After an early breakfast,  you set off toward Bukima Patrol Post, the gateway to the gorilla realm. The forest is alive with sound distant hornbills calling, the rustle of leaves, the soft thud of your boots on damp earth. Your ranger explains how gorilla tourism funds protection from poachers and supports local communities, a lifeline in this corner of the Congo.

The trek can take hours, winding through bamboo groves and tangled undergrowth, until your guide halts, lifts a finger to his lips, and there they are. A silverback, vast and powerful, sits in quiet command while juveniles tumble over each other like mischievous children. The air smells of wet earth and crushed leaves. You spend a magical hour in their world, their eyes meeting yours with an intelligence that stops you in your tracks.

That afternoon, back at Mikeno Lodge, you may visit the Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage, where caretakers raise young gorillas rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, an intimate and moving experience.

After a hearty breakfast, you transfer to Kibati Patrol Post to meet your climbing team. The 3,470 meter Nyiragongo is not just a volcano, it’s one of the most active on the planet, holding the largest permanent lava lake in the world. The climb begins in lush montane forest where duikers dart between shadows, then rises into a landscape of volcanic rock and alpine meadows.

By late afternoon, you crest the rim and there it is: a seething, roiling cauldron of molten fire. The sight is hypnotic, the air warm from the lake’s heat, the scent faintly metallic. As night falls, the lava lake glows brighter, veins of red and gold pulsing in the darkness. You sleep in summit shelters, listening to the low growl of the Earth.

The morning sun turns the lava lake into a molten mirror. After descending back to Kibati, you head to Goma and board a small boat across the glassy waters of Lake Kivu to Tchegera Island. Seen from above, the island forms a broken caldera, a remnant of ancient volcanic activity. Here, life moves at a slower rhythm: fishermen paddle dugout canoes, kingfishers dive for their breakfast.

Your tent faces the bay, where the water is calm enough for swimming or kayaking. From the shore, you can see Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira volcanoes standing like silent sentinels on the horizon. Evening brings a breathtaking sunset over the lake, the sky brushed with deep purples and burning oranges.

At dawn, the island comes alive with birdsong — cormorants drying their wings, herons stalking the shallows, pied kingfishers hovering before a perfect dive. After a guided birding walk, you can explore the island by kayak or simply relax in a hammock with a cool drink.

The island’s volcanic soil and sheltered microclimate make it rich in plant life, and your guide shares stories of how local communities have lived in harmony with this lake for generations. In the evening, as the waters turn silver under the moonlight, the distant rumble of Nyamulagira reminds you that this is a living landscape.

A short boat ride returns you to Goma, followed by a scenic drive back to Mikeno Lodge. Today’s highlight is a community visit either to a coffee-growing cooperative where farmers explain how Virunga’s volcanic soils produce beans with a deep, complex flavor, or to a women’s weaving group whose work supports their families and helps reduce reliance on park resources.

Back at the lodge, your final evening in Virunga is spent under the stars by the firepit, the air cool and scented with woodsmoke.

After breakfast, you transfer to Goma International Airport. As you leave, the sights, sounds, and smells of the past week linger: the soft gaze of a gorilla, the deep breathlessness of the volcano climb, the hush of dawn over Lake Kivu. You take with you not just memories, but a deeper connection to one of Africa’s most extraordinary wild places.