Travelers should book their favorite safaris in Rwanda without any worry and stress because the country of thousand hills is among the recognized safest counties to visit in Africa. At unbelievably affordable and pocket friendly prices, travelers surely love to get lost in the wilderness of this country, the culture of Rwanda is epic and leaves tourists attached to it and various charms that people get to dazzle about when they land here.
Tourist activities in Rwanda.
Gorilla trekking.
It is evident that most people visit Rwanda to undertake this soul stirring activity and the efforts undertaken to meet the heavy animals is something forgotten as soon as visitors land their eyes on the largest living primates. Thanks to the esteemed Virunga massif where these critically endangered creatures have a home.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is safely done from Volcanoes National Park and while tourists are on a hike to trace the forest fascinations, they get a chance of sighting some of the volcano ranges effortlessly. 96 permits are issued and in particular, eight tracking permits are issued to each of the twelve gorilla families available for having encounters with.
The Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony happens every year and is an interesting time for tourists to attend such lovely gorlla celebrations. With US $1500 per person, tourists should prepare for having a maximum of four hours or more time hike over the rolling hills while looking out for the gorillas. Meeting them is a whole new experience because it is like meeting our fellow relatives as they also stay in groups with a leader, females, infants similar to mum, dad, children in humans and they also get emotional when they are saddened and laugh if they are happy.
Golden monkey tracking.
Behind the dazzling greenery and numerous hills found in the country lies the endangered primates whose color adds light and glam to the forest. Golden monkeys as their name suggest, add a natural beauty to the wilderness as they keep jumping from one bamboo tree to another. These creatures chose to create peace with mountain gorillas as they live side by side to them in the Virunga massif hence the slopes of volcanoes are ideal for searching for these creatures.
Tourists need to first obtain golden monkey trekking permits at $100 and appreciate the kind of beauty that God endowed to these small apes. Trekking these charmers is as similar as trekking mountain gorillas hence tourists should put all the rules and regulations into consideration when they are in the forest as they are briefed during the meeting prior the activity.
Bisoke mountain hiking.
Always eager to sight the biggest crater lake within the Virunga ranges found on this mountain is the reason why the mountain pulls a large number of hikers. Also, hiking this mountain is considered as less demanding and less experienced tourists are highly welcome to this hike but should be able to deal with any challenges that come their way.
A journey to the mountain’s summit takes 6 hours and descending back takes 2 hours depending on the number of times and hours the tourists frequent resting. It’s also interesting how experienced hikers can reach the top in just three hours. Tourists should get themselves walking sticks to walk through rough and rocky grounds and pass-through various sceneries like plantations before reaching the summit. There are also chances of spotting mountain gorillas or golden monkeys and hikers are permitted only 10 minutes without taking pictures to watch these gems before proceeding on their adventure.
Cultural tours in Rwanda.
Rwanda just like other African countries are sacred to their culture as it says more about who they are and their origin. Looking at a group of dancers in the air holding spears and having long white hair-like material on their heads is fascinating but taking part is much better because it raises the spirits of visitors.
Some visitors who have two left feet can leave taking part in the cultural dances and engage in a lot more cultural activities like banana wine brewing, preparing food, grazing cattle, eating local food with indigenous people and visiting famous cultural sites in Rwanda.
People who visit Rwanda shouldn’t miss paying a visit to genocide memorial grounds like the Kigali Genocide Memorial center to pay respect to the innocent individuals who died in the hands of tyrants, ethnographic museum shouldn’t be missed out as this is the former national museum of the country known for keeping lots of collections of art and history about the country, Rwanda has various festivals and cultural events that can give a memorable expedition to tourists like fashion and style, art galleries as well as the Umuganda which is a monthly clean-up event across the whole country.
Big 5 safaris.
A collection of all the strongest animals that fight till their death is found in Akagera. With the presence of lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos and elephants in one park gives an opportunity to tourists to chance watching them.
