Rwanda lies at 2 00 S, 30 00 E, bordered by Uganda to the North, DR Congo to the West, Burundi to the South and Tanzania to the East. To the outside world, Rwanda is known for the genocide of 1994, but it has recovered from those years of turmoil that characterized the nation in the period 1950-1994.

The country has three (3) national parks - Nyungwe Forest Park known for its large size and a vast army of chimps and monkeys; Akagera National park for game, including zebras, giraffes, antelopes, buffalos; and Parc National des Volcans where Dian Fossey dedicated her life researching the celebrated gorillas.

Among its many and enduring attractions are the primates, in particular the mountain Gorillas; one of the most awesome wildlife interactions in the world.

The People of Rwanda

The earliest known inhabitants of Rwanda were pygmoid hunter-gatherers, ancestral to the modern Twa people who today comprise only 0.25% of the national population. Some 2,000 years ago, agricultural and pastoralist migrants from the west settled in the area. Oral traditions recall that prior to the 15th century, a ruler named Gihanga forged a centralised Rwandan state with similar roots to the Buganda and Bunyoro Empires in neighbouring Uganda. Consisting of a cattle-owning nobility and agriculturist serfdom majority - the precursors respectively of the modern-day Tutsi and Hutu - this powerful state was able to repel all early attempts at European penetration.

Major Attractions in Rwanda

Rwanda has a rich culture and long history. A long time ago it was regarded as a mysterious kingdom with a legendary military force, which was carefully by-passed by Arab traders and the great Nile Explorers. Ordinarily, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania were part of the German East African colony. However, after the First World War, Rwanda became a Belgian protectorate.

It is at the National Museum of Butare, on your way to Nyungwe NP, that you can find fascinating displays on the history and culture of one of the majestic pre-colonial kingdoms of East-Africa.

Among the safest, cleanest and friendliest of African capitals, Kigali is blessed with a moderate high altitude climate that belies its tropical location, and is conveniently located within three hours' drive of the main tourist sites.

The country is naturally dictated to a central plateau made up of steep mountains and deep valleys. This has therefore renamed Rwanda as "Land of thousand hills and a million smiles” (because of the smiles of its people). The average elevation of the plateau is about 1.700 m. Rwanda has got principal geographic feature on the western side of the plateau and these are the famous Virunga chain of volcanoes which extend towards Congo and the Ugandan border. It's in the Virunga that one can find Rwanda's most important tourist attraction: the mountain gorillas!

Rwanda is superlative for its primates and was Africa's first gorilla destination. Tropical Africa Tour and Safari Ltd organises trips that will bring you to the two most important National Parks like Parc National Des Volcans, home of the mountain gorilla, and the Nyungwe Forest that has recently received the status of National Park. The trips will also explore the unique scenery's of Lake Kivu, with the World’s first operational Methane Gas-to-Power project and highlight some unique cultural aspects of Rwanda life. As an option, we propose you a visit to the devastated city of Goma (DRC) to show you another side of the Virunga volcanoes.

NYUNGWE FOREST

Nyungwe forest covers 970 km² and has a unique habitat and is found with in the Albertine rift. The Albertine rift forms the epicentre of Africa's montane rainforest circle. Its Eco-region is one of Africa's most endemic rich regions dominated by a series of mountain chains, originating from the Lendu Plateau in northern Uganda and Congo, running south through the Rwenzori Mountains, western Rwanda and Burundi, to some isolated massifs on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. This is the only place where we have seen troops of more than 300 colobus monkeys travelling in the trees. The park has 25% of the primates of Africa, with its 13 recorded primate species.

The forest has 300 species of birds with 27 Albertine rift endemic and 121 forest species. A combination of 200 species of trees and more than 100 species of orchids! The park has an extensive network of walking trails that lead you through various waterfalls and viewing points. Nyungwe offers scenic views over the forest, L. Kivu and sometimes, also the Virunga.

The primates species include': Den't mona monkey (C.mona denti), Rwenzori colobus (colobus angolensis), silver monkey (c.mitis doggetti), golden monkey (C.mitis kandti), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), owl-faced monkey (C.hamlyni), l'Hoest's monkey (C.l’hoesti), red-tailed monkey (C.ascanius), vervet monkey (C.aetiops), olive baboon (papio anubis), grey-cheeked mangabey (Cercocebus albigena) and three species of bushbaby.

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK: (PARC NATIONAL DES VOLCANS)

Parc National Des Volcans (PNV) is part of the Virunga Conservation Area and covers more than 125 km². PNV is home of five Virunga volcanoes: the Karisimbi, the highest volcano with an altitude of 4.507; Muhabura (4.127 m); Sabyinyo, (3711 m); Bisoke (3.674 m); and Gahinga (3.474 m). Two of the volcanoes erupted recently that is; the Nyiragongo erupted in January 2002 and Nyamulagira in July 2002 while the rest are extinct. The active ones are located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Virunga ecosystem is composed of 4 major vegetation zones: bamboo forests, bamboo Hagenia and Hypericum forest (2600-3300m), (base altitude), Afro-alpine (4000m+) and Sub-alpine (3300-4000m).

Conceivably best known as the home of the rare mountain gorilla, the Virungas; Trekking through the park in far northwest Rwanda, one will find a variety of sensory delights. The visitor in the rainforest can hear birds singing and monkeys, and through the forest, see the peaks of the ancient volcanoes. In addition to the rainforest, the park offers evergreen and bamboo forest, grassland, swamp and heath.

