3 things to do in Rwanda

[Karatrick]

Rwanda is a central east African country with a tempered climate and endless hills which gives the country a nickname of the land of Thousand Hills, The country has recently introduced visa on arrival to all nationalities, this gives many people a high chance of ending up in Kigali the capital city at some point in time. As a local below are my top 3 things to do while you are here.

Taken at a popular spot in Kigali

1. Gorilla trekking

This is a lifetime opportunity, while you won't find mountain gorillas in their natural habitat anywhere else in the world except in this forest shared between Rwanda, Uganda and Congo, I would recommend to spare a two hours drive from Kigali and spend an hour in the volcanic bamboo forest above 2600 meters of altitude.  you will be as well rewarded with breathtaking scenery wether on the descent or ascending to meet the gorillas. I like going there especially for hiking.

Gorillas Natural habitat at 3000 meters of altitude

2. Visit Akagera National Park

The national park in the east part of the country where the landscape is less hilly is home the African savanna Big five, you can drive there in two hours and self-drive in the park, you will be guaranteed to see many wild animals mainly Zebras, Impalas, Giraffes, Hippos, buffaloes and Various type of Birds and with a bit of luck  you can spot leopards, Elephants and the jackpot will be The recently reintroduced Lions and rhinos. 

ImpalaTopiHippoAfrican Fishing Eagle in action

3. Visit the Rain Forest

The Southwest part of the country is covered by a Tropical Rain forest that is home to various chimpanzees and monkeys species with beautiful scenery, in the middle of the forest there is a canopy walkway high at 60 meters above forest trees, and further at the exit of the forest you get rewarded with a beautiful tea plantation area before heading to little bit north where there is lakeside town called Karongi one of my favourite weekend getaways.

Not so Scary

LakesideThousands HillsNear Sunset time

[BeatrizAguilar]

@Karatrick All activities look as a big adventure. Great sunset, by the way

[Karatrick]

Thank you @BeatrizAguilar

[aaryesdee]

@Karatrick

Thanks for sharing the details with us. Good review indeed.

Regards

aaryesdee

[AlexaAC]

Hey @Karatrick,

Thanks for sharing this with us! Your photos are just beautiful and the activities sound amazing! This is very helpful for anyone looking to plan a visit to Rwanda. It actually reminds me very much of home.

That said, I'd love to see the chimpanzees, but I'm not brave enough to cross that swing bridge. 😀 Is there another way? 

[Karatrick]

@AlexaAC Thanks,

There are actually many hiking trails, you can walk beneath or around the canopy walk instead.  But the view is quite different.

This what you see from the canopy walkThis a view from under the trees

The view walking around the canopy

@AlexaAC How does your home country look like?  I am interested to see!

[AlexaAC]

Wow, absolutely breathtaking @Karatrick, thanks!

I'm happy to share a post I wrote about South Africa. Feel free to check it out! Have you been? 

[Karatrick]

@AlexaAC I haven't yet visited South Africa, But the pictures in your post are Amazing, I'm going to add SA to my list now. 

[IrrPavlova]

Rwanda looks stunning, @Karatrick. Thank you for sharing. I would love to visit. Are the gorillas easy to come across? I'm putting Rwanda on my bucket list. 🙂

[Karatrick]

Thank you, @IrrPavlova

Meeting the gorilla is guarantee once you have booked and you can get as close as 7 meters to the gorillas, the baby ones sometimes even get much closer especially when they are attracted by Cameras or just playing around.

From the car Parking area to the forest there is a gentle walk/hike of 1 to 2 Km depending on the location of the gorilla family you are visiting. Many people I know have met the gorillas just hiking the volcanoes, I'm still trying my luck on this.

I'll be happy to get you even more tips,