Our Virunga Classic is simply a 6 days double gorilla trek and Mount Nyiragongo Hike within Virunga National Park. There is nothing as magical as meeting face-to-face with our close relatives in the East-Central African jungles but seeing two of their habituated families is breathtaking. Additionally, there is the golden opportunity of hiking to the World’s largest Lava Lake. For such a remarkable trip, all you need is to pack your bags and set out for an adventure of a lifetime with memorable experiences being your daily meal.
Virunga National Park harbors 8 habituated gorilla families of Rugendo, Lulengo, Nyakamwe, Munyanga, Humba, Kabirizi, Bageni and Mapuwa, two of which will be trekked during this package. This trip kick-starts and ends in Goma Town with a border crossing at Grande Barrier.
We arrive at the popular Grande Barriere Border Crossing by 10:00 am and make sure that the entire check-in process is complete by 11:00 am. Our stop is specifically at the Virunga Tourism Office (within the Border crossing building) where two gorilla trekking permits as well as Nyiragongo climbing permits are issued. Later be transferred to the luxurious Mikeno Lodge at Rumangabo Park Headquarters. Having enjoyed lunch and relaxed enough go ahead to explore the nature trails at Rumangabo or undertake birding tours.
Have breakfast and leave for Bukima Ranger Post where you will meet park Rangers and other trekkers to be offered orientation before beginning the gorilla treks. A total of 1-3 hours of hiking is expected before the mountain gorillas are encountered but this also depends on the nature of hiking trails as well as the location of the Mountain gorillas. The reward of all this hard work is spending one hour with the gorillas then walking or being driven to Ngila Lodge where a delicious lunch will be enjoyed. The afternoon is for relaxing at the Lodge, bird watching, or touring the Bamboo project
Be treated to a quick delicious breakfast and by 7:00 am be at Bukima Ranger Post for briefing. Begin the second gorilla trek by 8:00 am and go through the same process as the previous day. On getting back to the Lodge, a delicious lunch will be served after freshening up to allow you to return to Mikeno Lodge. Here there is also a chance to explore Rumangabo nature trails or unwind at the Lodge.
This day will be spent at leisure with options of touring the serene environment of swanky Mikeno Lodge, touring the outstanding Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage, stopping by one of the community projects (Widow’s Workshop), birding tours or simply unwinding with a tour of the nature trails.
After your breakfast at the luxurious Mikeno Lodge, your next stop is at the Kibati Ranger Post trailhead for Mount Nyiragongo hikes. On getting there, visitors are taken through the orientation process that lasts 30-45 minutes and hire porters before setting off on this expedition of a lifetime. This is followed by the actual hike that will last 4-6 hours to reach the summit marked by a 250-meter across Lava Lake on Mount Nyiragongo. The night views of this Lake are the most breathtaking, while dinner and overnight will be at the summit Camps.
Having rested well, be treated to an early breakfast to allow you to begin the descent to Kibati Ranger Post by 6:30 am. Only about four hours will be needed to get to the bottom of the Volcano and on arriving there, take a ride back to Goma Town. This marks the end of the Virunga Classic trip.
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