Rwanda: More than Gorillas
Ask most travellers to Rwanda why they are going there, and the answer is usually: “To trek for gorillas!” And why not? A gorilla safari in Rwanda is the easiest, most seamless and quickest way to experience this classic encounter with the gentle, giant apes.
The most famous face of Rwandan conservation – but other large animals are now part of the landscape.
But more and more visitors to Rwanda arrive not just for the gorillas but for a wide range of other safari activities – many of which you’d expect, and some you wouldn’t. You’re right in thinking that Rwanda offers chimpanzee trekking too, though it may surprise you to hear that Rwanda also is home to a national park with the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo). The country, despite its small size, is home to forested mountains, blue-water crater lakes and grassy savannah. Indeed, the size factor plays to your advantage: travel within Rwanda is quick, and thanks to its current reputation as the safest country in Africa, you can sit back and relax all the way.
Chimpanzees & other primates can be viewed in the mountain forests of Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park.
So travellers to Rwanda are now adding jungle walks, game drives and visits to local communities to their gorilla trekking itinerary. And as the travellers come, the greater the incentive to keep what exists, whether gorillas or butterflies. Indeed, Rwanda’s conservation efforts have been rewarded with partnerships between the country’s wildlife authorities and international conservation organisations and funders. It is fair to say that Rwanda’s wildlife populations are in a far better state today than almost at any time over the last half century or so.
Rwanda’s savannahs are once again home to herds of elephant, their numbers at a record high since the 1970s.
Where are visitors going? The Volcanoes National Park (VNP) is number one on everyone’s itinerary because it is where Rwanda’s gorilla trekking takes place. Just a short flight from the capital city of Kigali, the VNP offers the most luxurious and easiest trekking experience. But two new destinations are making their way onto Africa’s “Must See” lists: Nyungwe Forest and Akagera National Park – here’s why.
NYUNGWE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Suspended 70 metres (230 feet) above the ground, the canopy walkway at Nyungwe is a must-do experience.
Home to a quarter of Africa’s primate species, this park preserves the biggest chunk of mountain forest in the region. Chimpanzees are the star of the show and guides lead you in search of them as well as their smaller but no less spectacular cousins – colobus monkeys and the grey-cheeked mangabey. It is on the challenging side of safaris – hard walking through thick forest in warm conditions – but a unique opportunity to see Africa’s remaining great forests, where the air is filled with butterflies and bird calls. Your accommodation makes up for any discomfort: it’s one of the newest and most luxurious lodges in the country.
AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK
The striking but endangered Rothschild’s giraffe is one of the more obvious ‘highlights’ at Akagera.
One of Africa’s oldest national parks, Akagera symbolises the phoenix-like turnaround in the history of Rwanda. Akagera was once as battered and ruined as Rwandan society but has transformed into a functioning, healthy ecosystem through sensible management, foreign investment and a generous re-stocking programme. The roar of the lion and trumpet of the elephant again ring across Rwanda’s savannah landscapes and you can experience it from the comfort of safari lodges and 4X4 game drives, just like they do everywhere else.
Accommodation in Rwanda is on a par with top safari lodges across Southern & East Africa.
Is there enough in Rwanda to justify a one-stop visit? Or should you be looking at combining Rwanda with another country? Well, if you plan to trek for gorillas and experience all that Rwanda has to offer then there’s little need to go elsewhere. But since you are in Rwanda anyway, there is Uganda next-door with white-water rafting on the Nile River as well as neighbouring Tanzania, with classic safari destinations such as the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, home to the famous wildebeest migration.
Book well in advance if you’d like to watch the wildebeest migration cross the Serengeti’s perilous rivers.
If, however, you have had enough of pre-dawn coffee and dusty safari drives, then a beach holiday is easy to combine with Rwanda. You are only two flights away from the Seychelles, and even closer to Zanzibar, but if you’d like the same Indian Ocean experience – snorkelling, dhow cruises, water sports – but without the price tag, then Kenya’s Lamu Archipelago is hard to beat, whether you are planning a honeymoon or family holiday.
Lamu delivers the quintessential Indian Ocean experience without the hustle & bustle of the more commercial resorts.
When to go? Easy – between June and September if you can. It is Rwanda’s dry season though it is perhaps better labelled drier season: there may be occasional rain but nothing like during the rainy season months. This June to September period gives you the best time for gorilla trekking and for wildlife watching in forests and savannahs along with the lowest malaria risk.
