With just a 2 hour drive on road from Kigali is Volcanoes National Park Located in northwestern Rwanda bordering Virunga National Park in DR. Congo and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, this park is part of the Virunga Mountain Range and home to the World’s Endangered Mountain Gorillas, 5 of the 8 beautiful Virunga Volcanoes, the rare Golden monkeys, numerous bird species, and having a historic connection to the American primatologist Diane Fossey who grave yard is in between Mount Karisimbi & Mount Bisoke at her originally established Karisoke Research Center where she could do her Gorilla studies from. Without any doubt the number one thing you can enjoy in this National Park is Gorilla Trekking as there are twelve habituated Mountain Gorilla Groups that tourists encounter with. Apart from visiting the Gorillas, there are Volcano Hikes, Diane Fossey Tomb Hike, Bird Watching, Golden Monkey Trekking and other after trekking activities such as Cave Exploration specifically the Musanze Caves, Cultural encounters around the park like visiting the Ibyi’wacu Cultural Village, visiting Lake Kivu for a Boat Ride/Canoe Ride, Musanze City Tourand many other thrilling activities of your interests.
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is one of the popular Tourist Attractions in Rwanda and the biggest watershed in Rwanda surrounded by different resort towns with treasured beaches specifically Gisenyi and Kibuye. These resort towns have plentiful guesthouses/hotels, restaurants, and waterside sandy spacious grounds for visitors who wish to have a little rest and relaxation. Whether your pleasure is found in sunbathing in the sand or getting wet and wild swimming in the water, visiting different islands on the lake in a Boat or Canoe, undertaking water sport activities like Kayaking – Lake Kivu is a perfect place in Rwanda to unwind. Hiking some of the steep hills as you interact with the local community, Picnicking, Coffee & Tea Plantation Tours and Cycling on the Congo Nile Trail are just a few of the other activities available when paying a visit to Rwanda’s Lake Kivu.
Nyungwe National Park
Hidden in its remoteness in southwestern Rwanda at the border of Burundi to the south and Lake Kivu & DR. Congo to the west, Nyungwe National Park is one of the largely preserved and oldest fairly untouched mountain rainforest, It’s vast area of mountain rainforest is home to many primate species of Chimpanzees, Owl-Faced and Colobus Monkeys,hundreds of Bird species, some mammals, numerous hiking trails for nature lovers, beautiful Waterfalls and an extra ordinary Canopy Walk way not found in any of the national parks in Rwanda plus various Tea plantations located outside the park gates that surround thus adding to its spectacular arrays of bio – diversity. Hanging out from this National Park while undertaking among the many activities offered there will not only give you incredible joy and fun but will leave you with total satisfaction for adventure and nature plus your mind filled with great memories.
Coffee & Tea Plantations
Rwanda all over the globe is as well known by its best quality Tea and finest Coffee making the country’s Tea recognized as its number one export and its Coffee a winning international competitions as well thus it has numerous Tea and Coffee Plantations all over the country parts especially in the North and Western provinces and in the ends of Nyungwe National Park various Tea plantations surround the park on large acres of rolling slopes. Tourists undertake these plantation tours after or before their park activities which usually makes their safaris a real adventure in Rwanda.
Buhanga Eco Park
Just a short drive from Volcanoes National Park, is a hidden treasure packed with a great deal of biological and cultural significance. The park consists of ancient sacred sites that was used for coronation rituals of Rwandan Kings. Buhanga Eco Park features unique attractions with history about the king’s in Rwanda such as the Small Ditch surrounded by lava stone and flowery thicket, where king’s helpers (Abiru) would pick herbs for the king to shower as part of Coronation, a Dark Cave surrounded by huge boulders where the king was wheeled in a Royal traditional Carriage straight from his palace with no stopovers till he takes a bath with the herbs and spring-water mixture, a Conference Podium Comprised of hard, well cut lava rocks and chairs on the edge where the king would be carried to after bathing to receive kingship instruments, blessings and protection from gods. Also as you walk through you will be able to see a Small Spring containing dark water, this is where the King’s bathwater was collected as well as get to see and hear the myth about the Three in One Tree and Curse Tree with exciting histories about them.Your visit to this park will be spiced up by the amazing trails made entirely from cut lava stones, tall majestic trees, numerous plants species, beautiful & colorful butterflies plus various bird species singing with sweet melodies in the air.
Kigali Genocide Memorial Grounds
A place of remembrance and learning! This Genocide Memorial site is located in Kigali city the capital of Rwanda in Gisozi just ten minutes’ drive from the center of the town, Kigali Genocide Memorial Grounds commemorates and acts as the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi. The museum features exhibitions with archives of video testimonies from Genocide survivors and rescuers, perpetrator testimonies from court proceedings, footage from annual remembrance ceremonies (Kwibuka), archival photographs for the fallen victims hanged on walls, colonial documents, identification records, maps, foreign serials and propaganda publications and you can visit the Museum for educative, personal and research purposes to know detailed information about this horrific incident through events and historical implications of the Genocide.
Akagera National Park
Located in Eastern Rwanda hugging the border with Tanzania (another country well worth a visit), is Akagera National Park, a hidden game park characterized by woodland, swamps, low mountains and savannah that is the only home to the Big 5 Animals in Rwanda namely Lions, Elephants, Leopards, Buffalo and Eastern Black Rhinoceros. Akagera National Park also offers visitors Wildlife viewing opportunities second to none through Game Drives in its varied terrains far in its wilderness spotting numerous Wildlife such as the common Antelope species, Zebras, Giraffes, Hippos, some primates, different bird species and many more. Wildlife enthusiasts may enjoy the vast expanses of native plants and native animals during guided walks & drives, self-guided drives, or opt for a thrilling viewing experience by a boat cruise along Lake Ihema where you can watch as many Hippos and Crocodiles.
King’s Palace Museum
A visit to Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda wouldn’t be complete without visiting one of the country’s museums the King’s Palace Museum as the museum is strategically located in Nyanza Town along the road to Nyungwe National Park just two hours’ drive from Kigali city. Aside from discovering memorial sites in Kigali and outside the city areas, a visit to this museum is an interesting Tourist Attraction in Rwanda that will give you an insight into the deep culture and colonial & traditional rulership of kings of Rwanda starting from showcases such as the star attraction at the Museum which is the Inyambo (sacred cows) and their staggeringly large curved horns, the replica of a King’s Palace from the 15th century with a thatched roof, royal hut, and fresh milk hut, locally made beer hut traditionally run by an unmarried virgin girl and boy respectively, the colonial-style home that was once the royal residence of King Mutara III Rudahigwa in the mid-20th century featuring portraits of the different reigning kings and queens plus the interior design which is particularly striking, blending Rwandan patterns with European-style furniture (some of which was actually owned by the king). Your visit will be spiced up with traditional performances of traditional singers lulling the Inyambo Cows into a mellow state through poems – a ritual that’s unique to the country of Rwanda alone. The King’s Palace Museum is definitely one of the top Tourist Attractions in Rwanda.
