Brief history, size, and location

Kahuzi-Biega National Park is the ultimate destination for gorilla trekking in the world. The national park drives its name from the two volcanic mountains of Kahuzi and Biega. These mountains dominate the entire area of the national park. Kahuzi-Biega is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the eastern region. With over 6,000 square kilometers of area, Kahuzi-Biega National Park is the biggest protected area in Congo. In 1980, Kahuzi-Biega was declared a UNESCO site because of its diversity of flora and fauna. It is located in Bukavu a small town in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park was established in the year 1970 making it one of the oldest national parks in the country.

Uniqueness

Kahuzi-Biega National Park gained recognition for harboring the lowland gorillas. In East Africa, the lowland gorillas are only located in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. This has made the park host a reasonable number of visitors from all over the world. Other than the gorillas, the park has a lot more attractions and activities as we shall be seeing below.

What to see in Kahuzi-Biega National Park – Attractions

Kahuzi-Biega National Park is a natural hub for several wildlife species including the eastern lowland gorillas, bird species, chimpanzees, and many others. These wildlife species attract visitors from the entire world. The following are some of the attractions in Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

Eastern lowland gorillas

The eastern lowland gorillas are the face and main attraction of Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Kahuzi-Biega National Park is the only place to find the eastern lowland gorillas. The park has approximately 250 eastern lowland gorillas hence Kahuzi-Biega has the largest eastern lowland gorillas in the world. These are rare species of gorillas slightly bigger than the mountain gorillas but this difference is not noticeable. The actual difference between the lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas is that the lowland gorillas live in the lowland areas and mountain gorillas live in the mountainous areas of Virunga. The eastern lowland gorillas are also known as the Grauer’s gorillas.

Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary

The Lwiro chimpanzee sanctuary is another major attraction of Kahuzi-Biega National Park. The eastern chimpanzees are widely sought by many visitors who come to Kahuzi-Biega National Park. The eastern chimpanzees also live in the Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the park. These chimpanzees are brought into the sanctuary after they are rescued from poachers and traders who sell them off as pets. The sanctuary also hosts several monkeys which as the chimpanzees are rescued from many places in Congo from poachers and pet traders. The Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary hosts over 92 chimpanzees and 108 different monkey species. The heartwarming scenes of the young rescued primates leave visitors with beautiful memories.

Bird species

Kahuzi-Biega National Park is an important area for birding because it hosts over 349 bird species with over 49 endemic species. The park is a birder’s paradise harboring some of the rare species in the region. Some of the bird species in the park include the Bush Shrike, Brown Chested Alethe, African Hill Babblers, Ethiopian Crimsonwing, Red-faced Cisticola, Rwenzori Turaco, Helmet Shrike, Yellow Chested Helmet, handsome Francolin, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, trogons, African Green broadbill, and Congo Peafowl among others. These can all be spotted on a bird-watching experience in the park.

Wildlife species

There are several wildlife species other than the primates and the bird species. Kahuzi-Biega National Park has a rich bio-diversity and a variety of fauna including some of the rare animals. These include the rare forest elephants, forest or dwarf buffaloes, antelopes, leopards, and the nocturnal golden cat to mention but a few. This rich bio-diversity of fauna is what makes Kahuzi-Biega an extraordinary national park that should surely be on any visitor’s to-go-to-list.

What to do in Kahuzi-Biega National Park? Activities.

With the variety of attractions in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, visitors are given a variety of options to choose from. The following are some of the tourist activities in Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

Eastern Lowland gorilla trekking

The eastern lowland trekking gorilla is the major tourist activity in the park. This involves moving through the forests in search of the eastern lowland gorillas. Any trekking begins with a pre-trekking briefing that takes visitors through the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking as well as the expected code of conduct.

After the briefing, a ranger guide leads you through the forests on a search for the gorillas. Gorilla trekking takes an hour on the location of the lowland gorillas. Due to the experience of the guide rangers, it does not take you long before locating the gorillas.

Chimpanzee habituation

The Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary presents visitors with a perfect opportunity to spend time with chimpanzees. This sanctuary is a rehabilitation center for these primates as they are rescued from poachers and pet traders. The rescued chimpanzees are always frightened by the presence of humans due to the experiences they passed through before. However, at the sanctuary, the chimpanzees are slowly and gently introduced to the humans again but without harming them. Therefore, visitors can also get an opportunity to engage in this process of habituation. This process of habituation is slightly more experience than tracking the chimpanzees in the wild because here you get to spend more time with them.

Bird watching

Bird watching in Kahuzi-Biega National Park is a popular activity in the country. The park is home to over 349 bird species that can be spotted across the entire park. Among the total estimated number of bird species in the park, 49 species are endemic species of birds. There are designated birding trails that birders use to spot some of the rare bird species. The experienced professional birding guides make it easy to spot these birds.

There are other activities done in Kahuzi-Beiga National Park such as community tours, guided nature walks among many others.

How to get to Kahuzi-Biega National Park?

Traveling to Kahuzi-Biega National Park can be by many ways from air, road, to water depending on where you are coming from. Visitors traveling by road to the park can use the respective border points of Congo such Rusizi border for those from Rwanda, the Kasese route to Bukavu town through Goma for those from Uganda, and those from Burundi can use the Rwanda route. The time to get to the park depends on where the visitors are coming from but approximately Uganda to the park takes 4 hours, between 6-7 hours from Rwanda and Burundi.

For travelers flying straight to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Goma International Airport is the closest to the park. Upon arrival at the airport, visitors take a 5-6-hour drive to the park.

Accommodation facilities in Kahuzi-Biega NP.

Accommodation facilities in Kahuzi-Beiga National Park range in terms of classes that is, luxury, midrange, and budget. This means there is always a facility for any visitor traveling either luxury or budget. There are also other accommodation facilities outside the park in the neighboring town of Bukavu. Some of the lodges include the Mont Kahuzi Hotel, L’Orchids Safari Club, Coco Lodge, and Begonias Hotel among others.

What is the best time to visit Kahuzi-Biega NP?

Democratic Republic of Congo receives a tropical type of climate and just like other countries under this climate, it receives two dry and wet seasons per year. The dry season begins from May to September and this is the longest dry season of the year. This is the best time for most visitors to come to Kahuzi-Biega National Park. The short dry season of December to February is also a good time to travel to the park. During this period, the park receives very little or no rainfall and humid temperatures perfect for activities like lowland gorilla trekking, nature walks, or hikes among others. The wet season however has its advantages as well such as it is the best time for birding and visitors traveling on a budget. This is during the months of February to May and August to December.

Therefore, the best time to travel to Kahuzi-Biega National Park largely depends on the specific activity a visitor is interested in doing.