Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesTerraces to the Horizon
Almost every hillside in Rwanda is farmed in contour terraces — the landscape is entirely made by hand.
RWANDA · Tourism
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.
East AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
Land of a thousand hillsKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
MountainsThe Virunga Volcanoes
Five cones along the border — Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura — with a crater lake at the top of Bisoke.
WaterfallsIsumo, Under Nyungwe
A steep tea-and-forest walk down to the Isumo falls on the western edge of the Nyungwe canopy.
Lake Kivu
One of Africa's great lakes, with no bilharzia, no crocodiles, and the Congo Nile Trail along its shore.
Photo Edouard MIHIGO / Pexels
Beaches & CoastRubavu Lakeshore
Sand, palms and calm freshwater at Gisenyi, an hour from the gorilla trailheads.
Forests & RainforestThe Nyungwe Canopy Walk
A suspension walkway sixty metres above one of Africa's oldest montane rainforests, with thirteen primate species below it.
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
Face to Face with Gorillas
Ten habituated families on the Virunga slopes, one hour with them, eight people at a time.
Photo Alan Cabello / Pexels
SafariAkagera, Big Five Again
Lion returned in 2015, rhino in 2017; the eastern savanna park now has all five, twenty years after losing them.
Photo Derek Keats / Pexels
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.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Intore, the Dance of Heroes
The Intore warriors' dance, the inanga zither, and drumming that was once the property of the king alone.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
Living Memory
Cultural villages near Musanze where former poachers now guide, and the beekeepers and potters of the Virunga foothills.
Photo From Salih / Pexels
Brochettes and Isombe
Grilled goat brochettes, cassava leaf isombe, tilapia from Kivu, and some of the best coffee grown anywhere.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
Kwita Izina
The annual gorilla naming ceremony at Kinigi, where every infant born that year is named in front of the whole district.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
Traditional Arts & CraftsImigongo and Agaseke
Geometric imigongo panels in black, white and ochre, and the woven agaseke peace basket that is on the coat of arms.
Photo Diego F. Parra / Pexels
Nyanza, the King's Palace
The reconstructed royal residence at Nyanza, thatched and enormous, with the long-horned Inyambo cattle still kept.
Photo vasu dev / Pexels
Memory and Reconstruction
The Kigali Genocide Memorial is where any honest visit to Rwanda starts, and it explains everything that came after.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
CitiesKigali, Across the Ridges
Built along ridge lines, swept every morning, and with a monthly Umuganda when the whole city cleans it together.
The Convention Centre Dome
The Kigali Convention Centre dome, lit at night in the national colours, above a city of red-roofed ridges.
Kimironko Market
Fabric, fruit and everything else under one roof, and the tailors who will make it up by tomorrow.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
Umuganda
The last Saturday of every month, the country stops and works on something communal. Visitors are welcome to join.
Photo Bullet Honore / Pexels
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
The Congo Nile Trail
227 kilometres along Lake Kivu on foot or by bike, through coffee terraces and fishing villages.
Photo Edouard MIHIGO / Pexels
Bisoke Crater Lake
Three hours up through nettles and bamboo to a crater lake at 3,711 m, and three hours back down through mud.
Photo kevin yung / Pexels
Lodges Below the Volcanoes
A handful of very good lodges within sight of the park boundary, built so the trek starts after breakfast.
Photo Keegan Checks / Pexels
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Mist on the Volcanoes
The Virunga chain clears for about an hour after dawn, and the terraces below hold the light for longer.
Hidden GemsGishwati-Mukura
Rwanda's newest national park, a recovering forest between Nyungwe and the volcanoes that almost nobody visits.
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.
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.
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