Rwanda is the tiniest landlocked country in East Africa, lying on the eastern rim of the Albertine Rift and is the watershed between Africa’s two largest river systems: the Nile and the Congo. Rwanda borders on Uganda in the north, Tanzania in the east, Burundi in the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the west. Referred to as the "land of a thousand hills", Rwanda is a mountainous country with an average elevation of 1,700m and a moist, temperate year-round climate.

The country's capital is Kigali, housing its international airport to which international and intra-East African flights operate.
On the western side of the plateau you will find Rwanda's principal geographic feature; the famous chain of volcanoes - the Virungas - which it shares with Congo and Uganda and which are part of the Albertine Rift and home to the most famous tourist attraction: the mountain gorillas!

Rwanda has without doubt more to offer than the mountain gorillas. Another of Rwanda's popular attractions is the Nyungwe National Park, which primarily is a montane rain forest and a unique habitat for more than 300 colobus monkey, chimpanzees and other primates! There is also the beautiful Akagera National Park - savannah plains with elephant, hippo, antelope and crocodile. Lake Kivu is a beautiful inland sea enclosed by steep terraced hillsides and home to a large variety of birds.
Rwanda has a rich culture with its second city, Butare, having one of the finest cultural museums in Africa. Rwanda, together with Burundi and Tanzania, was part of the German East African colony. After the First World War, the country became a Belgian protectorate. Originally the domain of hunter-gatherers, Rwanda emerged into a centralised state with a feudal monarchy in the fifteenth century. It became a German colony in 1890 and was mandated to the Belgians after the First World War. In 1962, under Prime Minister Gregoire Kayibanda, Rwanda gained independence. Ten years later Major General Juvenal Habyarimana came to power. His death in a plane crash in April 1994 unleashed the genocide in which about one million Rwandans are thought to have been killed and nearly twice as many fled into exile. In recent years, as peace and stability have returned under President Kagame, many Rwandans have come back. Local elections were held for the first time in 35 years in 2001 and are an encouraging sign of the steady return of stability to the country.
French, English and Kinyarwanda are the most widely spoken languages and the population of about 10 million people is largely Christian with some Muslim and traditional communities.

RWANDA'S MAIN ATTRACTIONS
Parc National des Volcans (PNV) - The park is part of the Virunga Conservation Area and covers more than 125 km².PNV is home of five Virunga volcanoes: Sabyinyo (3.674 m), Gahinga (3.474 m), Bisoke (3711 m), Muhabura (4.127 m), and the Karisimbi, the highest volcano with an altitude of 4.507 m. All five volcanoes on the Rwandan side are extinct.
The parks most famous inhabitants - the mountain gorillas - spend most of their time in the hagenia woodlands and bamboo forests (1800-3300m). During the raing season when new bamboo shoots are growing, the gorillas spend more time foraging in the bamboo forests (base altitude). A trek to the natural habitat of bamboo forest and Hagenia woodlands offers fantastic views over the surrounding area.
The PNV became more famous with Dian Fossey's research into the behaviour of the mountain gorillas, with her base at the Karisoke Research Centre for over 18 years. (She tragically died on the 26th of December 1985). A visit to Dian Fossey's memorial can also be arranged with a gorilla trek in the PNV.

There are 5 main gorilla groups habituated for tourism:
* The Susa group which has more than 38 individuals (toughest trek)
* The Amahoro group which has 14 individuals.
* The Sabinyo group which has 11 individuals.
* The Umubano group has 8 individuals (this break away group of Amahoro)
* Group 13 has 18 individuals
(Data as of 5th of April 2006)

Access to the area starts with Ruhengeri a town about 1h30 drive from Kigali and afterwards to Kinigi (14 km from Ruhengeri) whiche takes another 30 minutes. Due to the altitude it is generally quite cold, especially during the evenings and nights. Gorilla viewing is possible all the year round.
Ib'Iwacu Village Cultural Program - Communities around the Volcanoes National Park have embraced this Community Based Tourism project to raise their income levels through a participative approach in tourism as an incentive for conservation. 40% of the expected profits will be put back to community development projects (research, conservation, education, cultural and ecotourism development) and 60% will go directly to local people in the villages who will determine what to do with it.
Iby'Iwacu means "the way we do, our way of living".
The village is located on the edge of Volcanoes NP and the local community displays the traditional ways of living, traditional dances and songs (Intore, Ikinimba, Batwa dances and many more), local fire making, visit to the kings house replica, Batwa shooting arrows, Traditional healer (with Kubandwa/Nyabingi experience), grinding millet on traditional stones, banana beer making experience and many more.

