Rwanda Travel Information

This is definitely a country one has to tour at least once in their lifetime. Tracking the magnificent mountain gorillas through the lush slopes of the Virungas remains without a question the most thrilling and moving wildlife experience to be had on the world’s wildest continent. After decades of careless human activities on this planet including wars and destruction of the environment, many creatures have succumbed and become extinct. Some, like the dinosaurs are today popular stars in horror films and children’s stories although they are known to us only by the fossils they left on earth – only their fossils.

The damage today is so extensive that even with the efforts conservationists are putting in to protect the ecosystems and the creatures of this world, some species are still faced with the dreadful reality of being near extinct. One such species is man’s own very close relatives – the mountain Gorillas.

One of the last remaining populations of mountain Gorillas inhabit the mountainous region around lake Kivu in Rwanda. Here, it is possible to observe these remarkable creatures in their natural habitat.

The tracking may take up to 2 to 4 hours in the rain forest area however, a close-up view of these gentle giants feeding and grooming each other, is a just reward for the effort.

We would be doing a great injustice to Rwanda if we don’t highlight the beauty of its landscape and people. Rwanda is a green country and within its borders sit 1000 hills, thick rain forests, beautiful lakes and volcanoes. All these combined with the main attraction of Gorilla tracking make Rwanda the number one destination for the informed tourist of today.

The Volcanoes national park, in Rwanda is currently the best place anywhere to go gorilla tracking as it also supports a number of other local mammals, birds and plant species. This 13000-hectare national park protects the Rwandan section of the Virunga Mountains, a range of six extinct and three active volcanoes that straddle the border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Between 2500m and 3500m above sea level, where an average annual rainfall of 2000mm is typical, bamboo forest is interspersed with alpine moorland, grassland and marshes, a landscape dominated by otherworldly giant lobelia and other beautiful plant species.

Approximately 300 mountain gorillas live in the Volcanoes national park. Seeing them is therefore almost a guarantee. A visit to the little known beautiful twin Lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo would be a welcome idea to complete your tracking.

As you may be aware, there are only about 650 mountain gorillas remaining in their natural habitat. Their habitats are in Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. Presently, Rwanda not only enjoys the best security in the region but also had the easiest access routes for visiting the mountain gorillas.