Musanze is blessed with a wide range of tourist attractions. Volcanoes national park, which is home to the famous mountain gorillas, is located there. Apart from gorilla trekking, the park offers a variety of other exciting activities. However, you don't need to enter the park to discover every thing Musanze has in store. There is so much more outside the protected area.
For starters, Musanze is a hiking paradise. There are eight volcanoes in the Virunga Massif, where Volcanoes National Park is found. Five of them straddle Rwanda's northwestern border. Their slopes are home to the mountain gorillas, from which a substantial amount of dollars is milked.
When I made it to the crest of the volcano known as Bisoke, I was awestruck by its crater lake. A week later, I saw the same crater from a different position. This happened when I was climbing the neighboring Karisimbi. From Karisimbi's vantage point, it looked like a slightly tilted bowl about to pour its content on one side of the elevation. I also had a clear view of Mount Mikeno soaring to the clouds on the Congolese side of the massif. Mikeno has a sharp, pinnacle-shaped summit and a relatively lower subsidiary peak.
I climbed Bisoke and Karisimbi during the summer of 2018. It took me about 24 hours to complete the latter's roundtrip. On that unforgettable day, my cousin and I left Kigali early in the morning, and made it to Kinigi by 7:30 A.M. After showing our previously bought permits, we were cleared. From the park's headquarters, we drove to Kwa Mukecuru parking lot, at the foot of the volcanoes.
We entered the park through Ubushakashatsi Trail and ascended close to 3,000 meters above sea level. Then we took our first break. This is the junction that separates Karisimbi-bound hikers from their Bisoke counterparts. A short distance after the junction, we bypassed the tomb of Dian Fossey. Karisimbi hikers can also book a stopover at the Karisoke site, the final resting place of the legendary primatologist.
It took us about three hours to reach the campsite set up at an altitude of 3,500 meters above sea level. Usually, hikers spend a night at the camp and make the final push to the summit in the morning of the following day. Upon arrival, I thought it was too early to call it a day. Fellow hikers agreed with me. Our guides didn't have any objections. Later on, I learned the hard way that this wasn't a good idea.
It is advisable to spend some time at the camp acclimating to the limited supply of oxygen before proceeding to the summit. Rapid exposure to low density air can cause a high altitude sickness that drains energy like an illicit brew-induced hangover. We ignored advice from experts and, stubbornly, refused to follow the script. Our goal was to reach the summit as soon as possible.
We left our camping gear at the camp and slogged along a very challenging stretch known as Mubakomando. Here, we had to grab branches of trees and pull ourselves higher and higher. Beyond Mubakomando area, we battled a strenuous 60° gradient on slippery volcanic rocks. This stage has seen many mountaineers throwing in the towel. When the going gets that tough, some climbers start doubting themselves and questioning their decisions. Later on at the campsite, I heard stories of previously determined tourists who concluded that climbing mountains is not for them. Porters shared their experiences carrying defeated hikers back to the camp on stretchers.
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