Rwanda has moved on from its dark history and now wears a crown of beauty in shades of green rolling hills, a clean and organized city. With no doubt most travelers to Rwanda are looking up to gorilla trekking as their priority while other destinations come along. Rwanda is immersed in natural beauty surrounded by thousand rolling hills, moist forests, lakes and abundant wildlife. There are several tour destinations in Rwanda however the best among all of them include;
Volcanoes national park
If there is a best place to visit in Rwanda, it is one and only volcanoes national park, the home of mountain gorillas. The park is home to more than 400 shared in the greater Virunga conservation area, which covers the 8 extinct volcanoes. There are more than 10 habituated gorilla families that roam around the 5 volcanoes, Bisoke, karisimbi, sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhavura amidst dispersed bamboo trees, shrubs, ferns and moist forests. Gorilla trekking is the main tour activity within the park alongside trekking the endangered golden monkeys.
The experience of gorilla trekking is rewarding meeting the giant gorillas go about their day in their home feeding, caring for their young infants. The trek depends on how fast the group can move. it takes about 6-8 hours depending on which gorilla family you are allocated.
while in volcanoes national Park you also have a chance to visit Dain Fossey tomb at Karisoke research center the first woman zoologist who spent most of her time into mountain gorilla conservation until she met her death. She is known for her dedication to the endangered mountain gorillas until she brought them on to the international plight, she is remembered for her movie, Gorillas in the Mist.
Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe forest national park is a tropical montane forest known for its bio diverse nature. The park has an array of birds, tree species, more than 70 mammal species and a quite number of primates. Nyungwe forest national park has 12 primate species notable ones are chimpanzees that attract thousands of people for chimp tracking. Other primates likely to spot include endemics of the Albertine rift valley which include, L’hoest monkeys, Blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, Angola colobus monkeys, grey checked mangabeys, red tailed monkeys, Ruwenzori turaco among many others. The park is mostly visited for primate watch, canopy walk 50 meters high above sea level roughly 90-minute hike from Uwinka visitor a midst verdant moist rainforest with a paranomic view.
Akagera national park
The only savannah park in Rwanda spanning on 1140 square kilometers covering wet lands, acacia tress and lakes. It is also home to the big five game along with other mammal species, and birds. A Rwandan trip without game drive and viewing seem incomplete, while in Akagera, you are likely to spot animals such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, with luck you will spot lions, rhinos and leopards. The land scape is spectacular good for game viewing. Guided safaris and self- drive are the way to go in Akagera as you explore its natural beauty. A launch cruise on Lake Ihema will bring you closer to school of Hippos, Nile crocodiles and water bird species.
Genocide memorial sites
At the mention of Rwanda, the memory of genocide has to strikingly come into picture and for the years, the country has embraced the past horrific experience of 1994 into Dark tourism. Across the country there are a couple of genocide memorials, tourists get to learn about the genocide through photography, art crafts, visual and audio recordings. While at the memorial sites you also notice the names of the lost lives and the remains of their clothes. Much as its devastating and saddening, it is one way how tourists get to know of how far Rwanda has come to what is now being the number one leading luxury tour destination and the cleanest of the East African countries. Some of the genocide memorial sites include, Kigali memorial site, Nyamata church, Gisenyi, Bisesero, Nyanza, Murambi among many others.
Iby’iwachu cultural village (Gorillas Guardians village)
The cultural village is run by reformed poachers, iby’iwachu gives tourists a chance to embrace the Rwandan culture and traditions. The gorilla’s guardian village as its commonly referred is on the outskirts of volcanoes national park famous for its traditional activities. At the village you will encounter men and women exhibiting the typical Rwandan way of living such as weaving baskets, grinding millet, arrow shooting, hunting. You also be entertained through their rythmatic traditional Kinyarwanda songs, dances, drumming and storytelling.
Conclusively there is much more than what is listed depending on what one is looking out for in Rwanda, not forgetting local markets, ethnographic museums, art crafts, white sand beaches, coffee shops and many others.