Kibati Patrol Post
Kibati Patrol Post is the starting point of the Nyiragongo volcano hike. All travellers that are to take part in hiking Mount Nyiragongo meet at Kibati patrol post before they embark on the 5-6 hour hike to the summit of the volcano. Mount Nyiragongo is an active volcano that millions of travellers travel the world to come face to face with the boiling lava lake at the summit. The Nyiragongo is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with its most recent eruption having been in 2002, while its most recent activity was in 2016 that experts in charge of monitoring the volcano’s activity had advised travellers to not proceed with their Nyiragongo hiking safaris then. Mount Nyiragongo however did not erupt, and the activity was only confined to the boiling lava lake. Mount Nyiragongo has erupted up to 34 times since 1882 when the volcano’s activity started to be recorded. The Nyiragongo volcano has the world’s largest lava lake that has magma boiling and emitting gasses, a view that leaves travellers who get to hike the Nyiragongo awestruck.
The post is where all hikes to Mount Nyiragongo start from. For this, it is important for travellers to know about it and all that it has to offer. From Goma town, for travellers who are arriving via Kigali in Rwanda on the day of the hike, it is only 30 minutes of road drive to Kibati patrol post from where travellers get to start their hike of the Nyiragongo volcano. Travellers on a Congo safaris tour that has hiking Mount Nyiragongo on their itinerary, and are staying in Mikeno Lodge, spend about a 45 minutes road drive to Kibati patrol post.
It is at Kibati patrol post that travellers interested in hiking the Nyiragongo get to pay for their Nyiragongo hiking permit and consequently getting it. This is supposed to be done by 9 am, for the actual hike starts at 10 am. Without a Nyiragongo hiking permit, travellers are not allowed to take part in the hike. A Nyiragongo hiking permit costs only $300, and does not require prior booking like a gorilla trekking permit.
It is at Kibati patrol post that travellers cleared to undertake the Nyiragongo volcano hike can hire porters from. Porters are, unlike park rangers, not affiliated to Virunga National Park. These are locals who most of them were former poachers and are now porters as a way to contribute to tourism in the area as well as earn from it. These porters help travellers with their luggage during the hike, as well as push or pull them when required sometime during the hike. Hiring a porter costs about $24 only.
It is also at Kibati patrol post that travellers get the hiking sticks before the start of the hike to the Nyiragongo volcano. Some lodges, however, provide their clients with hiking sticks.
When travellers converge at Kibati patrol post before the start of their Nyiragongo volcano hike, they are briefed about the adventure in waiting. Travellers are briefed by park officials and are told of what they should expect during the hike. The Nyiragongo volcano hike is done with the guidance of park rangers that are armed and highly knowledgeable of the craft. Once at the summit and after spending the night their gazing at the wonder before you, travellers descend the volcano and get back to Kibati patrol post, where they meet their guides who transfer them to their next activity per their itinerary. Given that travellers return to Kibati patrol post upon their descent of the Nyiragongo volcano, travellers can safely leave some of their luggage or items at the offices.
The post is the command centre for rangers and of all activities concerning Mount Nyiragongo. Kibati patrol post is just at the foothills of Mount Nyiragongo.
Mount Nyiragongo, located in Virunga National Park, is an attraction that many travellers endeavour not to miss seeing while on a Congo safaris tour. Hiking Mount Nyiragongo is one of the most prominent and most sought after tourist activity in Virunga National Park. Hiking Nyiragongo volcano is a very thrilling activity that has travellers being rewarded with amazing views of the landscape and other very dramatic volcanoes not so far off, and of course, the wildly beautiful churning lava lake at the summit of the volcano. Have a tour operator put together a Congo safaris tour for you and be able to hike the Nyiragongo, with Kibati patrol post as your starting point.