NYUNGWE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Nyungwe forest is an Albertine Rift montane rainforest. The Albertine Rift forms the epicentre of Africa's montane rainforest circle. It is dominated by a series of mountain chains, originating on the Lendu Plateau in northern Uganda and Congo, running south through the Rwenzori mountains, western Rwanda and Burundi, to some isolated massifs on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The Albertine Rift eco-region is one of Africa's most endemic rich regions.
Nyungwe forest has only recently been awarded the status of National Park and became the largest protected high-altitude rainforest in East Africa. It has been particularly important to protect the forest reserve as the highest population pressures in Africa are to be found within the Albertine Rift, and this forest hosts the biggest water reservoir for the country.
The highland forest covers 970 km² and has a unique habitat. The park has 25 % of the primates of Africa with its 13 recorded primate species including chimpanzees, golden monkeys, mangebeys, colobus and vervet monkeys and three species of bushbaby. The forest is also a haven for birds with over 300 recorded species including the Ruwenzori turaco, Ross’s turaco, Grey–cheeked hornbill, Red-throated alethe, Red-breasted sparrow hawk, White-headed wood-hoopoe, Kungwe apalis, Ruwenzori batis, Blue-headed and Regal sunbirds.
Nyungwe Forest has rich and wide species of flora with 200 species of trees and more than 100 species of orchid! The park has an extensive network of walking trails leading through various waterfalls and viewoints. Nyungwe offers scenic views over the forest, Lake Kivu and part of the Virungas.

AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK
Is located in the east of Rwanda along the Akagera river which is the natural border with Tanzania. The park was created in 1936 and was once in terms of natural beauty, landscape, scenery and animal life, one of the best national parks. The National Park has been de-gazetted by two-thirds of its original territory due to human pressure.
Wildlife has also been considerably reduced during the war by heavy poaching. The park has still a remarkable selection of birdlife with over 500 bird species in its swamps and wetlands along the Akagera River.
Set at a relatively low altitude on the border with Tanzania, Akagera National Park could scarcely be more different in mood to the breezy cultivated hills that characterise much of Rwanda. Dominated scenically by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River, the most remote source of the Nile, this is the archetypical African savannah landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland.
In the 1960s, the Park was part of a much larger ecosystem that included Uganda's Kikagati Game Reserve, Lake Mburo National Park, and rangeland areas north to the Katonga River (Uganda). Across the Akagera River to the east, the ecosystem extended into Tanzania's Ibanda and Rumanyika Game Reserves, with corridors of relatively unsettled wood and bushland linking these areas to the Biharamulo and Burigi Game Reserves farther south, between Lake Victoria and the Rwanda border. Today, the Akagera-Lake Mburo ecosystem is fragmented and its wildlife populations are confined to small, disturbed enclaves. Akagera NP and Lake Mburo NP, which are surrounded by cattle ranches, have been both reduced. Uganda’s Katonga WR is also isolated by surrounding villages, and its wildlife populations have been greatly reduced. On the Tanzania side, human settlements block wildlife corridors to Biharamulo and Burigi. Thus, the protection of Akagera is critically important for the conservation of the remnants of this unique and diverse biotic community. Camping alongside the picturesque lakes of Akagera is a truly mystical introduction to the wonders of the African bush. Pods of 50 hippopotami grunt and splutter throughout the day, while outsized crocodiles soak up the sun with their vast jaws menacingly agape. Magically, the air is torn apart by the unforgettable high duetting of a pair of fish eagles, asserting their status as the avian monarchs of Africa's waterways. Lining the lakes are some of the continent’s densest concentrations of waterbirds, while the connecting marshes are the haunt of the endangered and exquisite papyrus gonolek, and the bizarre but rare shoebill stork - the latter perhaps the most eagerly sought of all African birds.

