Rwanda

RWANDA , “the land of a thousand hills” is one of the most incredibly beautiful places of the African continent. Rwandan tourism is one of the most fast developing industries of Rwanda. The government has lately placed a great deal of investment in the Rwanda tourism sector.

Rwanda has many attractive beaches, lakes, mountains and an extremely rich wildlife reserve. The country is blessed with a very favorable climate, fine food, lodging facilities and a rich cultural heritage of arts and crafts. Rwanda also has national parks, national museum, eco tourism and scope for many exciting tourist activities like biking, trekking, mountain biking and shopping facilities. Tourists can enjoy an exciting vacation trip to Rwanda and its adjoining cities and their popular attractions. Rwandan tourism industry is fast booming and more and more tourists are ready to explore this comparatively quieter and peaceful country of African continent.

Rwanda is a mountainous area which lies in the central part of Africa and is divided by the Rift Valley. There is an extensive mountain range extending from the north to south. There are many attractions in Rwanda which are spread throughout the country. Rwanda attractions mainly include national parks, museums, falls and lakes. Kigali, the capital does not have many tourist attraction spots.

The most interesting Rwandan attraction is the A’Kagera National Park which is located on the eastern part of the country. The national park comprises of a variety of wildlife animals and is the home of more than 500 kinds of birds. It comprises of Lake Mungesera and the Rusumo Falls.

The Parc des Volcans is one of the last sanctuaries where one can find the mountain gorilla. This region also has two active volcanoes. Lake Kivu is another popularRwandan attraction which provides the opportunity for a variety of water sports and excursions on the lake. The Rugege Forest has some rare species of wildlife animals.

The surrounding city of Butare also a host of Rwandan attractions and one can find some interrsting craft shops, a botanical garden and museums. Beaches also form an essential part of Rwandan attraction. Tourists can visit an extensive range of beaches in Rwanda and have lots of fun.

Rwanda National Parks are the popular tourist attractions for all those who travel to the exotic country of Rwanda. Rwanda National Parks hold a variety of wildlifewhich ranges from impalas, deer, zebras, gorillas, elephants, buffaloes and giraffes.Rwanda National Parks are also famous for its birds and some of them are the bizarre shoebill stork, the papyrus ganolek and the fish eagles.

Some of the famous Rwanda National Parks are the Akagera National Park, the Nyungwe National Park and the Volcanoes National Park.

Rwanda National Parks enhance the beauty of its wildlife and also attract the tourists in general. Rwanda National Parks help to protect the wildlife and all the species of birds and animals that sometimes become extinct or are hard to trace.

The government of Rwanda takes all the initiatives to prevent the heritage of the national parks.

Eco Tourism refers to tourism that supports the conservation of environment.Rwanda Eco Tourism too has such a goal of improving and conserving the natural environment. Rwanda Eco Tourism concentrates around the National parks in this area.

The topography of Rwanda is landlocked with hills on all sides. Such a geographical location has earned for it the title of “Land of a Thousand Hills”.

The natural environment of Rwanda is a home to Mountain Gorillas, orchids, Birds, Butterflies. Rwanda Eco Tourism involves the preservation of this species richness. The forested tracts in Rwanda happens to be the ideal home to a variety of flora and fauna. Such a rich bio diversity has led to the growth of Rwanda Eco Tourism. The natural environment of Rwanda serves as the ideal spot for tourists to enjoy. The Akagera National Park includes with its wetlands and lakes consists of mammals like hippo, elephants and giraffe.

Rwanda is a landlocked country in Africa noted for its species richness. The forested tracts present in Rwanda is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Rwanda also happens to have more than half of the World's gorilla population.Rwanda Gorilla are found concentrated mainly in the areas of the Virunga National Park. The Virunga National Park includes within it as many as three National Parks. It is in here that around 350 mountain Rwanda Gorilla are found. The mountain Gorillas today happen to be an endangered species.

The Rwanda Gorillas are peace loving and tolerant of tourists. An adult Rwanda Gorilla is around thrice as bulky as an average adult human. Rwanda Gorilla safari today forms an important part of Rwanda tourism. Tracking theRwanda Gorilla is without doubt a wonderful experience. Gorilla trekking in this part brings with it the joy of observing the gorillas play,rest, sleep, feed.

Permits need to be taken in order to go for Gorilla trek from the Rwanda Tourism Board office. Certain guidelines need to be followed that include the visitors to maintain a distance of at least 7m from the Gorillas. Besides, the time that one can spend is also limited to an hour. People with a cold are not allowed to prevent flu transfer to the gorillas. Moreover, the trekking group should not include more than eight members. Even though the visitors can take photographs one is not allowed to use flash.

