RWANDA – THE LAND OF A THOUSAND HILLS

rwanda

Travelling in Rwanda is an emotional encounter with African history and politics. It is a landlocked agricultural country south of the equator in East-Central Africa. In the “Land of a Thousand Hills”, Rwanda borders Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali reflects and informs of a past remembered. Pyrethrum crops decorate the hilly agricultural landscape with fields of white flowers. Learning about flora and fauna from experienced guides, trekking the dynamic ecosystems on the slopes of Volcanoes National Park and Nyungwe Forest National Park connects people, planet and wildlife. Trekking with the Mountain Gorillas is an unforgettable, humbling experience, a curious forest trail wander of primates and birds. Lake Kivu is part of the Great Rift Valley; surrounded by mountain ranges, the largest lake in Rwanda turns deep emerald and is one of three lakes in the world that undergo limnic eruptions.

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RWANDA NATIONAL PARKS: Akagera National Park, Gishwati Mukura National Park, Nyungwe National Park, Volcanoes National Park.

RWANDA NATURAL HABITAT: The chain of mountains running north to south forms part of the Congo-Nile divide: the rugged, dense rainforest slopes of the Virunga Mountains in the northwest to the swampy Kagera River valley in the east. Lake Kivu floods into a low-lying depression west of the Congo-Nile divide.

Rwandan national parks are protected ecosystems and wildlife reserves, including Volcanoes National Park, Akagera National Park, and Nyungwe Forest National Park. The Volcanoes National Park is the oldest in Africa and home to mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, smaller primates, and an abundance of bird species.

Nyungwe National Park is home to chimpanzees and other primates. The savannah ecosystem of Akagera National Park gives populations of giraffes, zebras, gazelle, elephants, buffalo, and lions a protected natural habitat in which to roam.

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facts

Location: Eastern Africa
Capital City: Kigali
Currency: Rwandan Franc
Population: 48.58 million
Form of Government: Republic Unitary State
Main Languages: Kinyarwanda, French, English & Swahili
Climate: Tropical but very much influenced by altitude

Rwanda has the highest population density in Sub-Saharan Africa. The ethnic imbalance between the majority Hutu people and the minority Tutsis culminated in civil war and genocide in 1994. The years following have seen Rwanda unify to rebuild the economy and society, reconstructing and reconciling. Rwanda is a country of memorial and reconciliation, where people have united and rebuilt their nation in hope and optimism for a peaceful future.