Rwanda Tours & Safaris

Rwanda's only savanna park, Akagera pairs rolling plains with a chain of papyrus lakes along the Tanzanian border. Lions and rhinos have been successfully reintroduced, so game drives and boat safaris here now offer the Big Five.

Running from Rubavu to Rusizi, this trail follows Kivu's shoreline through coffee and banana farms and fishing villages. Cycle it in five days, hike it in ten, or ride a scenic section in one.

At community villages near Volcanoes National Park, former poachers and local families host visitors for Intore dance, drumming, traditional healing, archery and banana-beer brewing.

Gazetted in 2015 to heal two shrinking forest remnants, Gishwati-Mukura now offers guided walks with chimpanzees, golden monkeys, waterfall hikes and community tea and beekeeping visits.

In the university town of Huye, seven galleries walk you through Rwandan craft, farming, ritual and daily life, with a basketry and pottery collection considered the best in East Africa.

Spread over green hills, Kigali blends craft markets and busy coffee shops with contemporary art, superb restaurants and a famously safe, orderly feel. Most Rwanda journeys start and end here.

The national memorial at Gisozi is the essential first stop for understanding modern Rwanda. Its exhibitions, gardens and burial place honour more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide with dignity and clarity.

At Nyanza the traditional royal residence has been rebuilt in woven reed and thatch, alongside the 1930s palace of King Mutara III. Keepers still sing to the sacred inyambo long-horned cattle.

One of Africa's great lakes, bilharzia-free and hippo-free Kivu is Rwanda's holiday coast: sandy bays, hot springs, coffee islands and quiet fishing villages framed by terraced hills.

A demanding one-day climb from Volcanoes National Park through bamboo and giant lobelia to a 3,711m summit holding a wide crater lake - often shared with gorilla and buffalo tracks.

Formed by ancient lava flows from the Virunga volcanoes, this 2km cave system near Musanze is walked with a guide and headlamp past cathedral-like chambers and colonies of bats.

A degraded marsh turned into 121 hectares of restored wetland, Nyandungu offers boardwalks, cycle paths, a medicinal plant garden and easy birding, minutes from central Kigali.

One of Africa's oldest montane rainforests, Nyungwe protects 13 primate species including habituated chimpanzees and huge troops of Angolan colobus. Its 60m-high canopy walkway, waterfall trails and 300-plus bird species make it Rwanda's finest forest destination.

On the northern shore of Lake Kivu, Rubavu has sandy public beaches, a palm-lined promenade, hot springs and boat trips - the classic wind-down after gorilla trekking.

Rwanda's high altitude produces prize-winning coffee and tea. Estate visits near Nyungwe, Huye and Lake Kivu take you from picking and washing to cupping the finished brew.

Burera and Ruhondo sit like mirrors between steep terraced ridges, with the Virunga volcanoes rising behind. Dugout canoe trips and hillside walks here are Rwanda's quietest scenery.

Home of the Virunga gorilla families made famous by Dian Fossey. Cool cloud forest treks at high altitude.