BEST TIME TO VISIT RWANDA
Rwanda is a small landlocked country covering 26, 338 km2 in East Africa and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region and the whole Africa at large. Rwanda is famous for its unique and peculiar services as far as the Rwanda tourism sector is concerned and it’s well known for its extraordinary gorilla trekking activities and luxury tourism.
The best time to visit Rwanda is during the dry season that happens between the months of June to September and December to Mid February, these are the best times because the weather is warm and trails are ever dry. Tourists can also visit during wet season though its not recommended as the trails are muddy and the weather is always cold. The wet season happens between March to May and October to November.
The government of Rwanda and the Rwanda Development Board have put effort into boosting the tourism sector in the county and it has since registered nothing but success in this field. Given Rwanda’s small sizes, there is a lot to explore and a number of safari activities to enjoy in Rwanda.
Rwanda is recognized globally as the safest country to visit and in fact Kigali City, it’s capital city is cleanest City in the entire Africa so visitors can anticipate the best from a Rwandan Safari.
Several guests from all over the world go for gorilla trekking activities in the country. It should also be noted that it’s only Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo that hosts the remaining endangered mountain gorillas in the whole world within the Virunga Conservation Area. Other tourist activities in Rwanda include golden monkey trekking, chimpanzee tracking, cultural sites, nature walks, boat cruising, game driving to mention but a few.
Rwanda also has several well-known national parks from Volcanoes National Park, Akagera National park and more. Other tourist attractions in the country include the Virunga mountains of Mountain Bisoke, Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Karisimbi and more like Lake Ihema and tourism sites like the Genocide Museum, Diane Fossey’s and many more that will keep visitors hooked during the Rwanda Safari.
HISTORY OF RWANDA.
In 1854, Rwanda was first visited by the European explorers before becoming part of German East Africa in 1890. By 1916, after World war1 it was occupied by the Belgian and just after that event it was declared part of the Belgian League of Nations along with Burundi and that’s where the name “Ruanda-Urundi” was derived from.
It should however be noted that there was no significant development in Rwanda under German rule and therefore Belgium granted independence to Rwanda in 1962. This is where the Hutu President Gregoire Kayibanda came in with his administration and policies full of Hutus that later made the government unpopular.
There emerged a number of misunderstandings between the Hutu and the Tutsi which later worsened in 1973 where another Hutu president came into power, his death later alone caused the political situation in the country to worsen as the Tutsis were planning to evade the country for Rwandan Civil war while the Hutus were not willing to give up on their gains that they had accumulated for along period of time.
After Habyarimana’s death, which was an assassination, the Rwandan civil war was fueled. There had been an invasion of over 1000 Tutsi rebels who were refugees of ethnic wars for quite a long period of time. In 1994, Rwanda’s genocide took toll and the majority of the Tutsis and few Hutus were murdered in cold blood and later alone the Tutsi captured power and imprisoned a number of Hutus.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO SEE AND DO IN KIGALI RWANDA
Mount Kigali.
For visitors who would wish to sight and have beautiful views of the cleanest city, Mount Kigali is the right spot. Besides its name, Mount Kigali is not actually a mountain but a prominent hill that is highly recognized by the Rwandan people. On its hike visitors shall be able to sight the beautiful scenery of the country.
Mount Kigali or Mont Kigali in French, is a hill in Kigali Rwanda’s capital City. Rwanda’s capital Kigali was named after Mount Kigali. Mount Kigali is located directly West of the city center in Nyarugenge District standing at a height of 1,853 metres (6,079 ft).
Mont Kigali offers expansive views of the entire city of Kigali to the east and north, the Southern Province to the west and south, and the Eastern Province to the east and south.
Gisozi Kigali Genocide Memorial center.
It is the spot that cannot be missed by most of the visitors for the big history it carries. Before getting out of the Kigali City for the National parks and fresh water bodies, Visitors opt to first go in for this horrible event history that holds the remains of the genocide victims about 250,000 people who were cold murdered in the 1994 horrible genocide.
Tour guides will take you through the horrible stories of what actually happened and what exactly led to the horrible event that will not leave you the same. There are also short videos showcasing the event that visitors can still glance at.
State house museum.
The last President to reside here was President Habyarimana and this is where his plane perished after being shot at. The plane remains can still be sighted in the compound where it crashed from, an event that catalyzed the Rwandan horrific genocide.
