What Is The Biggest National Park In The DRC ? : Virunga national park is considered the biggest national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo because it covers a total surface area of about 790,000 square kilometers. This national park was established as a national park in 1979, it is located in the Eastern region in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Nord Kivu province, and it is famously known as the best destination for gorilla trekking activities. Virunga national park was declared by the UNESCO World Heritage because of its ecological importance and and later it became a Ramsar site of the international importance in the year of 1996 and till today, this national park is still heighted rated as a strong ecological pillar for the whole of the entire East and Central African Eco system. More so, Virunga national park was created with a major purpose of conserving and protecting all the wildlife species in the country and for science and research purposes, which attracts many tourists to travel from all over the parts of the world hence leading to development of the tourism industry of the country.
Virunga national park is blessed with a rich diverse ecosystem because it is surrounded by many block mountains, tropical rain forests, savannah woodlands, the Albertine rift, volcanic mountains, swamps, green lush vegetation, open savannah woodlands, wetland vegetation crater lakes among others and it shares boarders with other countries like; Uganda and Rwanda.
Major Attraction in Virunga National park.
Virunga national park is a good destination to travel to while on an adventurous safari because of its good climate, which happens to always have a pleasant warm weather and mild showers because the Equator line runs through the park, and it always carries high temperatures. More so, this national park is surrounded with stunning water bodies such as; Lake Albert, Lake Kivu, Lake Edward and River Congo, River Semiliki, River Congo which provide a cool breeze and fresh atmosphere within the park and tourists always enjoy their adventure activities such as boat cruises while on the water.
Virunga national park is a home to large numbers of wildlife species which attract many tourists whereby it is recorded that it is a home to over 218 mammal species such as; lions, buffalos, blue duikers, leopards, okapi, bongo, waterbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, bay duikers, Kobs, red river hog, aardvark, yellow backed duiker, elephant, hippopotamus among others, 706 bird species, 22 primate species such as; blue monkeys, Dent’s mona monkey, De brazza’s monkeys, Hamlyn’s monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, grey-checked manage, central African red colobus mantled guereza, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons and many others, 65 amphibian species, 109 reptiles. More so, tourists can get chances to see the Monitor lizards and the Nile crocodiles along the shores of Semiliki River and Lake Albert and Edward.
Activities done in Virunga National park.
Tourists exploring in Virunga National park are always blessed with chances to engage in many intresting activities where they get to learn new experiences as they tour around the park. therefore, some of these activities include; Gorilla trekking and it is known as the main activity done within the park because it is a home to over 6 gorilla families which are always available to be trekked, chimpanzee trekking which is ranked as the second most popular tourism activity done in this game park, Chimpanzee Habituation, guided nature walks where tourists always walk through the tropical rain forests which have a dense vegetation and are always accompanied by the tour guides whose role is to lead them through different trails and ensure their safety as they discover and explore through the breathtaking beauty and beautiful landscapes and capture spectacular views of the entire wilderness.
More so, tourists can also hike to the Nyiragongo, which is known to be an active Volcano where the volcanic eruption always goes on in a lava lake throughout the year and tourists always get chances to observe the natural geographical forces of the boiling molten lava gush out of the earth crust, which is a rare and exciting experience. Tourists can enjoy the landscape viewing and bird watching where they sight see at very many beautiful bird species such as; grey throated barbet, African fish eagle, Rwenzori turaco, Narrow tailed starling, madagscar bee-eater and many others.
How to get to Virunga National park.
Tourists planning to travel-to-travel to the Virunga National park can always book their flights from Kigali international airport, and then connect to by road through Gisenyi town, and then cross over Goma. They should note that it only takes a 2 hours’ drive from Gisenyi to the park headquarters, which are found in Bukima.
Therefore, contact our trusted tour operators in case of more information and inquiries about the biggest national park in the DRC and Book with our tours and Travel companies such as; Achieve Global safaris who offer the best tour packages while on your safari within Virunga National park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
