The small and densely populated African nation of Rwanda is known as “The Land of a Thousand Hills” and is noted for the scenic beauty of those hills. It made international headlines in 1994 due to the genocide that killed an estimated 1 million Rwandans and displaced millions more. The country has been largely rebuilt and is safe to travel to, but there are scars left over from these recent events.
Rwanda’s capital of Kigali is located in an attractive setting across several of its thousand hills and contains several sites and museums dedicated to remembering the genocide. For a more light-hearted time, a destination popular among wealthier Rwandans is the resort town of Gisenyi, located on the shores of Lake Kivu.
For those looking to directly experience some of Rwanda’s natural beauty, there are a couple of notable national parks. The Parc National Nyungwe Forest is a large protected rainforest that is one of the best in this part of Africa. You can walk through the park and see many monkeys, chimpanzees, and get a good look at the volcanoes of the Virunga National Park in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Parc National des Volcans is a contender for the best place in the world to find mountain gorillas and was the home base of the late Dian Fossey. In addition to the memorable experience of gorilla tracking, you can hike amongst the rain forested slopes of the volcanoes in the park.
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