THE VOLCANIC LAKES
The five volcanic lakes; Kivu, Bulera, Ruhondo, Bunyonyi and Mutanda, on the borders of Rwanda and Uganda have their own special attractions. Lake Kivu, on the Rwanda/Congo border, is the largest of the volcanic lakes, more like a giant inland sea with some interesting towns bordering its banks. Lake Kivu is often referred to as "the exploding lake" due to the trapped methane beneath the bedrock  which is currently being tapped for use as fuel. Kibuye, two hours from Kigali, is a relaxing retreat for swimming, canoeing and water-skiing. Gisenyi, once a famous resort in the country's colonial past, now has a sleepy, forgotten air with some fine but neglected buildings from the Belgian era. The twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo are attractive places to visit after gorilla tracking in PNV in Rwanda.

MAIN CITIES
BUTARE
Is a pleasant university town, which contains the exceptional National Museum which has a fine display of the history of the country and people. Aim 4 Africa recommends a visit to the National Museum in Butare as it has a lot of interesting historical and cultural facts and artefacts. The Roman Catholic Cathedral, built in memory of Princess Astrid of Belgium, is the largest in the country. At Nyanza, nearby, there is the court of the former King.

KIGALI
Has been the capital of Rwanda since 1965. An attractive city, it spreads over a number of hills and although it saw some difficult times through the genocide in 1994 and as power changed hands subsequently, it now has a pleasant, buoyant air. The main shopping and commercial area is around the Hotel Mille Collines, with the government district on the neighboring Kaciyiru hill. The markets, the handicrafts, the Muslim quarter and a new genocide memorial being built in Gisozi are some of the main places of interest.
The Kigali Memorial Centre at Gisozi was opened on the 10th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, in April 2004. The Centre in Kigali was created by a joint partnership of the Kigali City Council and the UK-based Aegis Trust. The creation of the Kigali Memorial Centre was funded by a number of donors worldwide.

The centre contains a permanent exhibition of the Rwandan genocide and an exhibition of other genocides around the world. The Aegis Trust actively seeks the prevention of Genocide worldwide. The Centre includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the genocide in 1994. There is also a children’s memorial, and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The Education Centre, Memorial Gardens and National Documentation Centre of the Genocide all contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished, and form a powerful educational tool for the next generation.In 2000, the Kigali City Council began to construct the shell of a building, which was eventually to become the Memorial Centre.

Aegis was invited to turn the aspiration for a centre into a reality. The Aegis Trust then began to collect data from across the world to create the three graphical exhibits. The text for all three exhibitions was printed in three languages, designed in the UK at the Aegis head office by their design team, and shipped to Rwanda to be installed.The Kigali Memorial Centre is an international centre. It deals with a topic of international importance, with far-reaching significance, and is designed to engage and challenge an international visitor base.The response from genocide survivors to the creation of the Centre was unpredicted. In the first week, over 1,500 survivors visited each day. In the first three months of the Centre's opening, around 60,000 people from a variety of backgrounds visited it. Over 7,000 of these visitors were from the International Community.

TYPES OF SAFARI
Aim 4 Africa runs two types of safari in Rwanda:
* Scheduled safaris depart on set dates and follow a set itinerary. A minimum of two persons travel on each scheduled safari.
* Tailor-made, private safaris are created specifically to suit individual interests to meet where, when and what they want to do. A list of suggested itineraries is given below to give you inspiration and a flavor of what is possible. Please ask for further details.

CONTACT US for information on our safaris to Rwanda.
If you wish to have a short gorilla trek in Rwanda (minimum 3 days) as an extension to a Kenyan, Tanzanian or Ugandan Safari, then please contact us for details of any special offers and a program tailored to meet your requirements and interests.

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