanda where you will find rare endangered mountain gorillas that can only be found in Virunga national park of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga national park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park of Uganda. The park was gazetted as a national park in 1925 purposely to protect and conserve the endagered Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda. Volcanoes National Park is located in the northwestern part of the country in Musanze earlier known as Ruhengeri. volcanoes national park covers an area of approximately 160 square kilometers of rainforest comprising of five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains such as Sabyinyo, Gahinga, Muhabura, Bisoke and Karisimbi .volcanoes national park covers Rwanda’s share with the Virunga conservation area and is bordered by Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga gorilla national in the pearl of Africa.
Volcanoes national park is a home to five of the eight volcanoes making the Virunga mountains such as Mountain Bisoke, Mountain Karisimbi , Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Muhabura and Mountain Gahinga shared by Mgahinga National Park and volcanoes national park. Besides gorillas, Volcanoes National park is a home for golden monkeys, a variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects among other creatures which together make a complete Rwanda safari package.
Volcanoes national park offers visitors a number of amazing things and activities including gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, birding, Dian Fossey grave, cave exploration, guided nature walks, picnics, volcano hiking among others. Here are the 5 fun facts about volcanoes national park
Smallest national park in Rwanda
Volcanoes national park is one of the smallest among the national parks in Rwanda covering an area of about 160sqkm, which makes it the smallest among all the parks. Though the park ranked the smallest, it has a variety of sceneries that can be pleasant and quite remembering once you see them. among the attractions that can be seen when you’re in the park include the Rwanda’s known Twins lakes called Butera and Ruhondo, gorilla, golden mountains, black and white colobus monkeys , Dian Fossey Grave, volcanoes among others.
Home to the smallest mountains in the Virunga region
Volcanoes national park is home of the smallest volcanoes among the volcanoes in the Virunga region. Mountain Gahinga is the smallest of Virunga volcanoes in Rwanda. It is also a dormant volcano with a crater at its summit with swampy vegetation on the floor of the crater. Mount Gahinga lies between Mount Sabyinyo and Mount Muhabura and sits in an altitude of about 3,474 meters above the sea level and comprises of a beautiful afro-montane forest, bamboo that shelter mountain gorillas. But are blessed with some fascinating wildlife species and birds that make up the Mt. Gahinga eco-system including golden monkeys. This is part of a chain of 8 volcanic mountains of the Bufumbira ranges. The volcano chain spans across Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hiking this mountain takes a day and it offers unmatched scenic views of the vegetation to the slopes. You will also as well get a great opportunity to sight wildlife species such as buffaloes, primates. And Golden Monkeys are notable to these.
Home to over 200 species of birds
Volcanoes National park is a famous birding destination know for hosting about 200 bird species recorded and amazingly twenty nine bird species are endemic to the Albertine rift. keen birders can enjoy the sight birds species like Grauer’s rush warbler, Rwenzori Turaco, Rwenzori batis, Archer’s ground robin, Red- faced woodland warbler, Rwenzori double- collared sunbird, the dusky crimson- wing, collared batis, Dusky turtle love, strange weaver, the African marsh harrier, common moorhen, long-crested eagle, gray throated tit, and handsome Francolin among others.
Home to 5 Virunga mountains
Volcanoes National Park is a home to 5 out of 8 Virunga Mountains and these include Mountain Karisimbi, Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Bisoke and Mountain Muhabura which act as a homes for 15 gorilla families that can be spotted the Susa gorilla family, Karisimbi gorilla family, Amahoro gorilla family, Titus gorilla family, Kirwa gorilla family, Kwitonda gorilla family, Sabyinyo gorilla family, Umubano gorilla family, Agashya gorilla family, Ugenda gorilla family and Bwenge gorilla family among others. Trekking mountain gorillas gives you fun facts and interesting characteristics about primates that will be learned when you visit a particular gorilla group while taking park in gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park which will make your wild life safari in the park interesting.
Volcanoes national park is a home to the Rwanda’s twin’s lakes
Lake Ruhondo and Lake Burera are stunning lakes based between mountain Musanze and the Uganda border. The lakes are famously known as Twins Lakes of their closeness to each other’s. This lakes are fed by rivers in Uganda and the lakes share a combined surface area of 2800 hectares of land and were formed as a result of volcanic eruption in the Virunga massif. it’s believed that the two lakes were formed after volcanic glaciers from the erupted volcanoes blocked river Nyabarongo that was flowing towards the northern part of the Rwanda and later diverted its channel and started flowing East ward direction where it joins the River Akanyaru and river Akagera, The twin lakes Ruhondo and Burera are separated by a 1km stretch of land which was formed after the eruption of Mountain Sabyinyo. The twins lakes offers amazing activities to visitors such as boat cruise and canoeing, fishing where you will get to spot some of the water bird species such as herons, kingfishers, cormorant, Hamerkop and darters among others, you will also get a chance to interact with the different local people from the Iby’iwacu cultural village, see how the villagers as they all rush to the lake side, dancing and singing happily to the island as well as visiting the Musanze Cave.
