2 days bisoke mountain hiking rwanda.
Day 1 – Travel to Volcanoes Park/Musanze province for a night.
6:30am, The driver guide shall pick you up from your hotel in Kigali in the morning and depart for Volcanoes National Park situated in the northern district of Musanze. You drive across the sprawling highlands for about two and half hours before you arrive in Musanze, then transfer to your accommodation situated outside Volcanoes National Park. Relax away the rest of the day at the lodge whilst you enjoy magnificent views of the stunning Virunga Mountains. Lunch and dinner at the lodge, then overnight.
Day 2 – Hiking Mountain Bisoke 3711M, return to Kigali city.
6:00am, Have early breakfast, and leave for the park headquarters in Kinigi by 7:00am, to register with the authorities and meet your ranger guides. You undergo briefing about the hiking activity from the rangers for about thirty minutes so that at exactly 8.00am you get into your cars and transfer to the base of the volcano and starting point of the hike.
It is here you are given the hiking sticks that will be very vital in supporting you through the slippery and muddy joints. Here you also find porters for hire to carry whichever items you have on you such as backpacks, water, big cameras, etc. As light as ones bag or item may feel, the weight increases almost by every climb up the mountain.
The porters also offer much needed support at some points along the hike since some places get really muddy and very challenging. Begin the ascend up the mountain through Hagenia forest, learn about some of the unique vegetation and tree species.
This level is also common with some habituated Mountain Gorillas that when you are lucky to encounter you shall be allowed just a minute to view then but pictures are not allowed! This is to keep it fair for the travellers who paid for the pricy Gorilla Permit. Golden Monkeys are also a common encounter here. You are likely to come across dung and foot prints of big animals such as the Forest Elephants and Buffaloes but these are almost impossible to sight as they are really elusive.
Continue ascending up the mountain, going through different mountain vegetation whilst enjoying breathtaking views across the lush volcano chain and the Rwanda’s sprawling green landscape from below. After close to 4 hours, finally you are at the top, standing around a big Crater Lake! If the weather allows you may stay for a few minutes and even picnic, otherwise the temperature can drop as low as 10oc, making it so cold and sometimes with rains that you cannot stay more than five minutes. After taking in all this magnificent nature from the top, begin climbing down, expecting to get to the bottom in 2 hours.
What you need to carry.
- Woolen gloves.
- Raincoat.
- Sweater.
- Head gear.
