Rwanda’s recent history is very encouraging. After the terrible genocides that shook the world in the mid-1990s, the country has completely reinvented itself. The concept of reconciliation between the divided social groups through open dialogue and coming to terms with the horror has worked. A visit to Kigali’s Genocide Museum is highly recommended if you want to understand this chapter of Rwanda.

Rwanda is one of Africa’s fastest growing and most advanced economies. The government’s consistent focus on sustainability and poverty reduction have contributed significantly to this. Child mortality has been halved this millennium and there are more women in Parliament than anywhere else in the world.
Tourism – and especially the gorillas – have made a very large contribution to the positive development since the early 2000s. The population of the rare mountain gorillas grew from 640 to 880 animals between 2004 and 2017 and is still growing, so that in the meantime areas have to be renatured for them. But besides the famous Volcanoes National Park, home to the gorillas, there are other fantastic destinations. Akagera National Park in the east of the country is once again a Big 5 destination thanks to the great work of African Parks and offers a wonderful safari experience with picturesque Lake Ihema fringed by green hills. The Nyungwe Forest National Park in the south of the country offers over 1000 km² of intact mountain rainforest and is a primate paradise with chimpanzees, large groups of various colobus monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabeys. With 130 km of hiking trails, the park is also highly recommended for active vacationers. The most recent successful project is the transformation of the Gishwati and Mukura rainforests, which were badly affected by the civil war and once stretched as far as the Volcanoes National Park in the north of the country. Gishwati Mukura National Park was proclaimed in 2016. There is also a family of chimpanzees, golden monkeys, and L’Hoest’s monkeys.

Rwanda is becoming a very exclusive destination, especially when it comes to gorilla tracking. The Rwanda Development Board is pursuing a “high-income – low-impact” strategy and consequently increased the price of gorilla permits from USD 750 to USD 1,500 in 2017. As a result, luxury eco-lodges such as Bisate and One&Only Gorilla’s Nest have settled around Volcanoes National Park in recent years.
For those who are not in the luxury segment and like it a bit more sporty, there are alternatives, e.g. a 10-day kayak tour on the enchanting Lake Kivu, which costs about as much as an hour with the mountain gorillas. There are also many beautiful cultural offerings and festivals in and around Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.

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