Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
TravelTwins.dk
Exploring the less beaten paths of the world
- look, read, dream, travel!
Scaling DR Congo's violent volaano and exploring Rwanda's volanoes national park:
NYIRAGONGO
& THE VIRUNGAS
Climbing the most dangerous volcano on Earth, to the Mouth of Hell at 3.470m,
Being hooked on wild treks and peaks on the African continent, we had one outstanding climbing target in mind: The Nyiragongo Volcano which is located in a remote corner of the large and inaccessible country known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nyiragongo has to be one the natural wonders on Earth. It is a relatively unknown but spectacular volcanic mountain system, which lies in one of the remotest parts of Central Africa.
Just across the border in Rwanda, the dramatic skyline of the Virunga Mountains continues in one of Africa’s most iconic protected areas: Volcanoes National Park. The park protects the Rwandan section of the Virunga volcanic chain and is home to some of the continent’s most spectacular mountain scenery as well as remote village with famers and fishermen. The Virungas consist of eight major volcanoes stretching across the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Five of these giants dominate the landscape of northern Rwanda.
Location: Democratic Republic of Congo, in rainy November
All the Virunga volcanoes are beautiful and deserve a climb, however the 3.470 meter high Nyiragongo volcano truly stands out. It is a perfect cone stratovolcano with a large and permanent lava lake boiling inside its huge summit crater. First time we heard about it our immediate response was: “A lake of lava?"... "Can this be true, what is this really?”. Such lava lakes, straight out of a bizarre sci-fi movie, do really exist. They arise and forego through geological history, and lava lakes can easily disappear as a result of volcanic activity. Such lakes therefore represent short-lived opportunities for seeing boiling lava and eruptions at near hold. Currently there are only a few active lava lakes around the world including Ambryn (Vanuatu), Erta Ale (Ethiopia), and Erebus (Antarctica). Nyiragongo in the DR Congo is by far the largest and most fierce. And it rests on top of a steep stratovolcano coming out of the jungles of Central Africa; it’s as exotic and special as it can be. It’s one of the few mountains, together with the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda, which we simply have to experience one more time.
The Nyiragongo lava lake is not partly molten but fluid and extremely active. With a width of 700m and a depth of 600m the lake is huge. A district feature of this particular volcano is the "old lava" that comes directly from the innermost core of our planet (in contrast to other volcanoes which has “younger” lava). In effect, the Nyiragongo lava is extremely fluid and fast moving, and the lake is therefore notorious for producing lateral lava eruptions that move fast and provoke large sounds that echo inside the deep crater. We were fortunate to spend a night on top of Nyiragongo and stare for hours into the lava play from the lake, completely hypnotized by the heat from the lake and the strange lava sounds and changing patterns and reddish colors of the lava lake. This experience was otherworldly and almost inexplicable to describe. Knowing that the lava comes from a vent which leads to the inner core of the Earth, and thus represents the complete natural history and origin of our planet billions of years ago, added an additional philosophical dimension; we were literally staring into a time machine and the birth of planet Earth.
The climb of Nyiragongo was tougher than expected and the round-trip from the Congo border to the mountain top took a few days. Getting to the foot of the mountain was adventurous and wild in itself and DR Congo was not a safe place to be in. Eastern Congo is a longstanding war and conflict zone. We therefore strongly recommend to engage with a tour company that can arrange everything. Luckily we met a local guy inside Congo that took us around the Goma area for some days, enabling us to visit local markets and going out in the evening. We can witness that in this area of Congo, next to the volcano, the locals party like there is no tomorrow - and if Nyiragongo erupts, as it has done many times in the past century, this might indeed be the fatal outcome.
After climbing the volcano we traveled back into Rranda and rented a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. We then spent a week exploring the countryside, visiting remote farming and fishing communities and meeting local families. We based ourselves on an island in the lake district between Lake Ruhondo and Lake Burera, surrounded by fantastic views of the dramatic skyline of Volcanoes National Park and its five peaks: Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Muhabura. Rising between 3,400 and 4,500 metres above sea level, these volcanoes form part of the border region between Rwanda, Uganda, and the DR Congo. We spent our days driving through the countryside, hiking, and exploring the lakes by boat. From there, we continued back to Lake Kivu and the extended border region with the DR Congo, following small dirt roads along the shoreline all the way south to the border with Burundi.
Selected pics from our hike in DR Congo and 4x4 road trip in the Virungas:
Topographic map of the amazing 8 volcanic Virungas. Courtesy of Geo-Risk in Central Africa .be
View of Mount Bisoke and Mount Karisimbi from an island in Lake Ruhondo in the Rwandan lake district.
After arriving in the DR Congo, crossing the border at 7 AM from Rwanda, we bought food for the Nyiragongo trek at the local market in Goma city. Later in the morning we were picked up by folks from the Virunga National Park who took us by 4x4 to the foot of the mountain.
Goma was built on volcanic stone after the 2002 eruption. Volcanic stone left from the disaster is used to build roads and roundabouts, and is cheaper than brick or cement. Otherwise all wreckage is salvaged to re-build the city.
We were guarded by soldiers in the Virunga National Park. First excuse for a need for protection (which is mandatory) was wild animals, but we had read up on it and could understand that it's due to local militias and frequent kidnappings in the war-thorn area of East Congo.
We drive 1 hour North of Goma where the trail to the summit starts. The climb takes 5-8 hours dependent on stamina and level of fitness
We had around 10 carriers to bring gear and food for the summit
The crater rim can be seen in the distance. One lady, the blond girl sitting in the picture, was a French volcanologist that joined the trip
And view to the small shelters which we slept in
Mindblowing!
Karisimbi Volcano in Rwanda can be seen in the background
The main volcanic edifice is composed by a 1.3 km-wide central crater
