New Volcano Eruption Trek

On the evening of 6 November, Nyamulagira volcano erupted in a spectacular display of fire, ash, and lava, lighting up the sky in bright orange. By day five, warden Emmanuel de Merode, and Tourism Director Cai Tjeenk Willink had organized a new trek for tourists to the eruption site following a safety approval from volcanologist Dario Tedesco with the Goma Volcanological Observatory (OVG).

Nyamulagira Eruption — On 12 November, 5 days after the Nyamulagira volcano in Virunga National Park began erupting, warden Emmanuel de Merode, Tourism Director Cai Tjeenk Willink, and Volcanologist Dario Tedesco hiked to the eruption site and set up a camp for a new overnight tourist trek. The night-time fire show was, “the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” according to Cai.

The same week, the park sent out a press release about the new trek and was picked up world-wide by over 200 news organizations in both print and on the web. The BBC, AFP, Corbis, AP, and others sent news crews and photographers to cover the eruption trek story.

Tourism numbers for the two weeks following the trek announcement shot up for not only the eruption trek, but gorilla and volcano treks as well. In one week, over 130 people visited the park, an absolute record for the low season.

The trek takes visitors into a campsite approximately 1.5 km from the erupting volcano, but they are allowed to walk as close as 500 meters with a ranger escort.

Nyamulagira Camp — On 12 November, 5 days after the Nyamulagira volcano in Virunga National Park began erupting, warden Emmanuel de Merode, Tourism Director Cai Tjeenk Willink, and Volcanologist Dario Tedesco hiked to the eruption site and set up a camp for a new overnight tourist trek. The night-time fire show was, “the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” according to Cai.

Virunga National Park, with the help of the European Union, has driven a major effort to relaunch tourism in Eastern Congo over the past two years. Access to volcanic eruptions has never been offered to visitors before.