The park forms part of the wider Albertine Rift, a biologically important region shared by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania.
You will see Virunga referenced alongside Rwanda’s Volcanoes Park and Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park because all three protect parts of the transboundary Virunga Massif.
The park itself independently operates under the authority of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN).
Covering an area of approximately 7800 square kilometers, Virunga national park borders the Virunga Mountains in the south and the Rwenzori mountains in the North.
Safety & Current Park Status
The security situation in the North Kivu province is based on the ongoing military operations carried out by the Congolese armed forces and by armed groups from the region in the Rutshuru area.
The southern part of Virunga National Park, which includes Bukima, is protected by strict military and eco-guard security barriers set up by the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature.
The park authorities evaluate the movement corridors each day and keep direct radio contact between the Bukima base camp and the regional command centre in Goma, which is thirty-two kilometres south.
More than 600 trained eco guards are employed by the park to provide armed escorts for each visitor transport convoy that travels along the RN2 highway towards Bukima.
You are required to check that your private vehicle joins the official park convoy which leaves Goma at exactly 06:00 on the scheduled morning trekking days.
While foreign government advisories look at whole administrative territories, the park’s intelligence teams focus on particular micro corridors surrounding the Mikeno volcanic base.
Any international travel insurance policy providing coverage for this area must include explicit clauses regarding medical evacuation and the coverage limit should be 100,000 USD or more before leaving.
All visitors must report their travel itineraries to their national consular mission in either Kinshasa or Kigali within 72 hours of crossing the border.