Virunga National Park, founded in 1925, is the first national park established on the African continent, mainly to protect the mountain gorillas living in the forests of the Virunga massif.
There are two active volcanoes in the park, Nyiragongo Mountain and Nyamuragira. And they significantly shape the diverse habitats and wildlife reserved for tourist attractions. The elevation ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki Valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in the Rwenzori Mountains.
Virunga National Park is internationally renowned for its unique wildlife and habitat. More than 3,000 species of flora and fauna are recorded, and the Albertine Rift Valley eastern gorillas and golden monkeys are more than 300.
Virunga’s most famous mammals include forest and savannah elephants, hippos, okapi, lions, and mountain gorillas. Virunga has more birds than the United States and more than three times that of the United Kingdom.
The number of reptiles recorded in Virunga makes it the most abundant protected area in Africa. Virunga also has the largest number of amphibian species in the Albertine Rift, which includes parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania.
Virunga is the only place on Earth that has three great apes-mountain gorillas, an eastern lowland gorilla, and an eastern chimpanzee.
These and many more are the reasons why this park has become a destination for many tourists.
