Rwanda is one of the three countries in Africa that hosts mountain gorillas. Though Rwanda is a small country, it is among the upcoming destinations for travel in Africa. Its tourism sector is booming and rapidly developing attracting a considerable number of foreign tourists who visit the country for adventures through the “land of a thousand hills”. Rwanda is one of the richly endowed tourist attractions in the East African regional; the best place to go gorilla trekking, offering unique opportunities for chimpanzee tracking, bird watching and cultural tours.
Though Rwanda is most known for the 1994 Rwanda Genocide, it is notably a safe country to visit on the African continent. Since the end of the genocide, the government of Rwanda has done a lot to rebuild the country. Today various infrastructure have been put in place and Rwanda boasts of good roads, improved communication, good accommodation facilities and improved flight schedules.
Things to Do in Rwanda
There are lots of adventures one can take in Africa. The top things to do include;
- Go gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National park, hosting a third of the world’s total remaining population of the mountain gorillas.
- Go for chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park. You can also enjoy canopy walks, nature walks and sightseeing
- Trace the history of Rwanda by taking a tour at Kigali Genocide Memorial.
- You can also visit the different genocide memorial sites that are spread in different parts of the country.
- Cultural Tours – Take a village walks, shop from various art shops that have beautiful locally made art crafts like weaved baskets,
- Visit lakes like Kivu, the Twin Lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo etc
Gorilla Trekking
Watching the gorillas for one hour up-close and unhindered has become the highlight of most safaris to Rwanda. This once in a lifetime experience cannot be done elsewhere besides in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Trekkers begin the exercise with briefing at 7:30 am which is followed by a hike up the bamboo terrain of the mountain. There are guides for each group of trekkers to lead you to the habitats of the gorilla families and the maximum number per group of trekkers is 8 people only. Once you have sighted a family of gorillas, you can only spend an hour with them in which you can take photos, make videos and see these grand primates.
Rwanda’s Gorilla Families
With 10 habituated gorilla families, gorilla trekking is a must-do activity while on Rwanda safari. The world’s dwindling and endangered gorilla population is found in only three countries in the world; the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. Among the habituated Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park include Amahoro, Ugenda, Umubano, Karisimbi, Sabinyo, Susa, Hirwa and so on.
Umubano group; This group has a total population of about 7 gorillas with 1 silverback, 1 youth, 2 females and 1 infant.
Group 13; This group consists of an overall total of 10 gorillas with 1 silverback (leader), 4 females, 1 youth and 4 infants.
Don’t let you tour be cancelled because of visa worries, in Rwanda almost everything in readily solved. Visas are issued on arrival at the airport and also available on the border posts. The Rwanda visa costs only US$30 valid for 30 days.
