Rwanda Tourism; National Parks in Rwanda – Safari Destinations in Rwanda
Dubbed the land of a thousand hills, Rwanda has taken advantage of its beauty to develop her tourism potential. The tourism in Rwanda is apparently a significant contributor to the Country’s foreign exchange and a hub for employment.
Rwanda is recognized as a gorilla safari destination since a section of habituated mountain gorillas thrive in her Volcanoes National Park in the North West. Besides gorillas, Rwanda is endowed with chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest along with Black and white colobus and other 11 primate species. The savannah destination of Akagera National Park is a haven for Rwanda wildlife safaris with the opportunity to explore the lions, elephants, Giraffes, Leopards, Buffaloes among others. The park also features an extensive wetland system which is the largest in the country.
Rwanda’s tourism is not vested in nature alone. The country is endowed with rich culture, heritage and history. Talk of the cultural hub of Butare where the National Museum is located with over 100, 000 artifacts, the Nyanza palace which is the traditional palace for the Kings of Rwanda not forgetting the Rwesero Art gallery present rewarding cultural attractions.
The 1994 horrific genocide is the darkest history that Rwanda has ever had. Its scars are all over the country and the genocide memorial sites are spread all over the country including the Kigali Genocide memorial at Gisozi, Murambi genocide memorial, Nyamata genocide Memorial among others. This has made dark tourism in Rwanda to flourish.
Below is a list of Rwandas National Parks
Volcanoes National Park: Volcanoes National Park similarly denoted in French as Parc National des Volcanos is positioned in north-western part of Rwanda sharing the border post withVirunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Well celebrated for its mountain gorillas, this park also contains five of the general eight volcanic highlands in the Virunga area including; Karisimbi, Bisoke, Sabyinyo Gahinga and Muhabura. READ MORE
Nyungwe National Park: The adjacent town of Cyangungu is approximately 54 km in the western direction while the Mountain of Bigugu is situated within the park boarders. Being a biodiversity hot spot, Nyungwe is considerd a conservation priority in Africa. The park contains over 13 primate species including; Chimpanzee, L’Hoest’s Monkey Silver Monkey, Adolf Friedrich’s Angola, Golden Monkey, Red-tailed Monkey, Hamlyn’s Monkey, Dent’s Mona Monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Vervet Monkey and Olive Baboon; 1068 plant species as it is one of the surviving pre historic montane forests even during the last ice age, 85 mammal species, 275 species of birds marked as an important bird area by the bird international. READ MORE
Akagera National Park: The game in Akagera national park includes; buffalo, elephant, zebra, giraffe and array of antelope. The exciting note is that this park and its enclosed lakes compete favorably in terms of hippopotamus concentrations in Africa. The Nile crocodile has also extended to secure another dwelling in Akagera national park while other shy rare animals like spotted hyenas and leopard have been registered. The ranges of minor predators also exist including mongoose, bush babies, olive baboons, serval cats, genets and silver monkey species. The beautiful slender Impala is the most common of the 12 antelope species recorded in the park. READ MORE
RWANDA FACTS & OTHER RWANDA SAFARI ATTRACTIONS
Rwanda Facts; Rwanda is also known as the Republic of Rwanda is found in the central and East Africa. The country borders countries like Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and DRC. The country lies a few degrees in the southern part of the equator and it is a land locked country, with Kigali as a capital city. Rwanda covers an area of 26,338 sq. km therefore can accommodate a number of people and in the larges countries it takes the 149th position in the world. The country has two rainy seasons the first staring from February to June and the other one of September to December. There are also two dry seasons which are from June to September and December to February. READ MORE
Rwanda Culture & History; Rwanda is one of the stronghold countries in Africa with a deep linguistic coherence among its people. It entirely consists of three main tribes; the Tutsis, Hutus, and the Twa but all speak the same language called Kinyarwanda. These three tribes can be identified probably basing on their physical build but they have a strong coloration in terms of values of religion and are averagely spread in the entire territory. However they have deep political differences that are believed to have resulted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Rwanda culture is not only shaped by the settlers of the land but also the refugees in the diaspora more especially in the adjacent countries of Uganda and Congo who still draw much of their attachment to their mother country – Rwanda. READ MORE
Rwanda Flights;
Flights in Rwanda arrive and depart from the largest Airport that is Kigali Airport
From Nairobi 5 major airlines serve the Kigali area and from Dubai 1 major airlines serve the Kigali area.
Flights from Nairobi to Kigali start at 8:35am and the journey is 1 hour. From Dubai to Kigali the flight starts at 6:30am and it takes 6 hours.
The closet flight to Rwanda is Gregoire Kayibanda Airport and that is in Kigali and it flies to 17 cities and a week it arranges 14 domestic flights and 469 international flights. READ MORE
1 Day Rwanda Gorilla Tour; is designed to enable time constrained Rwanda safari undertakers also to have an opportunity to track the critically endangered mountain gorillas.
2 Days Rwanda Gorilla Safari Adventure; Meet our guide and exchange greetings after your breakfast from your lodge and then transfer to Volcanoes national park head offices.
3 Days Gorilla Safari to Volcanoes National Park; On arrival at Kanombe-Kigali International Airport you will meet our guide and then take Kigali city excursion to Rwanda Memorial Genocide.
4 Days Rwanda Adventure Safari; exposes you to the climbing of Karisimbi Volcano 4,507m which is the highest point in Rwanda and the 6th in Africa thus giving you great views.
5 Days Rwanda Gorilla Tour; safaris involves chimpanzee trekking and Canopy walk in Nyungwe forest National Park, gorilla trekking and Dian Fossey hiking in Volcanoes National Park.
5 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking; At arrival you will be picked from the airport by our company representative who will transfer you to Parc Nationale des Volcanoes.
7 Days Rwanda Gorilla Safari; safari exposes you the rich wild game of Akagera National Park including Giraffes, Elephants, Buffalo, Zebra, Antelopes among others.
8 Days Rwanda Gorilla Safari; gives a cross sectional encounter of Rwanda as a safari destination. It involves exploring the city of Kigali – one of the fancy cities in the region.
9 Days Rwanda Gorilla Safari; is designed to enable you explore the wildlife, culture, primates and scenic offerings of Rwanda as a safari destination. This 9 days Rwanda safari involves Kigali city tour.