Rwanda is very gifted nature and has great landscapes especially of the gently sloping hills and it for this reason that it was given the name “the land of a thousand hills”. The country has a number of tourist attractions that range from natural wildlife attractions in the major national parks as well as man made attractions.
Today, Rwanda is among the leading tourist destinations in east and central Africa and it’s definitely a destination one must not miss to visit on the African continent.
Sadly, Rwanda in 1994 experienced a horrific genocide where close to 1 million people were murdered mercilessly. Many fled to exile in the neighboring countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo as the civil war continuously unveiled and spreading to all parts of the country. The war broke up around April in Kigali after the killing of the then president Juvenal Habyarimana around Kigali. The war within a short period of time spread allover the country and ended in July.
After the war, the Rwandan government under Paul Kagame started working hard to restore the country’s image and peace. The people in exile started going back to their homeland and after a series of developmental programs; the country has greatly regained and restored its image and today it’s among the leading tourist destinations in east Africa and the world at large. Below are the major reasons why any one must not miss visiting this beautiful country.
The Beautiful Landscapes
Rwanda has very beautiful landscapes especially of the gently sloping hills especially in the countryside most of which are covered with large plantations of coffee, tea and bananas. All these offer great green scenic views that one can only experience in Rwanda. Just viewing the landscapes is very refreshing and most people always feel like staying there forever.
Wildlife Attractions
Rwanda has unique wildlife attractions that range from wild animals to ecosystems offering remarkable wildlife experiences to tourists on wildlife safaris in the country. Most of the wildlife attractions in Rwanda are situated in Rwanda’s four major national parks that include Akagera national park, which is located in the eastern part of the country. It’s the only savanna national park and has a number of wildlife attractions like lions, waterbucks, crocodiles, hippos, elephants, giraffes and a number of bird species. These can best viewed by tourists on game drives, boat trips and nature walks in the national park.
There are a number of primates in Rwanda most of which inhabit in the jungles of Nyungwe forest national park which is located in the southwestern part of Rwanda. The park has the highest chimpanzee populations in Rwanda and it’s the best place for chimpanzee tracking. A number of birds can also be experienced here.
Volcanoes national park is yet another wildlife destination in Rwanda with the prime wildlife tourist attraction in the country the mountain gorillas. There are only about 900 mountain gorillas remaining on earth and volcanoes national has about 300 of them with 10 habituated mountain gorilla families. Each mountain gorilla family can be trekked by a group of 8 tourists a day spending with them only one hour. There are other wildlife attractions in volcanoes national park and they mainly include golden monkeys, a number of bird species, forest elephants and many others. The newly established national park is Gishwati forest national park, which is also located in the western part of the country. The park has a number of wildlife species especially primates, birds forest duikers among others.
Safety In The Country
Rwanda much as experienced a genocide back in 1994 is today among the safest countries on the planet. Kigali Rwanda’s capital city is very safe in terms of security and health. Kigali is very clean and this is maintained by the monthly general cleaning day called Omuganda where all Rwandese nationals gather every last Saturday of the month and engage in general cleaning.
Welcoming People
The people of Rwanda are very hospitable and welcoming and most times their social nature encourages tourists to continuously visit Rwanda. Rwandese are always ready to help incase any one needs assistance and even though they do not understand what you are saying, they will do their best to ensure that they extend the needed help. They are very friendly and free to share and communicate.
