Known as “the land of a thousand hills” owing to its mountainous landscape, Rwanda is an emerging adventure powerhouse destination offering a wide range of rewarding outdoor activities. Covering an area of 26,338 sq km, Rwanda is a well linked country boasting a pleasant all-year-round equatorial weather, warm hospitality and diversity of natural beauty amidst stunning scenery. Beyond Rwanda’s premier adventure attractions of trekking alongside the mountain gorillas, chimpanzee and the golden monkey, the country offers numerous adventures suitable for enthusiast seeking soft family friendly activities on Lake Kivu to hiking plans, cycling experiences, to immersive cultural and community experiences.
Below we list several of these adventures that can be weaved together into and unforgettable Rwanda Adventure Tour.
Top Adventure Activities to do on a Rwanda Safari
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Trek along the Mountain Gorilla and Golden Monkey at Volcanoes National Park
Rwanda offers one of the best mountain gorilla and chimpanzee trekking experiences along man’s closest relatives in their natural habitats. Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park lies on the north-west border with the DRC and Uganda where the famous Dian Fossey made ground-breaking research on mountain gorilla behavior and their fragile ecosystem which has led to robust conservation of these endangered apes. Today, Volcanoes NP is a home to a quarter of the global population of mountain gorillas where a fraction is habituated for tourism and available for daily trekkers. Permits to mountain gorilla trekking must be booked and purchased well in advance as the demand is high.
The next best adventure while at Volcanoes NP is a trek expereince upclose the golden monkey within its bamboo montane habitats. The beautiful and active golden monkey is an Albertine Rift endemic primate that occurs along the bamboo slopes of Volcanoes NP. The golden monkey is a bamboo specialist living in large troops of up to 100 individuals led by a dominant male at the helm, distinguishable by their gold body coloration that contrast sharply with black patches. The trek expereince to golden monkeys begin from daily from the park offices at Kinigi.
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Trek along the Chimpanzee at Nyungwe Forest
The chimpanzee occur in montane forests of Nyungwe National Park in the south-west part of Rwanda. Lying in the heart of the Albertine Rift, Nyungwe Forest is the most biologically diverse forest with a great ecological importance in Rwanda and the region. Of the diversity protected in this ancient rainforests, are communities of chimpanzee along other 12 species of primates, 300-species of birds and a whole host of other endemic flora and fauna. Nyungwe National Park offers daily chimpanzee trekking experiences to up to three chimpanzee communities spread across this vast montane forest. As with the mountain gorillas trek expereince, chimpanzee permits ought to be booked and paid for well in advance.
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Birding in Rwanda
With an impressive 750 bird checklist for its size, Rwanda is a top tier birding destination. This diversity of checklist is due to the country’s geographic location advantage near the equator and at the confluence of the Africa’s bird-rich biomes/habitats. The most impressive of these habitats is the biodiversity-rich Albertine Rift zone that cover the whole western country where bird hotspots include the extensive ancient rainforests of Nyungwe. Rwanda offers the easiest and the best access to explore this rich biodiversity zone known for high endemism of both flora and fauna that include up to 29 Albertine Rift Endemic birds, chimpanzee and mountain gorillas. A specialised Rwanda birding itinerary will include the regenerating forests within Gishwati-Mukula NP and the montane volcanic slopes at Volcanoes NP all which lie within the Albertine Rift.
Elsewhere in Rwanda, other quality birding hotspots include the savanna woodland park of Akagera NP with its expansive wetlands along Rwanda’s border with Tanzania. While wetlands Rugezi in the north and the vast Nyabarongo wetlands in the southern district of Bugesera offer excellent birding experience notably for wetland associated specialists.
Rwanda’s excellent connectivity between top bird hotspots, top range of touristic amenities catering for all categories of travelers makes birding here easy and a rewarding experience.
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Cultural Tours in Rwanda
Rwanda is a rich cultural nation offering authentic and immersive experiences. This diversity of culture, traditions and norms is expressed through music, story telling, arts, drama and culinary experiences seen on a variety of guided community and city tours. A visit to museum sheds not only on Rwanda’s culture, but also the natural heritage and advancement to the current modern society.
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Hiking in Rwanda
Rwanda’s mountainous landscape which towers between 1500m-4507m, is what makes this country a hiking haven. Excellent trails suitable for all levels from medium to difficult traverse the country providing rewarding hiking opportunities across stunning landscape dotted with montane forest ranges, tea covered highlands and sparkling high-altitude lakes. The great infrastructure along these scenic trails ranges for all categories of hikers. Other than the popular mountain gorilla, chimpanzee and golden monkey hiking experiences, Rwanda offers numerous and affordable hikes almost anywhere including in major cities.
Rwanda’s popular hiking activities occur at Volcanoes NP that include a day to multi-day hike options to the park’s towering volcanic mountain ranges of Mt. Bisoke, Karisimbi, Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhavura.
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Wildlife safari Experience at Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park located on the countries east offers a true African Wilderness and the off-the-beaten experience. Highly accessible and uncrowded, the park has recovered from years of poaching into a fully stocked wilderness where flourishing game now includes the Big 5 cast of; Lion, African Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino. Other mammals in abundance include the Impala, Common Warthog, Reedbuck, Common Eland, Topi, Plain Zebra and more. Wildlife experience extend on open water where boat cruise safari bring you up-close to Hippo, Nile Crocodile and more aquatic specialists. A boat cruise safari on Lake Ihema while in Akagera NP offers an upclose game viewing expereince to skools of hippos, Nile crocodile, quality birdlife and other game.
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Wind off at Lake Kivu
Lying along Rwanda’s western border with the DRC, the 2700 sq km Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s largest and 20th most voluminous freshwater lake in the world. The attractive Lake Kivu lies at an altitude of 1470 m within the Albertine Rift valley hemmed in by towering terraced mountain range. The lake’s sand-fringed shoreline is serviced by a variety of top-notch and excellent amenities that offer a secluded beach holiday experience. Lake Kivu The lake is conveniently located between Rwanda’s premier national parks of Nyungwe Forest in the south and Volcanoes NP, making it a viable base to explore them and nearby surroundings. Top outdoor activities while at Lake Kivu include; canoeing, kayaking, biking, cultural experiences, walking tours, hiking and island tour.