Rwanda, gorillas and lakes

Kigali

The capital spreads over hills linked by steep slopes, 5 km from the international airport. The Kigali Genocide Memorial commemorates the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi; more than 250,000 people are buried there, and a visitor centre explains the events.

Volcanoes National Park and the gorillas

Visitors gather at 7 a.m. at the park headquarters in Kinigi. The walk to the gorillas takes from 30 minutes to over 4 hours, at 2,500–4,000 m, and the encounter one hour at most. The permit costs 1,500 US dollars per person per day; only 96 are issued each day, from age 15.

The Bisoke hike leaves from the same headquarters; its summit, never snow-capped but often in fog, holds the largest crater lake in the range.

Lake Kivu and the Congo Nile Trail

Buses link Kigali with Gisenyi twice an hour, in 3 hours; the town has a public beach on the lake’s northern shore. From there the Congo Nile Trail follows Kivu for about 227 km to Rusizi, on foot or by bike, over several days.

Nyungwe forest

On the Burundi border, Nyungwe is most likely the best-preserved montane rainforest in Africa. A national park since 2004, it is home to 13 primate species, chimpanzees among them, and more than 300 bird species.

Huye and Nyanza

The Ethnographic Museum in Huye, about 3 hours from Kigali, traces the country’s cultural history. Close by in Nyanza, the King’s Palace Museum shows a reconstructed royal residence and its long-horned Inyambo cattle.

Akagera

In the east, along the Tanzanian border, Akagera covers 1,122 km² of savannah, mountains and swamp. Lions were reintroduced in 2015 and black rhinos in 2017; the park is home to the Big Five.