Nyiragongo Volcano

Nyiragongo rises to about 3,470 metres inside Virunga National Park, and the crater at the top has held a lava lake for most of the last century, one of a small handful worldwide that persist rather than appear and drain. The climb from Kibati takes five to six hours up through forest and then bare lava, and climbers sleep in shelters on the rim. At night the lake lights the whole crater and the cloud above it, which is why people make the walk. The lake level rises and falls and has drained entirely after eruptions.

Background

Mount Nyiragongo is an active stratovolcano 3,470 m high in the Virunga Mountains, linked to the Albertine Rift. It stands inside Virunga National Park in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 12 km north of Goma and Lake Kivu and 9.8 km west of the Rwandan border. The main crater, about two kilometres across, usually holds a lava lake, at times the most voluminous known in recent history, and two cooled lava benches line its walls at about 3,175 m and 2,975 m. Scientists confirmed the lake's existence only in 1948. The volcano has erupted at least 34 times since 1882, its lava can race downhill at up to 100 km/h, and in 1991 it was designated a Decade Volcano.

Source: Wikipedia, "Mount Nyiragongo"

What you'll find

• The lava lake - molten rock circulating in the crater floor, visible from the rim at night.
• The crater - a bowl around two kilometres across with terraces marking former lake levels.
• The climb - five to six hours through forest, then old lava flows and scree.
• The rim shelters - simple huts on the crater edge where climbers spend the night.

When to go

The drier windows, June to September and December to February, give the best chance of a clear crater. Cloud frequently fills it and some groups see nothing. Nights on the rim are near freezing at this altitude, whatever the season.

Before you go

Access depends entirely on the park authority, which opens and closes the route at its own discretion, and permits are arranged well in advance rather than on arrival. The climb is hard: steep, high and cold, with a night on bare rock. The volcano is active and has erupted with little warning, most recently in 2021.

Nearby

Goma is an hour south, and Nyamulagira is the neighbouring volcano to the north.

Key facts