Visit Rwanda
Visit Rwanda
Visit Rwanda : Are you looking to visit Rwanda or looking for an ideal Rwanda safari? There are many reasons you could focus your tour destination to Rwanda. Rwanda is a developing African country with tourism being the largest source of foreign exchange. The tourism in Rwanda is also the country’s biggest national export contributor and this is because of the ever growing numbers of tourists flocking the country.
The tourism of Rwanda has been backed by big hoteliers that have invested in the country offering standard and luxurious accommodation options for the tourists looking at spending some nights in the country. A few of these big hotel names are the likes of Marriot Hotels and resorts, Sheraton hotels and resorts, Protea hotels by Marriot, Singita Kwitonda, Serena hotels and resorts to mention but a few. With these hotels in a number of destinations around the country, tourists are assured of great accommodation on their visit to Rwanda which is major element to one’s Rwanda tour.
Rwanda is one of the destinations that can offer wildlife tourism, primate tourism, and cultural tourism all in a space of four to 20 days all depending on how much time you have in the country and are willing to spend on safari. This small landlocked country offers scenic and breathtaking views while on your Rwanda safari at the destinations and enroute the destinations. A Rwanda safari can either be done on self-drive or booked by a trusted tour operator. Tours booked by tour operators tend to be more organized, informative and you get to sit back and enjoy the experience.
Rwanda is blessed with nature and there are mountains to hike, waterfalls to visit, wildlife to spot, primates to trek, rainforests with nature trails to explore, cultural and heritage sites to visit and leisure points to sit back and enjoy the scenery and breeze. The major tourism points of Rwanda are the national parks and these are the Volcanoes national park, the Akagera national park and the Nyungwe forest national park. These parks are all about 5 hours apart from each other. Rwanda is sitted on an area of 26,338 square kilometers and is considered the most densely populate country in Africa basing on the population of up to 12.6 million people with a million of these living in Kigali city the capital city of Rwanda. This however has not affected the hygiene and organization of the city as Kigali has been recognized and awarded as the cleanest city in Africa.
Cultural tours in Rwanda
A Rwandan safari is only complete with a visit to one or a few of the Rwandan cultural or heritage sites that are spread out all over the country. While in Rwanda, you may visit the Kigali Genocide memorial grounds, the Murambi Genocide, the Nyamata Genocide, the Nyanza genocide that are common for those interested in learning more about the civil war that put this country and the countrymen under unrest and lives were lost in 1994. There are also the smaller genocide sites like the Bisesero genocide memorial, the Ntarama genocide memorial, the Nyarubye genocide memorial.
All these memorial grounds hold a special element towards the 1994 genocide memorial and is visited by both the international guests and the locals especially the families of the fallen victims of the war and you can take a break to stop by one of them depending on your routing or itinerary.
Besides the genocide grounds, there are cultural sites like the Iby’iwachu cultural center, the Butare Museum and the Nyanza king’s palace that are must visits for the tourists interested in cultural aspect in their Rwanda safari.
Primate safaris in Rwanda
Rwanda is a home to a number of primates and the biggest attraction of all is the endangered mountain gorilla species that can be visited in the Volcanoes national park. The Volcanoes national park is also a home to the golden monkeys and you can trek these unique looking primates. The volcanoes national park is located in the Virunga Conservation area and is one of the four national parks that have the last remaining mountain gorillas. The volcanoes national park can be accessed from the Kigali International airport that is a 2 hour road transfer.
You can also visit the Rwanda primates in the Nyungwe forest national park that is a home to the chimpanzees and the Gishwati Mukura national park as well. The Nyungwe forest national park on top of being home to the chimpanzees, is a home to 12 other primate species for example the L’Hoest’s monkeys, the colobus monkeys, the black and white colobus monkeys, the owl faced monkeys, dent’s monkeys, blue monkeys and the vervet monkeys to mention but a few.
Besides the Volcanoes national park and the Nyungwe forest national park, you can trek the golden monkeys and the L’Hoest’s monkeys, another endemic Albertine rift species, in the Gishwati Mukura national park.
The Akagera national park also boost of some primate species spotted in parts of the park while on a game drive like the olive baboons and the vervet monkeys. The park also has some nocturnal primates like the potto and the bush babies that are a common sighting on the night game drives in Akagera national park.
Wildlife safaris in Rwanda
The Akagera national park is the country’s wildlife national park that offers savannah day and night game drives for a chance to spot the wildlife in Rwanda. The Akagera national park is one of the African parks that you can visit to spot the big 5 animals that is the lions, the leopards, the rhino, the elephant and the buffalo which are all living in the Akagera national park. This national park is located an hour and 30 minute drive away from Kigali city and this is in the north eastern part of the country.
The Akagera national park was named after the Kagera river that flows along the border of Rwanda and Tanzania and this river feeds the lake Ihema that is famous for its hippos concentration that can be spotted on a boat trip on the lake.
The other wildlife that you may spot on a wildlife safari in the Akagera national park include the zebras, the giraffes, the bushbucks, roan antelopes, the topis, oribis, duikers, klipspringer, the impala and also get to spot the largest of the antelope species that is the cape eland. Also spot some Nile crocodiles while on a boat cruise on the Lake Ihema.
Hiking safaris in Rwanda
Rwanda is commonly known as the land of a thousand hills for a reason and this is because of the topography of the country. On your drives around the country, you will be able to spot a number of hills and mountains and a number of these mountains can be hiked. The most commonly hiked mountains are the Virunga volcanic mountains found on the Rwanda side and these include the Mount Karisimbi, the Mount Bisoke, Mount Gahinga and Mount Sabinyo. These are all dormant volcanic mountains and are all located in the Volcanoes national park.
You can also opt to hike the Mount Kigali that is located in the capital city and get to view the busy city from the top. Most of the activities in Rwanda involve abit of hiking so be sure to be physically and mentally ready for a hike when visiting Rwanda.
Leisure safaris in Rwanda
The terrain of Rwanda will surely demand the most from your body and if you have some more time to spare, you may top up your tour activity with a more relaxing experience at the leisure spots of Rwanda like the Lake Kivu for a boat trip or enjoy the sandy beach to stretch. You may also take a visit to the Twin lakes, Burera and Ruhundo for a picnic or spend some time on the Lake Muhazi.
