Mount Nyiragongo facts. Mount Nyiragongo is one of the most beautiful active volcanoes to see in the world, with a wide open crater filled with lava that is a captivating sight. Mount Nyiragongo lies in the volcano region of Virunga National Park Congo near the border with Rwanda only about 19 km north of Goma.
Below are some of the Mount Nyiragongo facts worth knowing as you look to visit Congo on a Mount Nyiragongo hike safari.
- Mount Nyiragongo is the world’s largest lava lake measuring with a diameter of 1.2km and a depth of about 200m.
- Mount Nyiragongo is one of the world’s most active volcanoes that the last Mount Nyiragongo eruption was in May 2021 that left about 33 people dead. Mount Nyiragongo has erupted up to 35 times since it was ever first recorded in 1884. Of these number of times, some of the Mount Nyiragongo eruptions were continuous for a long time in a year usually in the form of a churning lava lake in the crater.
- The most deadly Mount Nyiragongo eruption and deadly effects was in 1977. During this 2007 Mount Nyiragongo eruption about 2000 people were killed. The 2002 Mount Nyiragongo eruption left the city of Goma largely destroyed and more than 100,000 people homeless. The May 2021 Mount Nyiragongo eruption stopped short of Goma city limits!
- There are only 4 permanent lave lakes in the world and Mount Nyiragongo is one of these; mount Nyiragongo is the largest and most active lava lake.
- Hiking mount Nyiragongo is quite tough, but very rewarding; the views at the top are very fascinating. The Mount Nyiragongo Crater Lake is hidden in the depths of the mountain that hikers ought to trek up to an altitude of about 11,400ft for a chance to take a glimpse of it.
- Mount Nyiragongo hiking safaris or tours were started in 2014. Visitors were allowed to hike Mount Nyiragongo in 2014 for a chance to be fascinating views of the lava lake. Hiking Mount Nyiragongo is one of the once-in-a-lifetime experience especially for adventurous travelers. A Mount Nyiragongo hike experience is usually combined with gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park, remarkable Congo safari tours experiences that travelers have enjoyed over time, and hoping to enjoy once the park is open again to visitors.
- Mount Nyiragongo height is registered at 3,470m above sea level, and is one of the Virunga mountain ranges in the Albertine Region.
Mount Nyiragongo - The mount Nyiragongo lava lake is unlike the other lava lakes that it mostly contains the most fluid lava.
- In the year 1977, lava shot down the mountain t a 60mph. the walks of the Mount Nyiragongo lava lake were cracked and the lava lake drained in less than just an hour, falling down the slopes of the mountain into the nearby villages. This claimed lives of over 70 people.
- The carbon dioxide toxicity of Mount Nyiragongo that is locally known as “mazuku” has killed a number of children, even in the most recent years. The effects are especially deadly in locations where the gas seeps right from the ground in higher levels without the dispersing effects of wind.
- The unique Mount Nyiragongo eruption of 2002 had the catastrophe happening twice, that is within just 6 months of the mountain erupting, it happened again. The most recent Mount Nyiragongo eruption was in 2021.
- It also a fact that Mount Nyiragongo has since not been hiked since the 2021 Mount Nyiragongo eruption. The park itself, Virunga National Park has been closed for especially political reasons due to the unrests happening in the forested areas of the park thus deemed unsafe for tourists.
Mount Nyiragongo is one of the best and adventurous Congo safari destinations that travelers can get to experience with a Congo safaris tour. A Mount Nyiragongo hike is an amazing Congo safari tour that rewards travelers with breath-taking views of the red lava lake. Since the May 2021 Mount Nyiragongo eruption and the political unrests in the Virunga National park where the Mount Nyiragongo is, Congo safari tours here have been stopped that no visitors have had a glimpse of the lava lake since then. We are however hopeful that the Virunga National Park will soon re-open, and thus welcome tourists yet again. Do reach out to a knowledgeable safari operator to help you pitch an amazing Congo safaris tour, with a chance to extend on Rwanda safari tour, Uganda safari, and even as far as Kenya safaris and wildlife safaris in Tanzania, this completing a typical Est Africa safari that Focus East Africa Tours could ably arrange for you.
