The Republic of Rwanda is officially a landlocked country which is situated in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Rwanda is bordered by Uganda in the north, Tanzania in South East, Burundi in the south and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west. Rwanda is among the nations whose tourism sector is growing rapidly due to upgraded accommodation, political stability, better roads, improved transport and so on. On addition to that, Rwanda is endowed with a variety of tourist attractions but in this article, let us focus on the top five below:
Mountain Gorillas – RDB annual statistics shows that Mountain Gorillas earns Rwanda the highest amount of money among all other tourist attraction in Rwanda thus the top tourist attraction. It’s on record that Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park host ten habituated mountain gorilla families which are officially trekked on daily basis. The officially habituated gorilla families in Rwanda include Susa gorilla family, Sabyinyo gorilla group, Amahoro gorilla group, Agashya gorilla Family, Umubano (‘Live Together’) gorilla Family, Kwitonda gorilla group, Hirwa family, Karisimbi family, Ugenda family and Bwenge gorilla group. At the cost of US$1500 per gorilla permit (Foreign none resident), Rwanda offers 80 gorilla permits per day. Volcanoes National Park is situated far north west of Rwanda and the park can be accessed by public or private transport means.
Kigali city – one of the cleanliest cities of Africa is Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. The city is strategically situated in central region of Rwanda. It is the Africa’s most beautiful city, with trees lined up on all roads and streets, beautifully designed roads and well-organized buildings, making it a great scene to any visitor. The safe Kigali city offers a variety of tourist attraction like Museum, Local Markets, Parliament, Worshipping centers, Stadiums, The presidential palace, Kigali International Airport, Malls, Cultural centers, Historical centers, Film theatres among others. Tourists can explore Rwanda during day or night to get maximum satisfaction.
Chimpanzees – After gorilla trekking, travelers can think of Chimpanzee trekking. Its one of the major activities done in Nyungwe national Park and the country at large. Chimpanzee trekking is specially done in Cyamudongo a part of Nyungwe National Park. The park is a high-altitude mountainous rainforest that is found in the southern part of Rwanda, and was conserved in the year of 2005. A chimpanzee permit costs $90 for foreign non-residents and $60 for foreign residents in Rwanda. Nyunwe is estimated to keep about 500 chimpanzee individuals and in requires early morning wakey up at around 4:30am and you take off from Gisakura reception. The trek starts early due to the fact that Nyungwe chimps are hard to find and taking their photos because they prefer playing the tree branches.
Virunga mountains – Virunga volcanoes covers south western part of Uganda (Mgahinga Gorilla national park), Eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo (Virunga National Park) and north west of Rwanda (Volcanoes National Park). The Virunga volcanoes looks amazing for travelers who visit Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Examples of Virunga mountains in Rwanda include Mt. Muhabura which is shared by Uganda and Rwanda. Muhabura mountain has steep slopes and hiking it is hectic but hikers on the summit can see the twin lake, other volcanoes and mountain Gorillas among others. Mountain Sabyinyo is another part of Virunga volcanoes which is shared by Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Because of its indented summit, the mountain is referred to as “Old man’s teeth” (Sabyinyo) in local language. The hike to mount Muhabura will give you a chance to see a variety of Albertine birds, mountain Gorillas, unique montane forest among others. Mountain Bisoke / Visoke is shared by Rwanda and DRC though its peak is situated in Rwanda. It’s among the possible mountains for the travelers to hike while in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
Rwanda National parks – the three Rwanda national parks include Nyungwe national Park, Volcanoes National Park and Akagera national Park are among the top tourist attraction in Rwanda. Akagera National Park is dominated with savannah grassland which facilitates game drive to see a variety of wildlife like lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo, as well as zebra, giraffe, and hundreds of bird species. The park also became the home of “THE BIG FIVE” in 2017.
Other attraction in Akagera National Park include drainage features, relief features and birds among others.
Nyungwe National Park is also referred to as “the primate paradise” with over 10 primate species co-existing in the park. It’s located in south west of Rwanda, towards the boarder of Burundi, south of Lake Kivu and west of Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s one of the oldest rain forests in Africa and the major tourist include canopy walk, birding, chimpanzee trekking among others.
Volcanoes National Park is situated in north west of Rwanda known as the Ruhengeri province. The park is famous for hosting gorilla safaris, guided walks into the Virunga to see the mountain gorillas. Other adventure activities in the park include golden monkey tracking, birding and hiking among others.
In conclusion, apart from the top 5 tourist attraction, there also other tourist attraction like Golden Monkeys, colobus monkeys, vervet Monkeys, Twin Lakes, Canopy walks, Kigali Airport, Nyanza old Kings Palace, Genocide Memorial Museum and Art and craft shops among others.