Rwanda is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The landscape and wildlife that you will find here is truly breathe taking. Though the country is recovering from 1994 Rwanda Genocide, over the past 20 years the country has been restructured and it is now thriving! It has become a great tourist destination in Africa. Many people who have made the trip here will tell you how great the people are and how pretty the landscape and wildlife are in the region.
Rwanda safaris are a great way for the whole family to get out and see some of the wildlife that the country has to offer. Rwanda presents to you one of the wonders of Africa with irresistible beauty and a virgin economy. It is famous for gorilla safaris and tours and wonderful culture in Africa. The movie hotel Rwanda presents the facts of what happened in the 1994 Rwanda genocide! Twenty years after the genocide the country has recovered a lot and history is changing with the change of Rwanda’s image as a good place to travel to within Africa. On the fore fronts of the recovering economy, Rwanda is gaining considerably in the tourism sector. The national parks, mountains and lakes provide numerous habitats for a diversity of wildlife, birds and other safari attractions.
About Rwanda
Despite the sad memories of the 1994 Rwandese genocide, Rwanda the land of a thousand hills has continued attracting a large number of international tourists interested in getting close to the wild and true African nature. Rwanda is blessed with a number of natural tourism resources that range from the gently sloping hills, forests, lakes, rivers and a variety of wildlife species. Most of those ecosystems and wildlife species had been damaged by the genocide however since it ended in 1994, the Rwandan government has been working hard to restore them and put Rwanda to its right full place and position – the leading tourism destination in east and central Africa.
With a series of conservation projects, the Rwandan government has secured various tourism destinations but lets look at the Nyungwe forest national park ecosystem. Nyungwe forest national park is located south western Rwanda and its among the major outstanding tourism landmarks in the country. The national park is approximately 217 kilometers from Kigali, which can be covered in a 3 hours drive. Nyungwe forest national park is fully covered by an equatorial rain forest with some of the oldest tree species in East Africa.
The forests are homes to a number of wildlife species that mainly include the chimpanzees (the prime tourist attractions), monkeys like l’hoest monkey, black and white colobus monkeys, owl faced monkeys, a number of bird species (over 300 species 27of which endemic to the Albertine region), reptiles and many others.
A trek through the jungles is very easy because there are clear tourist trails through the forest and the tourists are always guided by well-qualified guides with the necessary information about the major primates and bird inhabitants of the forest. A walk through Nyungwe forest introduces tourists to magical sounds by birds; however much as chimpanzees are the prime attractions of tourists, seeing them maybe a little complicated because they usually move from one place to another over the forests jumping from trees looking for fruits and what to eat and definitely one may fail to catch up with their speed. Those who prefer to explore the forest from the top canopies are well catered for with the 50 meters high canopy walk way.
This canopy walkway gives tourists opportunities to not only view the top forest layers but also Rwanda’s general beautiful landscape which greatly contribute to the tourists experience. Tourists to Nyungwe forest most times engage in birding, chimpanzee tracking, nature walks and the park officials continuously conserve the forest for more nature friendly tourist activity (ecotourism). Most tourists to Nyungwe always give their testimonies of how unique and amazing their tours were and if you are planning to go there, not the following.
Best Time To Visit
Rwanda can be visited all year round. However visitors taking safaris in Rwanda most especially those interested in wildlife viewing have specific months that they are think are the best for their adventure activities. Forest walks and chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe forest can be done at any time of the year however for best experiences, tourists are advised to visit in the dry seasons from around July to October. Dry seasons are preferred because there are minimal chances for rainfall and therefore make it easy for tourists to have successful hikes without any rain interruptions. During the dry season, most trails in the forest are more passable and one can take more time exploring the forest, which is usually not the case during the wet season.
Where To Stay
There are a number of accommodation facilities in Kigali and around Nyungwe forest as well. Those around Nyungwe forest national park mainly include Nyungwe forest lodge and Nyungwe top view hotel. Tourists staying around these two can be able to wake up early enough and go for tracking which is most times recommended because chimpanzees can be best tracked during the early morning hours. Other major places in Rwanda where tourists closely interact with wildlife include volcanoes national park located in north western Rwanda which has mountain gorillas and also a number of primates like golden monkeys and a number of birds as well. If not volcanoes national park, one can go to Akagera national park for savanna wildlife experiences with views of a number of wildlife species that include lions, elephants and Rothschild giraffes, hippos among others.