Climbing Rwanda’s highest peak: Mount Karisimbi (4507)
On the border between Rwanda and Congo lies Mount Karisimbi. The highest point in Rwanda, Karisimbi is an inactive volcano that is often hidden in the clouds, and finds itself surrounded by forests.
On July 8. 2023, we decided to climb this mountain. It turned out to be an intense and amazing experience. I am used to challenging myself and intentionally seek to push my mental and physical boundaries (see below my 100 KM Ultrarun) and this adventure definitely fulfilled that intention.
Hike to the camp
We set out at dawn. Volcanoes National Park’s headquarters is situated approximately 1km north of the town of Kinigi. We were instructed to be at the park headquarters at 7am to register and meet our guide. While waiting to arrange transport to the trail head we enjoyed a (complimentary) cappuccino, alongside many other tourists who were planning to go gorilla tracking that day. We definitely stood out with our big hiking packs and lack of land rover.
While most tourists come to this area with all-inclusive tourist agencies, we arranged this ourselves. This meant that we did not have a vehicle to transport us from the park headquarters to the start of the trail. Originally we called for two motos to take us, but eventually the park boss agreed that we could ride in the back of the pick up truck that our guide was riding in. After arriving at the start of the Karisimbi trail, our guide introduced us to our (imposed) porters. While we tried to insist that we did not need porters, through vague responses from our guide it became clear that this was not an option. Meeting in the middle, our guide agreed that we would hire one porter for 30.000 RWF.
Starting at 2600 meters, we walked through a small path between farmers’ fields, first with crops, then through grazing land for cattle. After about 45 minutes we arrived at the start of the forest.
There we were joined by 8 soldiers from the Rwandan army. They were allegedly present because of the gorillas and mountain elephants, but the proximity to Congo likely played a part as well. Over the course of the day, the soldiers showed themselves to be the most fit and kind people we could hope for.
At 9:30 we started our hike through the forest. Whereas normally it would be muddy, we were lucky to walk there after 4 days of drought. This allowed us to comfortably walk with our running shoes. Slowly and steadily we were gaining altitude, walking between large trees covered with moss.
After a few hours, the trees became smaller, and we walked through some open fields. From there we got to see a glimpse of our camp where we knew we would sleep that night.
Shortly after 12:00 we arrived at the camp, which was positioned at 3500 meters. It was nice to put the heavy backpack down, and eat some breakfast. Here we had the choice to either continue our way up to the summit or stop for the day and leave the camp early for a morning summit. While we were feeling rather cautious given the enormous altitude difference summiting that afternoon would entail, our guide was very clear that it was ‘favourable’ to summit that day. At this point neither of us felt any effects of the altitude, and it was only 12.00, so we heeded the advice of our guide and continued towards the peak. From now on we would go up with only our jackets and a bottle of water.
Ascent to the top
A couple of soldiers remained at the camp, and the group that intended to summit consisted of 4 soldiers, 1 porter, our guide, Sarah and myself.
At 13:00 we went up. Smaller trees allowed us to use our hands to climb up. Although it was fun to match the pace of the soldiers, soon we noticed the effects of altitude. The first sign was the disappearance of our guide, who got sick and had to go down with 1 of the soldiers at around 3700 meters.
Our approach was to continue steadily. Over time we took more and more breaks, breathing in deeply and checking if we were still functioning well. At 4100, our porter also needed to quit. Fortunately the soldiers showed no signs of struggle and continued climbing with us.
As the trees became scarcer, the path got steeper. Sarah felt the altitude, needing more frequent and longer breaks, and looking dizzier. Strangely, my altitude sickness seemed to have disappeared. While I had felt a bit dizzy at 3700, at 4000 I was feeling sharp and ready to support her. This allowed me to help Sarah climb and constantly assess the safety of the situation.
With only 100 vertical meters to go, the situation became quite tense. Sarah’s stops were long, and she couldn’t walk without holding my hand. But we were so close to the peak! After a couple of minutes, she decided that she could do it.
