Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in Africa. The country is located in East Africa and forms part of the East Africa community bloc. Rwanda is not only known for its geographical beauty (it is often regarded to as the “land of 1000 Hills”), but also its fauna and flora. These can be seen in the Volcanoes National Park, Gishwati Mukura National Park, Nyungwe Forest Park, and Akagera National Park.
The country is also renowned for its vast water bodies including Lake Kivu, the twin lakes of Ihema and Burera, Lake Ihema among others. Kigali is its capital city and has the largest population concentration. The country is blessed with numerous highlands of which the highest points are in the Virunga ranges - Mountain Karisimbi, Bisoke and Sabyinyo.
Climate
Rwanda is located in the tropics of Africa and experiences the effects of being located in the south of equator. Therefore, the country has mild temperate tropical climate and also registers considerably lower temperatures compared to its counterparts in the same tropical region of Africa. One off, and perhaps the main reason, is due to the fact that Rwanda as a country is located on fairly highly elevated relief since it has numerous extensions of the Virunga ranges and is influenced by the effects of western arm of the rift valley that so much of its geographical landscape is raised.
As majority of travelers would want to know, Kigali alone has an average temperature of about 13 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius yearly, although there are some variations that come along within the year (climatic change effects). Rwanda experiences two rainy seasons within a year. The first rainy season runs from the month of March to May, and then the second rainy season runs from month of September to December. The remaining periods of June to August, and the time between January to February are the driest periods experienced in the country.
Culture and people of Rwanda
The people of Rwanda are vibrant and welcoming to everyone. Among the common languages spoken in the country are Kinyarwanda, French, Kirundi, Kiswahili, and English languages. Rwandans have great respect for their cultures that are celebrated and depicted through folklore, dances, traditional songs, traditional arts and crafts, traditional architecture, riddles, poems, and etcetera. Among the common foods are meat, bananas, potatoes, Irish, cassava, and common fruits such as mangos, passion fruits, pineapples, among others.
History of Rwanda
Historical archives state that Rwanda had been occupied by the 11 th century. The people that lived in this region at the time were organized in kingdoms. Monarchical Kings at the time were leaders and bearers of the political wheel. The inhabitants progressed for hundreds of years not until the arrival of colonialists i.e., Germany and then later Belgium.
Rwanda has a rich historical background, though what is commonly known by majority outside the country, are the events of 1953 and also in the year 1994 when the country grappled with genocide that saw more than 1 million people killed, thousands of other people maimed, remaining victims either widows/widowers or orphans, displaced people becoming refugees mainly in the neighboring countries of Tanzania and Uganda, property destroyed and looted, just to mention a few of the regrettable consequences of genocides cannot be overstated.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda
This is one of the most sought-after tourist activities. In Rwanda, mountain gorilla trekking is carried out in the famous Volcanoes National Park. The country has a considerable number of mountain gorillas and these form part of the Virunga Mountains gorilla conservation. Mountain gorillas live in the tropical rainforests of Virunga ranges that span the entire northern and north west of Rwanda. These tropical rainforests have a mixture of montane bamboo on which these individuals feed. They breed and build their nests in these forest lands, and because of this significance, the country’s government has been engaged in numerous efforts to conserve their habitats. The treks can be long or short depending on the choice and preference of tourists. For long treks, it can go to about 7 hours, while short treks can go for about 2 hours in the forest lands.
BEST NATIONAL PARKS IN RWANDA
Volcanoes National Park
Rwanda’s first pride in this National Park is that it is most visited in the country. It is commonly known as a home of mountain gorillas that dwell in the country. Volcanoes National Park is comprised of mostly highlands which are part of the Virunga ranges. The volcanoes that neighbor with Volcanoes National Park include Sabyinyo, Bisoke, Muhabura, Karisimbi and Gahinga.
Slopes of these mountains have a great composition of forests which
are mixed with both tropical and montane forests. The Volcanoes National
Park also inhabits golden monkeys. Therefore, the commonest activity in
this National Park is primate tracking.
Akagera National Park
This National Park is a good observatory center for big five mammals. It is composed of woodlands and great expanses of savanna grasslands. The national park has numerous species of wildlife animals such as zebras, lions, elephants, rhinos, antelopes, etcetera, and numerous bird species that are estimated at about 490 species. Interestingly, some of these bird species are endemic to the country. Akagera national park also has some water bodies that are home to the proverbial Nile crocodiles and hippopotamuses.
Nyungwe Forest National Park
This national park is made up of massive tracts of forests. Nyungwe Forest is the largest composer of this forest and boosts numerous tree species with variance in their hardwood collection. With over 1000 vegetation species, it’s usually a welcoming place to botanists from all over the world.
Nyungwe forest also inhabits hundreds of bird species and the estimation is about 300 hundred bird species to which 29 of those are known to be endemic to the Western arm of East Africa Rift Valley. The forest also has some endemic wildlife species such as the L’hoest’s monkeys. It has a collection of about 70 forest species. Because of its strong giant tree collection, it is known for the popular canopy walks. This is an exciting activity for adventure seekers.
Gishwati Mukura National Park
This National Park is one of Rwanda’s 4 large parks. It is comprised of vast expanses of forest land, with one forest at Mukura, and the other at Gishwati. Gishwati forest is the largest of the two forests. This national park also has numerous endemic species of both wildlife and bird species.
It is commonly known for its chimpanzee and monkey tracking encounters. Another common feature of this National Park is the presence of golden monkeys, though in small numbers. Tourists are advised to visit this National Park to get a once-in-lifetime experience.
Best time to visit Rwanda
As earlier noted, the Republic of Rwanda has two dry seasons i.e., June to August and between January to February. This is the best time to visit Rwanda by majority of tourists. The sky is often clearer compared to rainy seasons and therefore provide better opportunities for photography. This period is also devoid of unnecessary interruptions like muddy soils, constant rains that limit mobility of tourists and a hindrance to proper visibility, and much more alike.
The dry seasons are also at their peaks in other sectors that are peripheral to the tourism sector. Given the fact that Rwanda is blessed with perfect floral coverage, the country is often times viewed with its green expanse.
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