Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park (formerly Albert National Park) lies from the Virunga Mountains to the Ruwenzori Mountains in eastern Zaire, bordering both Volcans National Park (Rwanda) and Rwenzori National Park (Uganda). Covering 7,800 km², it was established in 1925 as Africa's first national park. It is the second national park in the world to be established (with Yellowstone being the first). It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1979. Once popular with tourists for its population of mountain gorillas, the park's popularity has dwindled in recent years, due to safety reasons (the area of the country where it is located is insecure and its security is tenuous at best) and the scarcity of animals (due to widespread poaching and hunting for bushmeat).

The national park covers the western shores of Lake Edward, known for its hippopotamuses (now badly depleted by more than 95%), while elsewhere, marshland, grassland plateau, and plains dominate the park. The Rwenzori Mountains lie on the Ugandan border and rise to alpine meadows and a glacier, while Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira are both active volcanoes with substantial associated lava plains.

Although mountain gorillas are now extremely rare, successful conservation work has secured the remaining populations. It is believed that both savannah and forest elephants and chimpanzees can still be found in Virunga, along with okapi, giraffes, buffalo, and many endemic birds, but this has not been verified.