Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Terraces to the Horizon
Almost every hillside in Rwanda is farmed in contour terraces — the landscape is entirely made by hand.
East Africa · Afrinkong
Rwanda
Land of a thousand hills.
Mountain gorillas on the Virunga volcanoes, a canopy walk over Nyungwe, Lake Kivu, and a capital that is among the cleanest and safest in Africa.
Where it is
Africa · East Africa · Rwanda
The land in brief
- Spans
- 220 km E–W, 200 km N–S
- Latitude
- 1°S to 3°S
- Borders
- 4 countries
- Sea
- Landlocked
- Best time
- The long dry season, June to September, is the one for trekking.
Also in East Africa
BurundiThe southernmost source of the NileDjiboutiWhere three plates pull apartEritreaArt deco Asmara, and the Dahlak islandsEthiopiaThe roof of AfricaKenyaWhere the safari was invented
Compare Rwanda with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
The long dry season, June to September, is the one for trekking.
01Highlights
What Rwanda is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Face to Face with Gorillas
Ten habituated families on the Virunga slopes, one hour with them, eight people at a time.
Mountains
The Virunga Volcanoes
Five cones along the border — Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura — with a crater lake at the top of Bisoke.
Beaches & Coast
Rubavu Lakeshore
Sand, palms and calm freshwater at Gisenyi, an hour from the gorilla trailheads.
Forests & Rainforest
The Nyungwe Canopy Walk
A suspension walkway sixty metres above one of Africa's oldest montane rainforests, with thirteen primate species below it.
Intore, the Dance of Heroes
The Intore warriors' dance, the inanga zither, and drumming that was once the property of the king alone.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Rwanda with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Terraces to the HorizonAlmost every hillside in Rwanda is farmed in contour terraces — the landscape is entirely made by hand.
- The Virunga VolcanoesFive cones along the border — Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura — with a crater lake at the top of Bisoke.
- Isumo, Under NyungweA steep tea-and-forest walk down to the Isumo falls on the western edge of the Nyungwe canopy.
- Lake KivuOne of Africa's great lakes, with no bilharzia, no crocodiles, and the Congo Nile Trail along its shore.
- Rubavu LakeshoreSand, palms and calm freshwater at Gisenyi, an hour from the gorilla trailheads.
- The Nyungwe Canopy WalkA suspension walkway sixty metres above one of Africa's oldest montane rainforests, with thirteen primate species below it.
Wildlife
- Face to Face with GorillasTen habituated families on the Virunga slopes, one hour with them, eight people at a time.
- Akagera, Big Five AgainLion returned in 2015, rhino in 2017; the eastern savanna park now has all five, twenty years after losing them.
- Ten Percent, Back to the HillsA share of every permit goes to the communities bordering the parks, and gorilla numbers have climbed since it started.
- Bisoke Crater LakeThree hours up through nettles and bamboo to a crater lake at 3,711 m, and three hours back down through mud.
People and culture
- Intore, the Dance of HeroesThe Intore warriors' dance, the inanga zither, and drumming that was once the property of the king alone.
- Living MemoryCultural villages near Musanze where former poachers now guide, and the beekeepers and potters of the Virunga foothills.
- Kwita IzinaThe annual gorilla naming ceremony at Kinigi, where every infant born that year is named in front of the whole district.
- Imigongo and AgasekeGeometric imigongo panels in black, white and ochre, and the woven agaseke peace basket that is on the coat of arms.
- Brochettes and IsombeGrilled goat brochettes, cassava leaf isombe, tilapia from Kivu, and some of the best coffee grown anywhere.
- UmugandaThe last Saturday of every month, the country stops and works on something communal. Visitors are welcome to join.
- Kimironko MarketFabric, fruit and everything else under one roof, and the tailors who will make it up by tomorrow.
Places
- Kigali, Across the RidgesBuilt along ridge lines, swept every morning, and with a monthly Umuganda when the whole city cleans it together.
- The Convention Centre DomeThe Kigali Convention Centre dome, lit at night in the national colours, above a city of red-roofed ridges.
- Nyanza, the King's PalaceThe reconstructed royal residence at Nyanza, thatched and enormous, with the long-horned Inyambo cattle still kept.
- Memory and ReconstructionThe Kigali Genocide Memorial is where any honest visit to Rwanda starts, and it explains everything that came after.
Ways to travel
- The Congo Nile Trail227 kilometres along Lake Kivu on foot or by bike, through coffee terraces and fishing villages.
- Lodges Below the VolcanoesA handful of very good lodges within sight of the park boundary, built so the trek starts after breakfast.
- Mist on the VolcanoesThe Virunga chain clears for about an hour after dawn, and the terraces below hold the light for longer.
- Gishwati-MukuraRwanda's newest national park, a recovering forest between Nyungwe and the volcanoes that almost nobody visits.
03Why go
The case for Rwanda.
Why Visit This Country
Small Country, Nothing Missing
Gorillas, canopy forest, Big Five and a lake shore, all within three hours of a capital you can walk at night.
Hidden Gems
Gishwati-Mukura
Rwanda's newest national park, a recovering forest between Nyungwe and the volcanoes that almost nobody visits.
Eco Tourism
Ten Percent, Back to the Hills
A share of every permit goes to the communities bordering the parks, and gorilla numbers have climbed since it started.
Heritage
Memory and Reconstruction
The Kigali Genocide Memorial is where any honest visit to Rwanda starts, and it explains everything that came after.
04Go deeper
All of Rwanda, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Rwanda starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.