About Volcanoes National Park history, the park was first gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by Kalisimbi, Bisoke and Mikeno, intended to protect the gorillas from poachers. It was the very first National Park to be created in Africa and it’s known as the oldest park in Africa attracting quite a huge number of tourists in Rwanda. About Volcanoes National Park , Subsequently, in 1929, the borders of the park were extended further into Rwanda and into the Belgian Congo, to form the Albert National Park, a huge area of 8090 km2, run by the Belgian colonial authorities who were in charge of both colonies. In 1958, 700 hectares of the park were cleared for a human settlement.
After the Congo gained independence in 1960, the park was split into two, and upon Rwandan independence in 1962 the new government agreed to maintain the park as a conservation and tourist area, despite the fact that the new republic was already suffering from overpopulation problems. The park was halved in area in 1969. Between 1969 and 1973, 1,050 hectares of the park were cleared to grow pyrethrum. This is About Volcanoes National Park
Flora
About Volcanoes National Park Vegetation varies considerably due to the large altitudinal range within the park.
There is some lower montane forest (now mainly lost to agriculture). Between 2400 and 2500 m, there is Neoboutonia forest.
From 2500 M to 3200 M Arundinaria alpina (bamboo) forest occurs, covering about 30% of the park area.
From 2600 M to 3600 M, mainly on the more humid slopes in the south and west, is Hagenia-Hypericum forest, which covers about 30% of the park.
This is one of the largest forests of Hagenia abyssinica.
The vegetation from 3500 M to 4200 M is characterised by Lobelia wollastonii, L. lanurensis, and Senecio erici-rosenii and covers about 25% of the park.
From 4300 to 4500 m grassland occurs. Secondary thicket, meadows, marshes, swamps and small lakes also occur, but their total area is relatively small.
Nature walk or a hike within the park, will give you a great opportunity to encounter some of these fauna within the park.
Fauna
About Volcanoes National Park animals, The park is best known for the mountain gorilla and golden monkeys as being the major attraction of visitors to the park.
Other mammals include: black-fronted duiker, buffalo, spotted hyena and bushbuck.
The bushbuck population is estimated to be between 1760–7040 animals.
There are also reported to be some elephants in the park, though these are now very rare.
There are over 200 recorded bird species, with at least 13 species and 16 subspecies endemic to the Virunga and Ruwenzori Mountains.
About Volcanoes National Park Major Tourism activities within the park.
The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) runs several activities for tourists, including:
Gorilla visits – as of January 2015, there are ten habituated gorilla groups open to tourists, allowing for a total of 80 permits per day thus maximum of 8 people per group.
Each permit costs $1500.
Tourists report at the park head office by 7:00 for a pre-tracking briefing.
Once tourists meet the gorillas they spend an hour with them. However expensive the permits are, the demand worldwide is quite high, you need to book through your tour operator in advance in order to secure the permits, otherwise you may fail to get one since it’s not possible to secure it individually.
You need to secure it through a reliable registered tour company since this is a huge sum of money when it come to individual or group booking, Rwanda Eco Company and Safaris is one of the leading registered and licensed domestic tour company that could help you easily book your gorilla permit to give you a wonderful safari alongside gorilla trekking.
Other activities include;
Golden monkey visits.
Climbing of Karisimbi volcano – this is a two-day trek with overnight camping at an altitude of 3,800 m.
Climbing of Bisoke volcano – one day.
Tour of the lakes and caves.
Visiting the tomb of Dian Fossey.
Iby’Iwacu cultural village tour.
The majority of revenue from tourism goes towards maintaining the park and conserving the wildlife. The remainder goes to the government and (around 10%) to local projects in the area to help local people benefit from the large revenue stream generated by the park.