6. Virunga Mountain, East Africa

6. Virunga Mountain, East Africa

The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift Mountains, which border the western branch of the East African Rift. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu. The name "Virunga" is an English version of the Kinyarwanda word ibirunga, which means "mountains".

What makes the Virunga mountain different is that this mountain is the home of the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Yes, gorillas. The animal that have the equal size of a human. Even bigger. This is the place where many mountain gorillas lives.

The mountain gorillas are listed as endangered species due to habitat loss, poaching, disease, and war that occur in their habitats. . As of Spring 2010, the estimated total number of mountain gorillas worldwide is 790 and in the Virunga Mountain, it is much lesser.

Many of the mountain gorillas in Virunga Mountain are being observed in their native habitat by the Karisoke Research Centre that is located between Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke. The gorillas are mainly live within the National Park of Virunga.  Currently over 3000 tourists a year visit the southern sector of Virunga National Park to admire the gorillas as well as the lava lake of the Nyiragongo Volcano.

For people who like gorilla watching activities, this might be a perfect spot for them. Besides, there are only a few of these gorillas exists in this world. Not only you can watch gorillas, you can also admire the lava lake that situated near the mountain.