- April 8, 2022
- Posted by: admin
- Categories: Travel Guide, Travel Tips
Rwanda known to many as a land of a thousand hills is among the fast growing tourism economies in east Africa and Africa at large. The country is blessed with a number of tourist attractions found no where else on the planet except in Rwanda and the major tourist attractions one should not miss while on a Rwanda tour and safari include the following.
Volcanoes National Park
This is a home to some of the remaining mountain gorilla population in the world. Volcanoes national park (Parc national des Volcans – PNV) has about 10 habituated mountain gorilla families however 7 of these are the ones that are usually tracked by tourists.
The mountain gorillas here unlike in other places can be easily tracked at any times of the year. A group of strictly 8 tourists is allowed to trek a single mountain gorilla family a day led by local Rwandese guides. The number of tourists is regulated to 8 to reduce chances of disease spreading from humans to the mountain gorillas.
Apart from mountain gorilla tours, volcanoes national park is a home for golden monkey tracking which takes place at the same time as gorillas starting with briefing at the Kinigi park station. There are also a number of bird species that can be seen here some of which are endemic to the Albertine region.
Tropical Rain Forest At Nyungwe
Nyungwe forest national park is located in the southwestern part of Rwanda and most of the national park’s land area is covered with the natural tropical rainforest with trees that stand several meters above the ground. Nyungwe forest has a number of primate species and birds that attract a number of tourists every year. The Nyungwe tropical rainforest is surely something one should not miss while on a Rwanda safari and for remarkable experience, a canopy walk is highly recommended.
Lake Kivu
This is the largest water body in Rwanda located in the western part of Rwanda stretching from the north to the south. The lake has a number of islands that can be visited by tourists or tourists can go to the beach or go for boat trips along the lake. The lake has a number of accommodation facilities on the shores including lake Kivu Serena hotel, paradise Malahide, water front resort hotel and so many others. All the hotels along lake Kivu provide great views of the lake and usually organize excursion boat trips enabling people to explore he beautiful lake.
The City
Kigali Rwanda’s major and biggest city was built on a number of hills and its Rwanda’s busiest city. Kigali is named the cleanest city in Africa and its indeed very clean and can be an ideal place for one to carryout a city tour.
Kigali has a number of relaxing places including hotels and restaurants that prepare all kinds of cuisines that people can enjoy. There are also a number of shopping areas where one can buy all kinds of items including locally made crafts which usually act as souvenirs for tourists.
The Genocide Memorial Sites
Rwanda was in 1993 devastated by a deadly genocide where most people lost their lives and lots of property destroyed. Many innocent people irrespective of their age were brutally murdered using killer weapons like machetes, hand grenades and many others in a period of about three months. Some lucky ones were able to flee the country and returned after the genocide had ended. Today, genocide memorials sites have been developed in the major areas where people were killed. The genocide memorial sites feature remaining’s of the people in form of skeletons; some have preserved dead body displays as well as mass graves where people were buried.
The major genocide memorials in Rwanda include the Gisozi genocide memorial, the Murambi genocide memorial, the Nyamata genocide memorial, the Ntarama genocide memorial and many others.