Rwanda

Known as the land of a thousand hills, Rwanda’s stunning scenery and warm, friendly people offer unique experiences in one of the most remarkable countries in the world. It is blessed with extraordinary biodiversity, with incredible wildlife living throughout its volcanoes, montane rainforest and sweeping plains. Travelers come from far and wide to catch a glimpse of the magnificent gorillas, yet there is so much more to see and experience. From the warm and friendly Rwandan people to the dramatic vistas almost around every corner.

Discover all Rwanda has to offer

Volcanos National Park

While most African hinterlands away from the Great Rift Valley are forced to compete with the likes of Kruger and Maasai Mara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, when it comes to the wild, mist-topped backcountry of Rwanda’s Volcanos National Park, all bets are off! Yep, this truly breathtaking conservation area – contiguous with Virunga across the border – is topped by the once-smoking calderas of mighty mounts like Karisimbi and serrated Sabyinyo.

All around these craggy volcanic peaks, visitors discover lush montane forests and thick groves of African redwoods. And within those there’s another treasure: the uber-rare mountain gorilla!

Akagera National Park

Akagera National Park is the same savannah and riparian swamp mosaic you’d expect to find in the super-famous game parks of the East African Rift. That’s because its 1,200 square kilometers of land abut right up to the border with Tanzania, giving rise to roaming herds of giraffes, antelopes, jackals and more. Safaris are slowly becoming popular, with outfitters now organizing game drives and game walks from the smattering of lodges that exist. And the environments are beautiful too, with the meanders of the Kagera River giving way to shimmering Lake Shakani, oodles of papyrus swamps and protected birding areas aplenty.

Nyungwe Forest National Park

There are few protected forests that can boast the same kind of superlatives as Rwanda’s mystical Nyungwe Forest National Park. For starters, this vast area of more than 940 square kilometers is the single largest enclave of montane forest remaining in this corner of the continent. What’s more, the thick canopies of mahoganies and clambering jungle vines hide one of the most diverse arrays of simian life in the world. There are chimpanzees and rare golden monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and big baboons all swinging through the boughs here!

Lake Kivu

While Lake Kivu is hardly a single destination, it’s worth a special mention on its own simply because of the sheer wealth of attractions and activities it offers travelers to Rwanda from its place on the extreme western border of the country. Covering a vast area of more than 2,700 square kilometers, it ranges from Gisenyi in the north to the multicultural island of Ishwa in the south. Along the way, visitors will be able to spot rustic fishing villages on stilts, clusters of trademark catamaran skiffs on the water, a speckling of pretty tropical islands, and perhaps even the more modern outlines of industrious natural gas extractors above the lake.