Volcanoes Safaris have been pioneers of gorilla and chimpanzee ecotourism in the region for over 25 years offering a complete tailormade safari service to award-winning lodges in Rwanda and Uganda. Our safaris offer guests a unique insight into the world of the endangered Great Apes, their habitats, and the communities that live nearby.
Volcanoes Safaris was founded in 1997 in Uganda by Ugandan-born Praveen Moman. In 2000, Volcanoes Safaris became the first international safari company to take clients to Rwanda and in 2004 built the now renowned Virunga Lodge. It helped kick-start gorilla tourism after the genocide through the Volcanoes BLCF Partnership Project. In 2005 the company became a charter signatory to the UN Kinshasa Declaration on Saving the Great Apes, the only safari company to do so.
In 2009, Praveen established the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT), a non-profit organisation that aims to create long-term, self-sustaining projects that enrich the livelihoods of local communities, promote the conservation of the great apes and other endangered species, restore natural habitats and work with communities and institutions to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
In 2022 Volcanoes Safaris celebrated its 25th anniversary with a series of events with our conservation partners, including the Jane Goodall Institute, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Conservation Through Public Health. We hosted a retreat with Uganda Wildlife Authority and 25 conservationists at Mount Gahinga Lodge, where the ‘Albertine Apes Alliance’ was created to support collective action and advocacy to support the long term future of the great apes in the Albertine Rift.
Examples of VSPT projects include the Gahinga Batwa Village, the Kyambura Gorge Ecotourism Project and the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Project.
The Gahinga Batwa Village, at Mount Gahinga Lodge in southwest Uganda, was built in 2018 to provide a permanent home to over 120 of the Mgahinga Batwa Community who had been evicted when the park was gazetted in 1991. VSPT provides support to the community for education, health and agricultural.
The Kyambura Gorge Ecotourism Project, is a series of connected projects which aim to safeguard the Kyambura Gorge ecosystem, in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute. Since 2009, the project has developed a 3km wildlife buffer zone, restored a 45 acre wetland, built elephant trenches, set up a Women’s coffee cooperative, run hospitality training for local youths, and established a tree nursery and reforestation project.
In 2023 Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust launched the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Project. Led by Dr Alexander Braczkowski, the team conducts an annual population census for African lion, leopard and spotted hyena in Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area using a network of vehicles, and remote camera traps. The project employs and trains young local people in scientific wildlife monitoring techniques as part of a science-based conservation program to protect Uganda’s carnivore populations.
VSPT is funded by through private donors, conservation organisations and Volcanoes lodge guests. To find out more about how to support these vital conservation and community projects please email Kevin James, Volcanoes Safaris COO at kevin@volcanoessafaris.com