Arriving at the top we were surrounded by clouds, but this did not bother us. We had made it through difficult circumstances, and had helped each other along the way. After a couple of minutes on the top, at 16:30 we began our descent. With a considerably faster pace than the rest of the day, we picked up our porter and hiked easily down, though the altitude sickness remained.
Night at the camp
Arriving at the camp, the guide and the soldiers had made a fire. Our guide offered us a potato while we made our dinner and enjoyed the chit chat around the fire. It was in this moment that I started to feel worse. We had made it to the peak, and had arrived safely back at the camp. Processing this, my adrenaline faded away. A severe headache and nausea came in its place.
A sleepless night was the result. Although the camp lay 1000 meters below the peak, the headache and nausea were highly uncomfortable (for this under-sea-level Dutch guy).
Although our guide had told us that the soldiers prefer to summit on the first day so they can sleep in, when we got out of bed the next morning at 06:00, they were still sitting around the fire. At 06:45 we began our way down, through the thick forest. Here we were lucky enough to encounter a buffalo. At around 08:15 we were out of the forest and not much later we sat at the start of the path where our adventure only 24 hours earlier had begun.
Reflections
Looking back, I have two reflections to share.
- The effects of altitude are not to be underestimated. It makes you feel light-headed and even a bit tipsy at times, especially if you take big steps or increase your pace. My suggestion is to walk steadily, take regular short breaks to fuel the brain with oxygen, and assess the situation of yourself and others to decide to continue or not. There is no shame in aborting the climb for the sake of your own health or the health of your fellow hikers.
- It is amazing to go on an adventure like this together. Firstly, I believe that you can only see someone’s true colours when things become challenging. We saw in each other both how we individually handle tough circumstances but also how we help each other through those tough circumstances. This weekend it really went both ways: during the ascent, Sarah struggled intensely with the altitude and I took the lead and helped her. During the night, I suffered from a severe headache and nausea, and Sarah took the lead and helped me with medicine and care. Secondly, there is value in going through such intense challenges or pure suffering together; we are both proud of our joint achievement, and have stories to tell and memories to share.
Practical information
Do you want to climb Mount Karisimbi? Then read further for some practical information.
- Book: go to the website of the Rwandan Development Board (RDB) and book your trip (400 US dollars). Many tourist agencies will also offer packages that include food, transport and gear rental, but in our opinion these are at best unnecessary and at worst a rip off.
- Transport. From Kigali Nyabugogo bus station you can take a bus for appr. 2.000 RWF to Musanze/Ruhengeri. Buses leave roughly every 15 minutes. We used Virunga Express, but there are many companies to choose from. From Musanze/Ruhengeri you can take a moto to Kinigi.
- Starting point. The start of the adventure is at Volcanoes National Park HQ. Here you meet your guide. Be there early (07:00)! Although they encourage you to hire expensive transport to the start of the trail yourself, in the end they did let us hitch a ride with the guide.
- Overnight stay. For 20.000 RWF, we camped in Kinigi Guest House, where you can also rent a room. Kinigi Guest House is directly across from the park HQ, so we could easily walk over in the morning. Otherwise you will need to arrange a moto to reach the park HQ.
- Gear. Make sure you bring warm clothes, and in case of rain, boots. A sleeping bag and thermarest are required, but a tent is not needed as you can sleep in a hut at the camp. Ropes or climbing gear are not needed. The porters will also carry charcoal to the camp, so there is no need to bring a camping stove if you wish to cook food, although you will need your own pots/pans.
- Food. You need to bring your own food and water, and make sure you have bulked on carbs the day before. The guide, porters and soldiers will bring their own food but certainly appreciated that we shared our chips, nuts, and other snacks with them.
- Season. As we climbed in early July (during the dry season), we were quite lucky with regards to mud on the trail. During rainy season the trail can become much more treacherous.
- Fitness. This is not a beginner hike.
