Rwanda is one of the best tourist spots on the African continent. This tiny country located in East or central Africa is loved by many tourists who have visited the country, a few years ago severely affected by one of the inhumane terror; the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Twenty years after the genocide the country is blossoming, peaceful and developing at a great rate better than many other African countries. Many travelers from all over the world fly to Rwanda mainly to explore the beauty of the country. The country has a number of tourists spots that make it a unique destination to explore on the African continent. These include national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that host a big number of attractions most of them are rarely met in other countries. Here are the 3 top places to visit while on a Rwanda safari for those who love adventure, scenery and culture!
Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes national park is one of Rwanda’s most visited national park; it’s located a few kilometers from Kigali Rwanda’s capital and its largest city. It’s located in Ruhengeri musanze district in the northwestern part of Rwanda. It borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Volcanoes national park is gifted by very many wonders ranging from the rare mountain gorillas hardly seen in other countries. Volcanoes national park in particular and Rwanda in general was made very famous due to the works of George Schaller and more recently by Dian Fossy who studied and habituated mountain gorillas in the slopes Bisoke for over 20 years.
Nyungwe National Park
This is also another protected montane rain forest in central Africa covering an area of around 970 km² of rainforest, bamboo, grassland, swamps, and bogs. it is located in the south western part of Rwanda near the edge of Burundi to the south and the Lake Kivu and the democratic republic of Congo to the west. It is just a drive of about 5-7 hours up to the park from Kigali Rwanda’s capital and its largest city. It was recognized as a park in 2004. The park is considered one of the most visited Rwanda national parks due to the fact that it houses a wide biodiversity of animal species, it is a home to over 13 species of primates coupled with chimpanzee the most close relative of man sharing almost 98% of human DNA, other primate species include the black and white colobus monkey, baboons, civet6 monkey, red tailed monkey, olive baboon, golden monkey the list is endless.
Akagera National Park
This is another protected national park located in the far east of Rwanda near the border of Tanzania, it covers an area of about 1122 km2.. The park can be reached on in just a two hour’s drive from Kigali Rwanda’s capital and its largest city. Akagera national park is named after the Akagera River that flows along its eastern boundary and feeds into a maze of lakes of which the largest is Lake Ihema . It is the most prominent Savanna reserve found in Rwanda and it’s regarded as one of Africa’s oldest national parks, first gazetted in 1934. The park protect a wide biodiversity of wildlife ranging from the big five mammals like elephant, lion, leopard, buffaloes, other small mammals include eland, oribi, Masai giraffe, Defassa waterbuck, reedbuck, bushbuck, sable and roan antelope also present. Burchall’s zebra, hippo and crocodile can be seen Lake Ihema. The park is also a home to various species of birds like red faced barbet is often seen.
