Mount Karismbi is among the virunga massifs located in volcanoes national park and the mountain is a key tourism activity Rwanda safari to Volcanoes National Park.
Mount karisimibi is rising at an elevation of about 4507m above sea level. Mount Karisimbi, a stratovolcano which is the highest of the eight major volcanoes of the Virunga field and the 5th highest in Africa.
It situated along the border of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda on the western branch of the African Rift valley. Karisimbi lavas have been dated from 0.24 Ma to 0.010 Ma indicating that the volcano is very young.
The name Karisimbi came from a local Kinyarwanda word “amasimbi” which means a white shell. The white shell was in reference to the snowcapped summit which is often seen on top of this volcano. It is flanked by Mikeno to the north, Bisoke to the east and Nyiragongo to the west, on the other side of the Rift Valley.
A hike at Mount Karisimbi is very rewarding which is accompanied by gorilla trekking in the volcanoes national park. Hiking mount Karisimbi last for 6 good hours and starts very early in the morning with a briefing about the entire day program. The hiking trial takes the hikers through Mountain Bisoke before crossing an altitude of 3,700 metres for overnight camping before finishing off the journey the next day.
Karisimbi hike to the summit is a very vital one which offers one an opportunity to view bird varieties, primates like monkeys and Gorillas since the volcano lies in the primates’ park of Parc National des Vulcans (Volcanoes national park).
Mountain karisimbi hike to the summit is characterized by mud and slippery surface trail making mountain climbing activity difficult.
Karisimbi is also close to the Karisoke research center where the grave of the re-known mountain gorilla conservationist and American zoologist; Dian Fossey lies. This means that one has a chance to visit the grave as well as trek the golden monkeys in addition to the Mountain gorillas and karisimbi hike itself.
Mount Karisimbi is the 11th tallest mountain in Africa on the side of western rift valley at 4,507 metres (14,787 ft.), and inactive volcano in the virunga massifs in the borders of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
There are two hiking trials that is the caldera route and the route on the foot of mount Bisoke. When using the caldera route the hike starts from the edge of Volcanoes National Park to the ridge of the huge caldera that extends at the base of the actual cone of Mt Karisimbi. The trek takes climbers to cross the Bamboo forest and the Hagenia – Hypericum forests, and continues up to the giant and beautiful lobelias. The drive from the park office to the trail head is 16 km and takes about 30 minutes to the car park where the road ends.
The recommended months for hiking mount karisimbi are June – September and hiking equipments include: sleeping bags, food, and the necessary clothing’s which can cover the entire body in general.