The presence of the endangered Rwanda Gorilla and many other species of flora and fauna has led to the development of the tourist industry in this region.

Rwanda is a landlocked country marked by its hilly nature. The topography and climatic conditions have given rise to the presence of a dense cover of vegetation in the form of forests. These forests today happen to be the home of a variety of birds. Rwanda Birds variety points to the species richness that is present in this region.

Rwanda Bird consists of around 650 species. This includes some of the very rare species of birds. The Akagera National Park is the home to many birds like the Shoebill. Besides, the other bird species that are also found here include Red faced Barbet, Carruther's and Tabora Cisticolas, Bennet's Woodpecker,White winged and Broad tailed Warbles, Papyrus Gonolek and many others.

The Nyungwe Forest is located in the south west. Large tracts of the forest area is difficult to access due to the presence of dense vegetation and steep slopes. TheRwanda Bird species found here include some of the very rare ones like the Rwenzori Turaco, Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Batis, Mountain Sooty Boubou, Red Faced Woodland,Yellow eyed black flycatcher, Rwenzori double collared,Archer's Robin Chat, Grauer's Rush, Masked mountain Apalis, Stripe Breasted Tit, Blue Headed and Regal Sunbird. Apart from these species, the Kungwe Apalis and Red-collared mountain Babbler are also found in this forest and this happens to be the only conveniently accessible place where they are found.

There are other tracts too where Rwanda Birds are found to be present. The rich bio-diversity of this region has attracted tourists from all over the World. Observing the Rwanda Birds has always been a pleasure for the tourists.

Rwanda Butterflies include as many as 100 species. Rwanda Butterflies include some of the very rare and colorful ones. These species form an important part of the natural ecosystem of Rwanda. The diversity that is found in Rwanda in terms of birds, butterflies, orchids, gorillas has attracted tourists from different parts of the world. Rwanda with its bio diversity today happens to be the ideal destination where one can feel the intimacy with nature.

Rwanda is popularly known as 'the "Land of a Thousand Hills" (French: Pays des Mille Collines) Kinyarwanda: (Igihugu cy'Imisozi Igihumbi). It has incredible and beautiful landscapes, and is separated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River valley to the west; it is boarded on the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania, and to the south by Burundi. The capital city, Kigali, is located in the center of the country. It is a very small country yet the most densely populated (approximately 10.1 million people) on the continent of Africa, with an area of 26,338 sq km (10,170 sq mi). Most of her population is engaged in subsistence agriculture.

The transport system in Rwanda centers primarily around the road network, with paved roads between the capital, Kigali and most other major cities and towns in the country. Rwanda is also linked by an important road for trade, with other East African countries. The country has an international airport at Kigali, serving domestic and several International destinations

Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending to over-rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet (2,740 m). On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitutes part of the Great Rift Valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region.

Rwanda is made up of five Provinces, that is, the Northen, Southern, Eastern, Westerna and Kigali City; and each Province has several districts. Musanze district, found in the Northern Province, and bordering Uganda at Chanika outlet, is dominated by high mountains and over hanged by a chain of volcanoes with the climax being Karisimbi summit with 4507 meters of altitude. With average altitude of 2000m, the entire Northern Province abounds in varied diversity of fauna and flora. Musanze district is the home of home of the rare mountain gorilla - and bamboo forests.

Also within the district, are lovely Lakes, and these include; Lakes Burera, Ruhondo and Karago. Musanze offers a good selection of reasonably-priced small and medium hotels and guest houses. The natural beauty of Musanze District has made it the most favored location, for both local and international tourists. Every year, the district hosts a very important ceremony of naming new born gorillas, commonly known as KWITA IZINA.

The increasing numbers of tourists visiting the district has encouraged a number of potential investors, to invest in the tourism and hospitality related facilities and services. The Diocese of Shyira, under the leadership of Bishop John Rucyahana, has made considerable investment by putting up Ishema Hotel. Ishema is a Kinyadwanda word, meaning; "We pride in excellence".

Ishema Hotel has 60 living rooms (ranging form twin, double, Junior and Executive Suits, and altogether with a maximum capacity of 100 pax. Equipped function rooms for meetings, workshops and parties are also available as well as well designed and homely gardens for outdoor functions, one of the gardens situated at the swimming pool. Other facilities and services include; restaurants, coffee shop, business center transport and tour services.

Air Highways to Africa
By Jerry W. Bird, Editor.

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