A Rwandan safari is one of the most rewarding and diverse on the African continent. Little, landlocked, just a few degrees south of the equator and bordered by Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda is known as the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’. And no wonder, its mountainous topography includes the Rift Valley escarpment and incorporates five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountain chain. It is here in the bamboo rainforest of Volcanoes National Park that Rwanda’s eight habituated mountain gorilla groups are found. There are no words for the wonderment of setting eyes on these primates. Not for the faint-hearted or lazy, the trek to locate them can be arduous. The vegetation is thick, and the jungle all-enveloping but the first sighting of wild mountain gorillas is a peerless experience.
Gorillas apart, there is Big Five game viewing in the savannah and wetlands of Akagera National Park to the east, also home to zebra, giraffe, elephant, 500 bird species. Lake Kivu, which borders some of the DRC, is the second smallest of the African Great Lakes, just 56 miles long by 31 miles wide and has some of the best inland beaches on the continent. And finally, in the southwest the remote Nyungwe Forest National Park, a dense pristine jungle, resonates with the screeching of boisterous chimpanzees and birdsong of more than 300 species. Apart from the astounding biodiversity and the wildlife the other component that makes this country so remarkable are the Rwandans who are blessed with indefatigable spirit and hope.
We tailor-make luxury Rwanda safaris and can create a bespoke itinerary to experience the best of this little gem.
