Rwanda Holiday Guide: Why Visit, Kigali, Gorillas, National Parks and Lake Kivu

Rwanda is small, green and easy to travel, and it’s one of the best places in the world to see mountain gorillas. In a single trip you can trek to a gorilla family in the volcanoes, track chimpanzees in an ancient rainforest, look for lions and rhinos on safari in Akagera, and relax on the shores of Lake Kivu. Its capital, Kigali, is one of the cleanest and safest cities in Africa. This guide covers why to visit Rwanda, its four national parks, Kigali, Lake Kivu, the seasons and the best routes.

Why visit Rwanda?

• Gorillas: Volcanoes National Park is about two to three hours’ drive from Kigali airport, so you can be trekking to gorillas the day after you land.
• Short distances: the country is about the size of Wales, with good roads, so you spend less time travelling and more time seeing things.
• Primates and safari together: mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzees and the Big Five in one small country.
• Conservation: gorilla numbers have risen thanks to strictly limited permits, and lions and rhinos have returned to Akagera.
• Clean and safe: plastic bags are banned, and on the last Saturday of each month the whole country does community work, called Umuganda.

Kigali, the capital of Rwanda

Kigali is Rwanda’s capital and its only big city, spread over green hills in the middle of the country. Most visitors spend a night or two here at the start or end of the trip. The most important visit is the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide are buried; it tells the story with great care and is a moving, essential introduction to the country. Then explore the colourful Nyamirambo district on a walking tour, the Kimironko market, craft co-operatives and art galleries, and the city’s growing café and restaurant scene. Kigali has car-free mornings on the first and third Sunday of each month.

Rwanda’s national parks

Rwanda has four national parks: Volcanoes for gorillas, Nyungwe for chimpanzees and rainforest, Akagera for savannah safari, and the small, newer Gishwati-Mukura. For a side-by-side look at gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, see gorilla trekking: Uganda or Rwanda?

Volcanoes National Park

• 2 to 3 nights
• Gorillas, golden monkeys, volcano hikes

In the north-west, on the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes, this is where Dian Fossey studied the gorillas. Small groups trek to habituated gorilla families and spend an hour with them.

Also track playful golden monkeys in the bamboo, hike to the crater lake on Mount Bisoke, or walk to Dian Fossey’s grave and research camp.

Musanze and the twin lakes

• Add a day
• Lakes, villages, caves

The town of Musanze is the base for Volcanoes. Nearby, the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo sit between steep, terraced hills, with the volcanoes behind.

Take a canoe trip, visit a village co-operative or explore the Musanze caves.

Nyungwe National Park

• 2 to 3 nights
• Chimpanzees, rainforest, canopy walk

In the south-west, Nyungwe is one of Africa’s oldest mountain rainforests and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s home to 13 kinds of primate, including chimpanzees, which you can track early in the morning.

Walk the canopy walkway, a suspension bridge high above the forest, and look for colobus monkeys and some 300 bird species. It’s about five to six hours’ drive from Kigali.

Akagera National Park

In the east, about two and a half hours from Kigali, Akagera is a park of savannah, woodland and lakes, very different from the forested west. Managed with the charity African Parks, it has brought back lions and black and white rhinos, and now has the Big Five. Game drives find elephants, giraffes, zebras and buffalo, and boat trips on Lake Ihema pass hippos and crocodiles. It’s the perfect end to a gorilla trip.

Gishwati-Mukura, Rwanda’s newest national park, protects two patches of forest between Nyungwe and Volcanoes, with a small group of chimpanzees and golden monkeys and very few visitors.

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda

Permits: only eight people a day visit each habituated gorilla family, so permits are limited and should be booked months ahead, especially for June to September. We arrange them as part of your trip.

The trek: you meet at the park headquarters at dawn, are put in a group by fitness, and walk with rangers and trackers. Treks take from about one to several hours, often through steep, muddy forest.

With the gorillas: you spend one hour with the family, watching them feed, play and rest, usually from about seven metres away.

Good to know: the minimum age is 15. Porters can carry your bag and help on the steep parts, and the money goes to local families.

Lake Kivu, Rwanda

Lake Kivu, one of Africa’s Great Lakes, runs along Rwanda’s western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s a relaxing place to rest after trekking, with lakeside towns, boat trips, coffee farms and sunsets over the water. Rubavu (Gisenyi), in the north, has sandy beaches and is about an hour from Volcanoes National Park. Karongi (Kibuye), in the middle, is quieter, with hills and inlets. The Congo Nile Trail follows the shore for hikers and cyclists.

Where not to go: the FCDO currently advises against all but essential travel to the parts of Rusizi District within 10 km of the DRC border, at the southern end of the lake, including the Rwandan islands in Lake Kivu and Kamembe Airport. We plan Lake Kivu stays around Rubavu and Karongi and don’t include island trips while the advice is in place. Border crossings into DRC can close at short notice.

Culture and history

Rwanda’s recovery since the 1994 genocide is remarkable, and learning about it is part of any visit. Besides the Kigali memorial, there are memorials at Nyamata and Murambi.

Watch Intore dancers and drummers, visit the King’s Palace Museum at Nyanza with its long-horned Inyambo cattle, and tour a coffee or tea co-operative.

The week after 7 April is a national week of mourning, when some activities are reduced.

When to go

Rwanda is close to the equator, so it’s warm all year, and cooler in the mountains. The best times are the two dry seasons: June to September, the main season for gorilla trekking, and December to February. The long rains fall from about March to May, and shorter rains in October and November, when trails are muddier but permits are easier to get and the forest is lush. Gorilla treks run all year.

Classic routes

Ways to see Rwanda with us

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Remarkable Rwanda and the gorillas of Uganda9 days · small group

Uganda and Rwanda gorilla safari: Bwindi and Volcanoes10 days · gorillas

Luxury Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya: gorillas and the Maasai Mara13 days · luxury

Practical tips

• Entry: British visitors need a visa. As Commonwealth citizens, you can get a 30-day visa on arrival, or apply in advance. Your passport must be valid for six months after you arrive and have a blank page. Check the FCDO Rwanda advice before you book.
• Banned items: plastic bags are banned and will be taken from you on arrival, and vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal.
• Umuganda: on the last Saturday of the month, most services close from 7am to 11am for community work; plan transfers around it.
• Health: malaria is present, especially at lower altitudes. You need a yellow fever certificate if you arrive from a country with a yellow fever risk. Ask your GP or a travel clinic.
• What to pack: waterproof jacket, gardening gloves for grabbing nettles, long trousers and sturdy boots for the treks.
• Money: the Rwandan franc is the local currency; park fees and lodges are usually priced in US dollars. Cards work in Kigali.

Frequently asked questions

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