Together with Queen Elizabeth National Park, Virunga is considered by the IUCN to be a Lion Conservation Unit. The connection between man and gorilla can be further explored at the Senkwekwe Centre, the only mountain gorilla orphanage in the world. There is a place in the heart of Africa where glacier-tipped mountains tumble down into steamy rain forests, where fiery lava lakes bubble, and savannas and grasslands stretch as far as the eye can see. Take a Thrilling Adventure in Uganda Hiking the Sabyinyo Volcano Virunga National Park is home to around a third of those gorillas, which reside in the dense forests on the lush slopes of the Virunga volcanoes. The most recent eruption occurred in 2021 and had catastrophic consequences for the human residents of the city of Goma. From north to south it extends approximately 300km (190mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east. When it was first established, Virunga National Park was limited to three volcanoes in the south, but was later expanded northward to include the Rwindi plains, Lake Edward and the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon. Geography of Rwanda. The Virunga Mountains are all volcanic mountains but most of them are dormant. Nyiragongo are rewarded with a view of the worlds largest lava lake as it churns and bubbles. Albertine Rift - Wikipedia Illegal hunting inside protected areas increased. Several were observed at the northern shore of Lake Edwards in 1988 for the first time. The Centre is the only one of its kind in the world. Virunga National Park is one of the five UNESCO protected areas that fall under the jurisdiction of the ICCN. The mountain range consists of eight major volcanoes. The Virunga Mountains, located in the northwest part of Rwanda, contain the country's highest peak, Karisimbi, which reaches nearly 15,000 feet. The word Virunga is and English word derived from Kinyarwanda word "Ibirunga" to meat "Mountains" This picturesque part of the park adjoins the Rwenzori Mountains and Semuliki National Parks in neighbouring Uganda. Great blues are shy and rarely descend to the ground except for drinking and bathing. Situated in the center of the Albertine Rift, between Uganda and Rwanda, Virungas 7,800 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) stretches from the Virunga Massif in the south, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the north. Virunga is the only site on earth to have three types of great apes the mountain gorilla, eastern lowland gorilla, and eastern chimpanzee. [14][15][16][17] Indigenous people lost their traditional land rights in this process, and were evicted from the protected area. The endangered eastern lowland gorilla, also known as the Grauers gorilla, is a sub-species of the eastern gorilla that resides in the lowland tropical rainforests of eastern Congo. The southern sector borders Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. This innovative, community focussed approach to conservation is working to reduce the pressures currently faced by the Parks Rangers from armed groups, illegal poaching, and land encroachment. Virunga National Park (covering an area of 790,000 ha) comprises an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori at an altitude of over 5,000 m, and from lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes. Preventing these plans the park gained further protection by an agreement sealed between DRCs president Felix Tshisekedi and Boris Johnson at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Hippo numbers increase to over 2000 for the first time in 20 years. Flora/Vegatation in Virunga national park - Gorilla Safari Tours Virunga National Park | Overview, Location, History, & Facts The Virunga Mountains lie between Lakes Kivu and Edward and extend into Rwanda and Uganda. Lake Rutenzige is fed by several large rivers, the Rutshuru River being one, and drains to the north through the Semliki River into Lake Albert. Though valiant efforts were made to protect the park, the end of the 20. century saw much of the parks wildlife massacred almost to the point of extinction. The Virunga Mountains rise out of densely populated plateaus that are inhabited mostly by Rwandan cultivators and, in certain areas, by cattle herders. Satellite images showed hotspots at Nyamuragira volcano in early 2017, indicating ongoing eruptions. [7], There have been several deadly attacks in the park by rebel groups, and several park rangers have been killed. Where Are The Virunga Mountains Located - 2022 Today, they are probably the parks most famous residents. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.It was created in 1925. [5] Learn more about mountain gorillas in our story on these gentle giants. The great volcanoes of this range, clothed in cloud forests, include the dormant Mikeno, Karisimbi, Visoke, and Sabinio (Sabinyo), as well as the active Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira. Virunga National Park - Wikipedia [34], These tactics, criticised as "militarization of conservation", has been blamed for further violence and dispossession faced by local indigenous people. Later in the Pleistocene (about 900,000 to 130,000 years ago), Karisimbi, Visoke, Mgahinga, and Muhavura appeared, all but Karisimbi possessing a crater summit. [14] [45], The climate in the Albertine Rift is influenced by the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the El NioSouthern Oscillation. African fish eagles are birds of prey that live in the waterways of sub-Saharan Africa. [46] Of these, nine gorilla families have been carefully habituated over the last thirty years. The name Virunga comes from the Kinyarwanda word ibirunga, which means volcanoes. Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site internationally recognized for its exceptional wildlife and habitats. Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Parc National Des Volcans Guide Carefully selected conservation projects one-stop, seamless, transparent donations APP subscribers only.