The mountain gorillas spend most of their time in the hagenia woodlands and during the rainy season when new bamboo shoots are growing, the gorillas spend more time searching for food in the bamboo forests (base altitude). The climb to the natural habitat of bamboo forest and Hagenia woodlands offers fantastic views.

PNV was Dian Fossey's base a long time ago (She died on the 26th of December 1985), and it is at the Karisoke Research Center that during 18 years, she carried out her study on mountain gorillas.

There are 4 gorilla groups habituated for tourism; the Sabinyo group has been divided up in two:
 

• Sabyinyo A - group has 13 individuals

• Sabyinyo B - group has 4 individuals (breakaway group)

• Susa group has 35 individuals

• Amahoro group has 11 individuals

• Group 13 has 7 individuals

Highlights: Gorilla viewing, a day excursion up to the top of the Mt Sabinyo or a visit to the grave of Dian Fossey on the edges of Mt Sabinyo. Moreover, Rwanda Office Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) is thinking to reopen the Mt Karisimbi again to hikers and mountaineers.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BUTARE

The National Museum remained surprisingly untouched during the civil war in 1994. The National Museum is located in Butare. It was donated in 1989 by the Belgium government with some ethnic collection –the design and concept– all realized in co-operation with the Royal Museum for Central Africa of Tervuren, Belgium. Butare is 135 km from Kigali and a visit can be organized as a day excursion out of Kigali. You can also visit Butare on your way to Nyungwe NP. Nyabisindu (Nyanza) –the traditional seat of Rwanda’s ancient feudal monarchy – is situated 45 km before Butare and 90 km from Kigali.

The Museum is a modern building with different sections. It displays a wide collection of monochrome pictures, traditional artifacts and objects, tools and different craft products. Ethnographic objects are grouped together according to the theme, giving premium information on the daily life. Traditional ceramics and basketry are still manufactured and belong to the finest handicrafts of the region Highlights: Visit of Nyanza, Museum of Butare, and the craft shops in Butare.

It is the finest and it reflects well the time spirit at the end of 19th Century when the East-African Kingdoms came in contact with the first Europeans. The rich insights about Rwanda's traditional life and culture, and the subsequent development during history will contribute to a better understanding of African history and should be compelled for everybody who's interested in Africa.

LAKE KIVU

Lake Kivu is an extraordinarily gorgeous Inland Sea enclosed by steep, green terraced hills along the Congolese border. Its shores are surrounded by three resort towns that is Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu and connected by a wild roller-coaster road that somersaults through luxuriant plantain fields and artifact patches of foggy rain forest to offer sweeping views over the blue water. It is one of the classic road journeys in all of Africa. There is also charter boat service on the lake connecting the 3 towns.

GISENYI

Gisenyi, the most developed of these resorts, lies less than an hour's drive from the Volcanoes National park, and is set on a sandy beach lined with swaying palms and colonial-era hotels that exude an atmosphere of tropical languor.

At Kibuye, to its south, tourist activities are centered on a modern lake shore guest house overlooking pine-covered hills seemingly transplanted from the Alps. Different again is, Cyangugu, close to Nyungwe Forest, whose more subdued tourist development, is compensated for by a stirring setting of curving inlets winding into narrow valleys.

BUTARE

The town of Butare was, and still is, considered Rwanda’s cultural and intellectual pulse. The national university and various institutions of higher learning are situated here but the most prominent attraction is the superb National Museum with perhaps the finest ethnographic collection in East Africa. Butare´s cultural significance is further underlined by a visit to nearby Nyanza, the traditional seat of Rwanda’s ancient feudal monarchy.

GENOCIDE MEMORIAL

For survivors and others whose families were murdered in Rwanda’s genocide of 1994, the Memorial sites and centres are places of dignified remembrance for loved ones lost. It is also a place of reflection and learning for the wider community, both in Rwanda and internationally.

The memorial centers for example include three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the genocide in 1994. There is also a children’s memorial, and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The Education Centre, Memorial Gardens and National Documentation Centre of the Genocide all contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished, and form a powerful educational tool for the next generation.

There are some other memorial sites near Kigali, Butare and Kibuye like the Ntamara church, where nothing was changed in it after the mass murder except taking the bodies of the victims away.

AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

Akagera NP is located in the east of Rwanda along the Akagera River that is the natural border with Tanzania. The park was created in 1936 and was once, in terms of natural beauty, landscape, scenery and animal life, one of the best national parks in Africa. The park covers over 2500 sq. km of Savannah west of the Kagera River, which denotes the border with Tanzania. If you are looking for big game or different bird species, then you should try Akagera national park. It is a habitat for much wild life and over 500 different species of birds.

Akagera is comprises lakes, swamps, woodland, Savannah, and open grassland. The lakes draw out herds of elephants and buffalos, while the Savannah typically attracts giraffes and zebras. The park hosts leopards, hyenas, lions and more than a dozen types of antelopes. Near the lake, are large pods of hippopotamus, as well as ominous crocodiles basking in the sun.

For the bird-lover, you can be entertained by majestic fish eagles and the large concentration of water birds. In the marshes, keep an eye out for the papyrus gonolek and the often sought-after shoebill stork.

Akagera National Park is dominated, scenically, by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River, the most remote source of the Nile. This is an archetypal African Savannah landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland.