A first-time guide to Rwanda

22.11.2024 - 23:19 / lonelyplanet.com

Nov 22, 2024 • 11 min read

Sitting pretty in the center of Africa, tiny landlocked Rwanda serves up the best of the continent in one bite-sized adventure. A nation blessed with stunning natural attractions, a journey in the "Land of a Thousand Hills" leads you through its fertile undulating landscapes of verdant jungle-clad volcanoes, pristine montane forests and emerald tea plantations. But it’s the opportunity to hang out with mountain gorillas that’s of course Rwanda’s main lure; legitimately one of the most enthralling and humbling wildlife encounters on the planet! Add in chimpanzee sightings and safari adventures to spy the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo), and it becomes clear just how big Rwanda is for a little country.

No discussion of Rwanda can take place without mentioning the atrocities of the 1994 genocide when an estimated 800,000 victims tragically lost their lives. Thirty years on the healing continues in a country lauded for its resilience and reconciliation. This has paved the way for a new chapter in the nation’s history, which not only is widely regarded as one of Africa’s safest countries for travelers, but one of its most prosperous, cleanest and greenest with progressive environmental and sustainability policies in place alongside gender equality rights.

The good news is that if you’re here to see the mountain gorillas, Rwanda is very much a year-round destination. But just how muddy you’re prepared to get is another matter! The jungle trails are always a bit of a slip and slide but come the rainy season (March to May and September to November) things are taken to a whole new level.

Avoid the mud by visiting during the dry season (June to September), but with that comes bigger crowds. Aim for September to coincide your visit with the Kwita Izina gorilla-naming ceremony, one of the biggest events of the year when crowds gather for the annual naming of newborn gorillas accompanied by festivities and celebrity visits.

For a cheaper visit, aim for the offseason (November to May) when there is a 30% discount on gorilla permits, which are much easier to secure.

The first rainy season from March to May meanwhile is a good time to see chimpanzees, who come down from the treetops to feed on the fruits at this time of the year. If you’re here for the Big Five in Akagera National Park, the dry season is the best time to visit.

While theoretically – if moving at breakneck speed – you could tick off the capital Kigali and Volcanoes National Park within a few days, to do that would be a disservice to what Rwanda offers. Hence a week is about the bare minimum, but two (or better, three) weeks is about right.

One week would not only allow you to take in Kigali’s sights and