Nyiragongo Volcan0- Congo Mountaineering Tours

Mount Nyiragongo is one of the top tourist attractions in Congo that provides an amazing hiking experience to the top of the active volcano. It is an active strato volcano that stretches at a height of approximately 3,470 meters in the Virunga mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. The volcano is located within Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo just 12 km north of Goma town and Lake Kivu and then west of the border with Rwanda.

Nyiragongo Volcano is made up of different crates and the main one which presently has two distinct cooled lave beaches is about two kilometers wide. Of the two lava beaches, the higher one is at about 3,175 meters while the lower one at about 2,975 meters.

Geology of the volcano

Nyiragongo volcano encompasses two older volcanoes – Baruta and Shaheru and it is also surrounded by hundreds of small volcanic cinder cones from flank eruptions. The volcano consists cones that contain pyroclastics and lava flows. The lavas are low-silica, alkali-rich, and ultramafic extrusive rocks that are free of feldspars and they range from olivine-rich melilitites through leucites to nephelinites.

History of the volcano

The specific period of time Nyiragongo mountain has been erupting is not known but since 1882, it is said that is has erupted at least 34 times including the periods where the activity was continuous for years in a form of a churning lava lake in the crater. The existence of a lava lake on the mountain had not been confirmed but suspected until 1948 when the scientists confirmed it. At that time, the lake measured about 120,000 square meters and as time continued, it fluctuated in size, depth and temperature.

Things to do on Nyiragongo Volcano

Mountaineering & Trekking Tour

Mount Nyiragongo is one of the amazing destinations in Democratic Republic of Congo and Africa at large where one can have a good hiking adventure. As you start of the hike, you will have amazing views like different vegetation zones, and beautiful sceneries and as you continue to the summit, you will start experiencing a little glance of fire in form of bubbling lava. This hiking safari is led by two-armed game rangers where one goes before the team and the other follows at the back to ensure that everyone is safe and moving.

At the summit of the volcano, there are some camping cottages where the hikers can rest for a night. During your night time at the summit, you will get a bit scared as the smoke and hot red flash from the crater can make you think about hell. With the views of the starry sky, hot red flash and the smoke, a night at the summit is one the amazing and unforgettable experiences and moments.

How to get to Nyiragongo volcano

As you arrive at Kigali international airport, you can board an airport taxi to Gisenyi port on Lake Kivu. From Gisenyi, you will spend about 30 minutes to cross to Goma town in Congo which is just 9 miles away from the mountains. You can either use a public means of transport or hire a private driver to the bottom of the mountain.