Step back into a land before time where steaming volcanoes rise above the forest canopy of thick impenetrable jungles.

Standing at 3,470 m and situated in the south eastern region of The Democratic Republic of Congo is Mount Nyiragongo and it’s spectacular open lava lake, the world’s largest.

While this is not the longest of expeditions or the most challenging, trekking up to spend the night on the crater rim will leave you feeling like you have a connection with the origins of earth, with life itself. Starting in the lava city of Goma where the locals live in houses crafted from bricks of lava from the 2002 eruption when lava flows moving at 100km/ph hit the city. You then skirt Lake Kivu before heading into the Jungle. As you hike on the volcano’s lower forested slopes look out for wildlife such as chimpanzees, buffalo and a plethora of bird life. Nothing can prepare you for the experience of summiting Nyiragongo and peering over into the rim for the first time and hearing a giant pool of molten lava bubbling, boiling and smoking away beneath you.The heat that is emitted as the hot gases explode through a mosaic of reds and oranges will take your breath away. The pinnacle of this journey is spending the night on the rim of the crater. Marvel as the sun dips down below the horizon with the red glow of the fiery lake below a continually changing pattern. 

A trip to the Virunga national park wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the world’s only Gorilla orphanage or a trek to view a group of Mountain Gorilla in their natural habitat. A visit to this unpredictable region will be an unforgettable experience.