Democratic Republic of Congo - Nyiragongo Volcano

At the base of the volcano getting ready for the hike.

The "bungalows" at the top of the volcano where we stayed for the night.

At the top of the volcano looking down into the lava lake. 

The lava lake at night (at the top of Nyiragongo Volcano).

A closeup view of the lava lake.

A view down the volcano to Goma.  Lake Kivu is on the right.  In 2002, the lava blew from the side and filled up this crater with lava, then flowed down to Goma (in the distance) and destroyed a big portion of the city.

A view of a church destroyed from the 2002 eruption. 

The Congo is dangerous, but also gorgeous.  Mt. Mikeno (still active) is on the left and Mt. Karisimbi (dormant) is on the right.

A typical street in Goma.  The city is built on lava rock and is extremely poor, but based in a beautiful setting. 

            

            This past weekend I traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to visit the major Congo city of Goma and to hike one of the most active volcanoes in the world – Mount Nyiragongo. 

            Nyiragongo is famous in Rwandan history for two major recent eruptions – 1977 and 2002.  The 1977 eruption had lava traveling at speeds up to 60 miles an hour killing thousands of residents in the nearby city of Goma, while the 2002 eruption killed few people due to the slow speed of the lava and readiness of citizens from previous eruptions.  However, Nyiragongo has erupted over 30 times in the past 100 years, and is considered very active and dangerous.

            The trip takes about five hours to get to the top.  It’s a difficult, steep climb comprising mainly of loose lava rocks.  At the top there are bungalows to sleep in for the night, but the top of the volcano is extremely windy and cold.  The big attraction to this volcano is the lava lake at the top.  You can see lava in a sort of mesmerizing, natural state exploding and moving in a random fashion. 

            After the hike we took a tour of the devastation that Nyiragongo did to Goma in 1977 and 2002.  Over 50% of the city has been taken by lava that has caused much of the city to exist 8 feet higher than it historically has sat.  Congolese now live on top of lava rocks in a slum-esque style.  The Congo ranks 187 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index for good reason: there are no paved roads, education is terrible, health care is non-existent, and women are raped at an unparalled rate.  The Congo has huge obstacles to overcome to have a stable, forward moving country.  Nevertheless, it was great to travel to the Congo to see the beauty of the countryside and travesty of everyday life.