Things To Do In Rwanda : Rwanda is a landlocked country in east Africa which is blessed with a lot of tourist’s attractions in the different parts of the country. With its flourishing green hills covering the largest part of the country. Rwanda is famous for being a home to the endangered mountain gorillas as well as the genocide of 1994 which left many people dead and others displaced. Therefore while on a safari to Rwanda, the following are the things that one can get involved in;
BIRD WATCHING
Bird watching is among the activities that one can participate in while on a safari. Some of the birding destinations include Nyungwe national park, Akagera national park, Rugezi swamp, Nyabarongo wetland, Cyamudongo swamp, Volcanoes national park and Akanyaru wetland. The best time to go for the birding safari in Rwanda is between July and late march. Birds that can be spotted included; papyrus Gonolek, white collared olive back, squacco heron, papyrus yellow warbler, Ruwenzori Bits, regal sunbird, red collared mountain babbler, yellow eyed black flycatcher and Doherty bushrike among others.
GORILLA TREKKING
Mountain gorillas are among the two endangered species and Rwanda is among the three countries in Africa where you can see the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking can be done in the Volcanoes national park which is found in Musanze village in the North western part of the country. The national park has 18 habituated gorilla families with only 12 families that are available for trekking. The gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda costs $1500 per person and per trek.
HIKING
Hiking within Rwanda is carried out in two mountains that is Bisoke and Karisimbi which are among the five volcanoes in Rwanda on eight volcanoes that consist of the virunga mountain ranges.
CHIMPANZEE TREKKING
Chimpanzee trekking within Rwanda is majorly done in Nyungwe national park which is located in the south western part of Rwanda. The park is famous for being a home to a large number of primates such as blue monkeys, golden monkeys, colobus monkeys and chimpanzees which are the major attractions. The national park has over 500 chimpanzees and 30 habituated families that are open throughout the year.
COMMUNITY WORK
The Umuganda is described as community work and the activity takes place on every last Saturday of each month where communities come together and do a variety of public works. This includes infrastructure development and environmental protection. Rwandans aged 18 and 65 are obliged to participate in Umuganda as well as foreigners living within Rwanda are encouraged to take part.
SWIMMING
Rwanda has over 23 lakes and over 100 hotels with various swimming pools where swimming activity is conducted. Lakes within the country where swimming is carried out include; lake kivu, lake muhazi, lake Ihema among others as well as hotels include villa Portofino hotel in Kigali, golden tulip in Bugesera district and lake kivu serena hotel in Rubavu district among others.
BOAT RIDING
Rwanda as a country has many places where boat riding can be conducted from such as Lake Ihema, twin lakes, Lake Kivu and Lake Muhazi among others.
GAME DRIVE
Game drives are majorly done in Akagera national park and these can be done during the day and night. Therefore while on a Rwanda safari, you will spot animals such as leopards, zebras, elephants, antelopes, bushbucks, impalas and many more.
AMUSEMENT
The amusement consists of watching matches on playing courts, cinema and theatre watching, horse riding among others which are well conducted in many family entertainment in Rwanda such as gisenyi beach, football stadiums such as Amahoro, regional, Nyarutarama golf course, Rugende training center for horse riding, century cinema for watching movies and Bambino super city for kids.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL
This is an act of visiting adventurous, geological and geographical destination. This is conducted in many destinations such as musanze caves, Busasamana caves and mugongo caves, bigogwe breast rock, Nyamyumba hot spring in Rubavu district, Rusumo falls in the eastern part of the country among others.
HERITAGE AND CULTURAL TOUR
This is an act of visiting historical and heritage sites such as museums, memorial sites and monuments. The activity is conducted in many places such as Murambi memorial site, Rukari king’s museum, Gisozi memorial site, ethnographic museum, Ndaba’s rock, kamegeri’s rock and presidential palace among others.
COMMUNITY BASED TOUR
This is an opportunity where you get to experience the life and work of the Rwandese community. This is conducted in many destinations such as Nyamirambo Muslim quarter, reconciliation village in Bugesera, Gorilla guardians village and Banda community village among others.