Post Covid-19 travel in the Virunga national park

Post Covid-19 travel in the Virunga national park

Post Covid-19 travel in the Virunga national park : The Virunga national park among the other national parks of the Democratic republic of Congo saw it important to close its gates to visitors after the world was hit by the deadly pandemic of the Covid-19 virus that was spread by movement and also contact. To protect the natural resources of the national park that is the mountain gorillas that were vulnerable to this disease, the Virunga national park put a temporary hold on all tourism activity in the region.

The Virunga national park is a home to three great apes and these are the endangered mountain gorillas, the lowland gorillas and the chimpanzees. Some golden monkeys can also be spotted while in the Virunga national park. The mountain gorilla trekking is the most sold activity in this national park and some Virunga packages have an option of trekking the Chimpanzee family in the Mahura forest of the Virunga national park. The Great apes share a large percentage of DNA with the human which makes it a possibility of them being vulnerable to the COVID-19 deadly virus.

After almost a year, the Virunga national park team leaders made a decision to reopen the park under the strict standard operating procedures that are being maintained everywhere in the world. The Virunga national park is one of the four homes to the mountain gorillas in the Virunga region. These mountain gorillas can also be visited in Uganda in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park and the Mgahinga forest national park and also in Rwanda in the Volcanoes national park.

The Virunga national park was the last of the national parks to reopen its gates to tourism and there are a few requirements that all visitors to the park will need to follow to be allowed access or stay in the park. The Virunga national park is located near the Goma town and can be accessed from the Goma International airport in Goma city or you can fly into the Kigali International airport.

If you opt to fly into the Kigali International airport to connect to the Virunga national park via the Goma-Gisenyi border, there are a few guidelines set by the Rwandan government for all the visitors. On arrival at the Kigali International airport, you will be expected to present a negative test on arrival and connect for your 24 hour quarantine stay.

If you are only transiting and will not be spending more than 12 hours in the country, your test results will be processed faster so that you can make it for your next destination. This test will be taken at the airport on arrival and it will cost 60 USD and 10 USD extra for the logistics involved in the sample collection.

If you are booked for a mountain gorilla or chimpanzee trekking experience in the Virunga national park, on arrival at the Grande Barrier border building where you check in for your activities, you will have to present a valid negative PCR test result that has been taken in the past 72 hours.

If you are fully vaccinated, then there you will not be subjected to any test or even be asked to present a test done in the last 72 hours but only be required to show proof of full vaccination and that is the COVID-19 vaccination certificate.

Ahead of your Virunga visit for any of the Congo safari packages that involve gorilla trekking and are headed to the Kibumba tented camp or the Mikeno lodge, all the guests will have to take on a compulsory rapid COVID-19 test that will be taken at the Grande Barrier where all the guests headed to the park check in. This test will be done for all guests irrespective of their vaccination status that is both the vaccinated and the ones who have not yet been vaccinated will have to take this rapid test if they have a mountain gorilla trek or a chimpanzee visit on the Post Covid-19 travel in the Virunga.

Guests will be escorted by security personnel and protected by the ranger guides on the visit and each of these will be fully vaccinated to gain the trust of guests and those who are not yet vaccinated will be subjected to regular tests every 2 weeks or so to keep track of their status.

The PCR tests and the rapid tests for guests heading to the Virunga will all be done at the Grande barrier border building on arrival. As the guests depart DR Congo, they will also be expected to have a valid test result. The PCR test taken at the Grande Barrier border building will cost 45 USD per test and this will take about 24 hours for the result to be provided. The Goma General Hospital also offers the PCR test at 50 USD where need may arise.

The other world widely followed standard procedures of wearing a mask at all times, regular temperature checks, constant sanitizing and maintaining a social distance will also be emphasized while on your visit to the Virunga national park. Virunga national park looks forward to hosting you for your dream experience in the Congo.