VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

"In the heart of Central Africa, so high up that you shiver more than you sweat," eminent primatologist Dian Fossey wrote, "there are great, old volcanoes towering nearly 15,000 feet, and nearly covered with rich, green rainforest – the Virungas." Volcanoes National Park, located in the far northwest of Rwanda, protects the steep slopes of this magnificent mountain range, which is home to the endangered mountain gorilla and a rich mosaic of montane ecosystems that include evergreen and bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp, and heath. Volcanoes National Park is named after the Virunga Massif's chain ofvdormant volcanoes, which includes Karisimbi, the highest at 4,507m, Bisoke with its verdant crater lake, Sabinyo, Gahinga, and Muhabura.