How to get to Volcanoes national park Rwanda

Volcanoes national park Rwanda is one of the most visited national parks in the country. The Volcanoes national park is located in the ruhengeri district of Rwanda that is in the north western part of the country. This national park is a small one covering an area of 160 square kilometers and is mainly composed of rainforest where all the activities of the park take place.

The Volcanoes national park is famous for being the home of a few of the mountain gorillas left in the entire world. The mountain gorillas are an endangered species that can only be visited in Volcanoes national park of Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable forest and Mgahinga forest national park of Uganda and the Virunga national park of Congo. There are a number of safari packages that you may choose from to visit these mountain gorillas.

If you opt to travel to Rwanda for a Rwanda safari and are interested in the mountain gorillas, you will have to make your way to the volcanoes national park. The volcanoes national park is located about 106.3 kilometers from the Kigali city, the capital city of Rwanda.

You can book an international flight from your home country to Kigali International airport, the current only airport of the country. There are a number of airlines that can land at the Kigali International airport (KGL) and these include the Brussels Airlines, Egypt Air, Ethiopian airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Qatar airways, Turkish airlines, RwandAir which is the national airlines flying to a number of destinations. This makes accessing Rwanda easier for the individuals whose countries do not have direct flights into Rwanda. A few of the destinations that RwandAir serves include Brussels, Cape Town, Dubai international airport, Johannesburg, Entebbe, London-Heathrow, Mombasa, Mumbai, Nairobi- Jomo Kenyatta airport, Dar es Salaam, Accra to mention but a few.

How to get to Volcanoes national park Rwanda — Gorilla Trekking in volcanoes National Park

By flight

Once you have a flight into Rwanda that will be a step down to access the Volcanoes national park. You can connect to Volcanoes national park from the Kigali city by road. There are no scheduled domestic flights from Kigali to Volcanoes national park however if you prefer to transfer by flight, you can book a charter flight with Akagera aviation to fly to Ruhengeri airstrip. Akagera aviation offers tailor made trips between destinations and a chartered flight from Kigali to Ruhengeri airstrip is only 30 minutes. If you booked a stay at the Bisate lodge, you can land direct at the hotel using a helicopter of Akagera aviation.

By Road

You can connect to the Volcanoes national park via road from Kigali city. The volcanoes national park is a 2 to 3 hour road transfer from Kigali and you can opt for public transport or private transport depending on what works for you.

Public transportation

If you opt for public transport, you can board the scheduled mini buses in the bus park headed for Musanze. You should note that the public mini buses will only be able to take you up to Musanze bus stop.

From Musanze bus stop, you may hire a cab to take you to your accommodation and to the park reception for check in for your activities at the park. This is a cheaper option but a risky one as the vehicle hired is not a full time one as compared to booking with a tour operator. You can also opt to have your booked hotel pick you up from Kigali if they have such arrangements however it may not be as cheap.

Private transportation

If you prefer the private transportation, you may opt to self-drive or have a driver guide. There are a number of companies that offer self-drive vehicles for your safaris and once you pay their fees, then your only worry would be fueling and making your way to your destination. If you opt to have your visit to the Volcanoes national park Rwanda fully planned by a tour operator, then you will surely have a full time and fueled safari vehicle and you will just sit back and enjoy the views you will be passing through on your 2 hour road transfer from Kigali to your hotel in Ruhengeri or the park reception for your activity.

If you are connecting to Volcanoes Park from other destinations, all the above ways are applicable however the routing and time spent on the transfer will definitely differ. Most safaris in Rwanda are blended with a visit to the Nyungwe forest national park in the south of Rwanda or the Akagera national park in the north eastern part. If you are coming from the Nyungwe forest to Volcanoes national park, you may connect via the Kibuye-Gisenyi road and this is a 5 to 6 hour road transfer and if you are coming from Akagera national park, you will transfer via Kigali to Ruhengeri by road and this is a 4 hour road transfer.

Volcanoes national park is famously known for being the home of the mountain gorillas but there is much more that this park offers like golden monkey trekking, hiking safaris up one or 3 of the Virunga mountain located in the park. You can also hike up the tomb of the late Dian Fossey, the primatologist that gave her life to conserve the mountain gorillas of the region, visit the Buhanga Eco park and much more. Get in touch with us and let us arrange for you an ideal visit to Volcanoes national park.