Mount Karisimbi — Local services in Gataraga

Hiking Karisimbi is a 2-day adventure (August 2025) Pros: beautiful trails solid hut accomodation fireplace with provided coals and fire Cons: overall a bit nerve-wrecking as there is very few information on RDB website. You NEED sleeping bag, sleeping mat, all your water and food for the two days. they told us when we were there at the visitor centre that meeting time is 8:30am besides everywhere stated 7:00am you HAVE TO go the pace of the entire group (up to 16 people) most of the way. You cannot decide yourself to do it in one day or summit on a different day than the rest of the group. it is a mistery to me why no mats are preinstalled in the hut, it would be great and not complicated at all for RDB to organise. the pricing is high, and you pay for going up the vulcano, sleeping in the hut, fire at the hut, one guide and a bunch of military. A porter for the 2 days costs you additional 40 USD (that's not too high, but good to know the additional cost).

Approach to the start of the hike from the visitor centre is easy terrain and possible with a normal car, and car(s) can be parked and guarded by a friend of the...

The path to the summit is split up in two days. Day one is 1000 height meters and 12 kilometers, this can be done in 3 hours. Day 2 is 1000hm up and 2000 down. The path is quite muddy but porters are not necessary because you can leave stuff on day 2 in the hut. Gaiters are a necessity. The summit itself is really really ugly with telecom buildings on top, the path up is more worth it. Nice views on the...

The biggest volcano really was the best experience for me. All five volcanoes had different experiences, but this one just topped it all off. The first 2500m to 3300m is fairly easy. 3300 to 3600m to the base camp gets a little tougher. Up to 4000m is moderate. Then 4000m to summit is definitely the hardest part, but so rewarding if you get the view at the top! I definitely want...