Tourism in Rwanda

Mother and baby gorilla in volcanoes national park

Volcanoes national park is a stop center for all Rwanda gorilla safaris sheltering the highest number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Conservation area. The strategic location of the VNP roughly 2 hours drive from Kigali international airport make it the most accessible gorilla national park in the world. Sharing a border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this national park in Rwanda is home to a growing number of critically endangered mountain gorillas. Experts estimate that there are about 600 gorillas in the park—a significant increase from around 240-250 individuals in 1981.[4] Besides gorillas, Volcanoes National park is a home for golden monkeys, a variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects among other creatures which together make a complete Rwanda safari package.[5] Volcanoes National Park is named after the chain of dormant volcanoes making up the Virunga Massif: Karisimbi – the highest at 4,507m, Bisoke with its verdant crater lake, Sabinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura.[5]

Without a doubt, one of the interesting things to do in Rwanda is gorilla trekking at Volcanoes National Park.The trekking experience typically lasts between four and eight hours, most of which is spent hiking through mystical bamboo forests, wild meadows, and swampy areas. Guides from the national park service will eventually lead you to one of the habituated gorilla families. You'll spend an hour observing the creatures as they eat, care for their babies, and interact with one another.

One of the oldest rainforests in Africa,Nyungwe is spectacularly beautiful and rich in biodiversity with 1,068 plant species and 140 orchids , 322 species of birds including Red-collared Babbler , and 75 types of mammals such as the cerval cat, mongoose, congo clawless otter and leopard to name but a few. Most tourists come to this rainforest to track chimpanzees,as well as 12 other species of primate, including the L’Hoest’s monkey endemic to the Albertine Rift.The park is also home to the only canopy walk in East Africa, roughly a 90-minute hike from the Uwinka Visitor Center. You'll walk across a 91-meter-long suspension bridge dangling more than 50 meters above the verdant rainforest, getting a dizzying view of the treetops and mountains in the distance.[4]

No trip to Africa is complete without a game drive. Tourists can scratch the itch to go on safari just two-and-a-half hours away from Kigali at Akagera National Park. Managed by the African Parks organization, Akagera national park is located in eastern Rwanda with 2500 km² (one of Central Africa's largest protected wetlands) of mainly Savannah land. The park  is named after Kagera River that flows along Rwanda’s eastern boundary with Tanzania. The river feeds into Lake Ihema and other smaller lakes in and around the park. The park protects an African Savannah landscape of acacia and bush with patches of open grassland and a dozen swampy lakes. It is home to elephants, buffalos, giraffe, zebras, leopards, hyenas, lions, several antelopes like bushbucks, Topis, Oribis, water-buck, roan antelope and duiker, klipspringer, impala and world largest antelope – the Cape eland. You can watch schools of hippos and Nile crocodiles basking in the sun near lake Ihema. The common primates in Akagera national park are olive baboons, Vervet monkeys, blue monkeys and bush babies. You'll see the environment make a glorious shift from savannah plains to wetlands and lakes admiring 500 birds species and antelope.[6]

Covering a surface area of 2,700 km2, Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s largest lake and the sixth largest in Africa.[7] Steep, terraced hills lead down to the picturesque lake shore, and three resort towns - Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu. These small towns come as welcome retreats in between the sometimes strenuous hikes to find gorillas and chimpazees in the surrounding Volcanoes and Nyungwe Forest National Parks.[8] Lake Kivu has a lively waterfront, sandy beach, and stunning resorts.

For adventurous travellers, an exciting way to explore Rwanda is a kayaking tour on Lake Kivu, or mountain biking or hiking one of the 6 off-the-beaten path stages of the spectacular Congo Nile Trail.[7]

If the country's impassioned conservation efforts don't convince you that Rwandans have a reverence for animals, a visit to the King's Palace Museum certainly will. The star attraction at the museum (one of Rwanda's eight national museums) are the inyambo (sacred cows) and their staggeringly large horns. Throughout the day, traditional singers lull the cows into a mellow state by belting poems—a ritual that's unique to Rwanda.

The museum itself is just as interesting as the four-legged creatures out back. It showcases a replica of a king's palace from the 15th century with a thatched roof, royal hut, and fresh milk hut traditionally run by an unmarried woman.

Tourists can also explore the colonial-style home that was once the royal residence of King Mutara III Rudahigwa in the mid 20th century. The interior design is particularly striking, blending Rwandan patterns with European-style furniture (some of which was actually owned by the king).[4]

One of Africa's best collections of ethnological and archeological artifacts can be found in Rwanda's Ethnographic Museum, located about 130 kilometers south of Kigali in the district of Huye. Belgium gifted the museum to the city in 1989 in honor of the 25th anniversary of Rwandan's independence.

The Ethnographic Museum's seven galleries take tourists back in time to precolonial Rwanda. You'll see an impressive collection of woven baskets, traditional garments made from animal hides and woven grass, spears and bows, musical drums from hundreds of years ago, and old farming tools.

Tourists can step inside an authentic royal home and learn how it was constructed. The museum also hosts live handicraft demonstrations. [4]

The people of Rwanda embrace peace and reconciliation. They are committed to fight the ideology of genocide. The memorials found throughout the country are moving testimonies in memory of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and the people who lost their lives.

Inaugurated on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi is where 250,000 victims have been buried. This memorial also serves to educate about how the Genocide against the Tutsi took shape and examines genocide in the 20th century.

The wall of names is dedicated to those who died and is a work still in progress. Many of the victims’ names have yet to be gathered and documented and many of the victims who rest in the graves are unknown.

The memorial gardens provide a place for quiet contemplation about the history of the Genocide against the Tutsi. They allow visitors to reflect on how we all have a personal responsibility to prevent discrimination and mass atrocity.While the largest memorial is in Kigali, the genocide touched all corners of Rwanda, and as such there are many emotionally charged memorials located throughout the country. Some are as simple as a quiet garden space for contemplation, while others are larger and hold relics, remains, and exhibits on the genocide itself.[9]