Optimistic park officials hope that Virunga National Park in northeastern Congo, near Goma, will reopen soon, but it’s hard to imagine that many visitors will be eager to go until security can be assured. Tourism officials and wildlife guides face an uphill struggle with news that the civil war, which has abated but could reignite any time, has caused the deaths of 2 1/2 million people. Officials believe that the area around the park is now secure, but there have been ongoing problems with local militias in the area, and much of the park’s infrastructure was destroyed during the war. It may be years before the gorillas and other wildlife in the park are accessible to tourists.
