Mountain Nyiragongo hiking tours should be done as an added activity after your visit to Virunga National Park in Congo taking Congo gorilla tours the great amazing experiences in Africa. The Mountain is situated in Congo but close to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park because the Park is part of the Virunga massif therefore a tourist from both Rwanda and Congo can be able to hike the Mountain. Hiking of this impressive Mountain does not require you to consult a tour company to help you in booking because all the prices will be paid at the head offices of the Mountain instead you will just need to budget your tour accordingly with the hiking of Nyiragongo being inclusive.
This should be done when you are preparing for a visit to either Virunga or Volcanoes of which you need to extend two days on your tour for the hike of Nyiragongo which takes two days. Therefore, it will give you a perfect budget on how many days you will spend in the Park and at the Mountain.
Since you will have planned your trip well and accordingly, after a visit to any of the two Parks you will then just continue with your trip to Nyiragongo Mountain only with a vehicle which you will have used in the Park and this should be first planned before going in either Congo or Rwanda to avoid inconveniences of spending added days with the vehicle and yet you had not agreed with your tour company you will have used.
Therefore, if you are to hike Nyiragongo Mountain, plan for it before accessing either Rwanda or Congo such that you enjoy your trip after forwarding your budget including the hike of Nyiragongo.
Nyiragongo can be accessed from either Virunga national park’s lodges like Mikeno lodge which is a one hour and 40 minutes drive to the Mountain or from Volcanoes national park where you will leave the Park and stay in the good accommodations of Gisenyi of which it is a 30 minutes drive from Gisenyi to the Mountain’s head offices. On reaching at Mountain Nyiragongo, you will first be briefed and left to relax and then get ready for the challenging hike of Nyiragongo which starts at 10:00am and takes between 4 to 7 hours depending on how speedy and fit you are.
Woody hiking sticks made by the local citizens are sold at US$ 5 for those who may want to hike using sticks. These sticks will give you support when hiking and will help your body to fully involve in the hike such that you don’t attain much fatigue you might have got when you don’t use any supporting object.
Guides and enough security will be offered to you to help and protect you safely through the hike and on your own bill you may also hike with your personal cook who will prepare for you nice meals during your hiking activity. If not moving with the personal cook, you are then emphasized to carry enough packed food and snacks plus enough water for drinking. You are also advised to move with good dry hiking shoes, heavy clothes like coats, sweaters plus the rain coats and carry some clothes preparing for the coldness at the summit of the Mountain.
The hiking will start with steadily however as you go on, you will get tired but you are emphasized to always remain focused and calm if you are to reach and enjoy the brilliant things found at the Mountain’s summit. You will reach somewhere on the Mountain when it is made up of segments which look like ladders and this will ease your hiking for a little bit. The Mountain has a good accommodation known as Nyiragongo Volcano summit shelters where you will spend your overnight from till your next morning of descending back.
On reaching the summit of Nyiragongo Mountain, you will be surprised, impressed and amazed with a little Lake which lights fire and smoke on its surface and on seeing this fire you may think that there is Petrol being put on the surface yet not. On your first sight at this amazing Lake you may think that it has been photo shopped and it will first take you some time for you to realize that you are seeing something original and true. This Lake is one of the most amazing and ridiculous things on Mountain Nyiragongo and it appears red hot with smoke. You will take photos of this amazing Lake and other attractive things found at the summit of the Mountain and then return back to your shelter.
Therefore, you are not required to move with camping tents when you are going to hike Nyiragongo Mountain because there is a shelter where you will also enjoy the whole display of Congo and Virunga national park and Volcanoes national park. At the Nyiragongo Volcano summit shelters is where you will stay in and also have conversations with each other but I guess the most conversation will be all about the ridiculous Lake. You may get conversations like ‘’what happens to an individual who could fall in that Lake? Will he or she get burnt or?’’ I guess you will have different answers and opinions which make this hike a memorable one.
After your conversations and having supper, you will have to sleep till morning when you will have breakfast and enjoy views of various attractive and impressive things on Mountain Nyiragongo. You will then descend back and this takes between 1 to 2 hours to reach down depending on your speed and this is not so tiresome. After reaching down, you will then have the highlights of your hike either on videos and photos or in conversations on how hard it was to reach the climax of the Mountain and about the amazing things found there. You will then proceed with your next destinations in either Congo or Rwanda but leaving the Mountain with a great experience.
