History of Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

When Was Volcanoes National Park Established

The park was first gazetted in 1925 as a small area by the Belgian colonialists with an intention of protecting the gorillas in Rwanda, on Karisimbi, Bisoke, and Mikeno mountains and in the Belgian Congo from poachers.

In 1929, its borders were extended further to form Albert National Park or Parc National Albert; a very large area of over 8000 km².

After Congo and Rwanda got their independence in 1960 and 1962 respectively, Parc National Albert was divided into two entities; the Rwanda portion was given the name Parc National des Volcans.

In 2008, Rwanda changed one of its official languages from French to English and the park’s name was changed to Volcanoes National Park. Volcanoes National Park derive it’s from a chain of five volcanoes that make up this park.