Leopards cannot change their spots therefore its nearly impossible to sight then and their colleagues the lions during day hence tourists should eat an elephant one bite at a time by organizing for a day game drive to spot interesting grazers like rhinos, buffaloes and antelopes then secure the night game drives for meeting with the real owners of the forest.
Birding
Crowned the cleanest country in Africa, it’s also the country with highest concentration of birds per square kilometer in Africa attributed to its small nature populated with over 750 bird species.
All the four national parks in Rwanda are ideal for birding with Nyungwe having over 44 bird species endemic to the Albertine Rift. Besides birds that live in forests and national parks, wetlands and marshes give a wondrous experience of watching water birds and relaxing from the cool environment offered by these water areas. Rugezi, Nyabarongo and Akanyaru are famous wetlands that birds like waders and other species keep wondering on.
NATIONAL PARKS IN RWANDA.
Rwanda has only four national parks but each has a specific and scared gem that cannot be found anyone else in the country.
Volcanoes National Park.
This is the prominent one and highly visited because it harbors largest primates, the mountain gorillas. While in this park, tourists are 100% sure that they are to set their eyes on one of the Virunga ranges found in the park’s neighborhood.
It is also the oldest national park in Africa, created in 1925 to protect mountain gorillas. Tourists get more beyond just watching apes in this park and hiking because wildlife species, caving and the Kwita izina ceremony all ensue in this national park.
Akagera national park.
Travelers in love with the big five animals are definitely for this park. Visitors should be sure that a game drive, either during day or night is available to ensure that tourists look at one or all of their favorite big five animals. Besides just the lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and rhinos, the park offers other wildlife species like giraffes, other species found in the wilderness like birds, antelopes that visitors can’t fail to set their eyes on.
Nyungwe National Park.
It is inarguably the oldest forest in Africa and believed that it stayed green even through the ice age period. Home for mainly chimpanzees, the park protects lives of 12 more primates under the thick lush green trees found in the forest. Birding is also undertaken in this park with over 300 bird species, some of which are endemic to the park.
Gishwati-Mukura National Park.
This is the country’s newest national park, only created in 2015 as a merger between Gishwati and Mukura forests. Just in case travelers wish to explore more areas with apes, this park has a wide range of flora and primates like chimpanzees, L’Hoest’s monkeys, vervets, etc.
Rwanda’s Vegetation.
The undulating landscape is not overwhelmed by nature because it collaborates with the enormous species of vegetation found in the wilderness and in the country generally. With natural vegetation revealed by emerald and lush green forests like Gishwati, Nyungwe, Mukura and Birunga forests, the wilderness protects lives of special creatures like chimpanzees, golden monkeys and mountain gorillas, savannah grasslands glow at the strike of sunrays on its green-yellowish grass providing food for a variety of grazers like antelopes, buffaloes among others.
The eastern region teems with swamp vegetation ranging from papyrus, attracting a variety of bird species. Rwanda boasts extensive bamboo, moorland, bushlands, grasslands, acacia, montane forests, riverine forests and other assorted aquatic plants in the mix of natural vegetation that makes up 15% of total surface land.
Best time to visit Rwanda.
Summer times are traveling times because the days get longer and drinks become cooler, photographs become nicer and a lot more become relaxed. Therefore, the dry seasons of June to September and December to February are ideal for appreciating the country’s forefront tourist attractions like mountain gorillas, volcanoes, savannah parks, forests among others. Chimpanzee trekking is a peculiar activity that is best done in the wet season which starts from March to May though the peak season for this activity is November.
Whether on foot, in a car or on boats, Rwanda offers variety of wonders all around the country to raise the spirit of travelers. Rwandans are warm and friendly people hence tourists shouldn’t have a second thought about participating in any cultural activity that they would love to try, and the beauty of numerous hills is backed by the presence of water bodies that offer splendid sports and adventures like kayaking.
A country that gives exhilarating moments to all her visitors lies just south of the equator therefore temperatures are conducive and welcoming.