Mount Mikeno

Mount Mikeno

Mount Mikeno

Mount Mikeno is among the eight volcanoes in the Virunga. It’s a dormant volcano. It is located in the Virunga national park along with, Nyirangongo, Nyamuragira, Karisimbi which is the highest and Bisoke. Mikeno means “poor” is so named due to its harsh slopes.

Location

The Mikeno Volcano is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and stand at 4,437 meters. This mountain is one of the homes of the endangered mountain gorillas because of the fertile soils. It is found in Virunga National Park.

How to get there

Since most of the airports in the DRC are far from this mountain, it is easier to go through Kigali airport. The mountain is not far from the boarder of Rwanda and Congo. The driving distances can be long so this looks like the best alternative. It takes about 3-4 hours from Kigali to Mikeno minus the time spent at the border.

It’s common for anyone to fly into Kigali and take a 3 hours ride to the Border through Gisenyi in Rwanda. Most flights to Kigali arrive at night so you may be required to spend a night in Kigali and leave for Virunga the next morning.

The special hire taxi will cost you less thanUSD 120 to the border from Kigali. Most hotels can arrange a taxi for you if you ask. You have a chance of organizing a chartered flight from Kigali as there are lot of domestic airlines that do this. The Airport in Goma is not international though.

Climate Of the area

December to Feb and June to august are the best months to visit this mountain. This area is a tropical rain forest and does good to visit in the dry months since you do not know when it will rain. Make sure you carry a rain gear

Temperatures in this area are almost normal or constant throughout the year. They range between 20°C and 28°C during day and 10°C and 15°C at night.

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