Virunga National Park, DRC’s pride, was shut down last year after a group of tourists was ambushed. The park prides itself as the oldest National Park on the continent and acts as home to more than half of the gorillas in the world.
In May last year, two Britons and their Congolese driver were kidnapped by gunmen. The trio was released three days later but a ranger lost his life trying to save them. This led to the closure of the park on grounds of security concerns.
The park was reopened to tourists and other visitors on February 15. The director, Emmanuel Demerode, said measures have been taken to ensure the area is well secure. Asides being the oldest National Park in Africa, it is also the biggest tropical game reserve spanning 7,800 km2.
Eastern Congo, the area close to Virunga, has suffered war since 1996 which ended in 2003. Several million natives were killed but since 2014 when the area was open for tourism, there have been over 14,000 visitors.