Things to do in Rwanda- Self Drive Rwanda Safari.
Rwanda will get your eyes mesmerized with its marvelous beauty with cities and towns located on multiple hills and substantial elevations, it’s called the land of a thousand hills and many people have known this little piece of heaven for being one of the few places on the earth where rare endangered mountain gorillas still dwell in the wild but aside from gorillas Rwanda has got so much more to offer yet very many people have been ignorant of this fact so we are going to talk about the other interesting activities for those looking on to discovery.
There are many tourists who wish to fly in Rwanda but with a single aim of meeting the rare endangered mountain gorillas in the majestic Virunga massif.
This diverse country has got much more to offer with epic history and mysterious wild life along side breath taking rushing waterfalls.
Best beaches and tea plantations, endless canopy walks to numerous hiking trails from multi day Congo trail and moderate igishigishigi to wonderful cultural experiences in ndambarare along side amazing trekking experiences such as trekking primates, these include the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys in Gishwanti Mukura national park or Nyungwe national park.
Rwanda is so gifted with a lot to discover for example you could spot big game on a boat cruise at lake Ihema the largest lake in Rwanda sandwiched in akagera national park with numerous wildlife, with the big five of Africa present in this spectacular park.
EXPERIENCE THE OLD NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK.
Nyungwe forest national park is one of Africa’s oldest rainforests nestled in the south western part of Rwanda, it is partly abutting the Burundi border. The park is located near Cyan Gugu town and its 226km away from Kigali. It is a 5 hours drive; this vast area of mountain rain forest is home to many species of chimpanzees.
You could get in one of the oldest rain forests nested on the border of Burundi and Rwanda, at just393km Nyungwe national park covered in lush and dense forest, this park is filled with wildlife with a very special rarest kind of primates in Africa and these 13 types of primates include the black and white colobus monkeys with a very big population of over 1000.
This sheer number is astounding so there sighting is guaranteed with in this 2 to 3-hour trek you get to see them lay and swing on canopy, you may also have chance to see the other primates such as golden monkeys, blue monkeys and lhoest monkeys since they are common residents in this area.
You may as well embark on a journey, trekking to a water fall in Nyungwe as you walk around this place it will make you feel as if you’re in a small heaven with its beauty, a place with slight mist in the air and sun rays penetrating through the dense trees, butterflies make the place graceful, sounds of cicads fill the forest with their music.
Nyungwe has over 140 orchids, 1068 plants species and is shelter to 300 bird species, the walk to the waterfalls is very easy though its slippery during the rainy season. It’s one of the sources of river Nile that flows to Congo, at the sight of the falls, they are stunning as you watch the water lush in to the forest, you can swim as well or take pics at the bottom of the falls but they are steep back up but its manageable it’s a 5.7 miles round trip which is approximately a 3hrs hikes.
KAYAKING AT LAKE KIVU
Lake kivu is located on the border of Rwanda and the democratic republic of Congo on the Albertine rift valley, its one of Africa’s great lakes. Lake Kivu is 89km in length and 48km wide, lake kivu empties in to Ruzizi river which flows south wards in to Tanganyika.
You can as well under take an exciting kayaking adventure at lake kivu, a perfect tropical escape to Africa’s great rift valley. This sixth largest lake in Africa is surrounded by back drop mountain with emerald green waters sitting on 1677square kilometer just 1hrs drive from volcanoes national park, the lake has a lot of wonderful accommodation with villas and with vanished balconies from here, you embark on a discovery of this pristine region with a nature walk or a boat trip from farm to table dinning experience as you overlook the lake.
You could head down to the public fire pit to watch the sunset and later you can join a kayaking tour with a guide, the best time is to do it at the sun set or sunrise because the waters are calm at this moment. If you don’t feel like kayaking you could take part in the motorized boat rides on a luxuries cruise on the islands of spectacular lake kivu.
EXPERIENCE KINUNU WASHING STATION.
Kinunu is one of the eight stations in Rwanda owned by KZ Nior and it acts as the base for the coffee plantations in Rwanda.
Kinunu washing station at lake kivu is one of the experiences that deserve a turn, this coffee plantation experience is something else because it is simply fantastic. You leave from Cleo lake kivu with a guide in the boat and cross the lake towards Kinunu washing station, during the ride on these calm waters you will get to see the cow boys leading their herds across the lake (Rwandan swimming cows).
The farmers around karongi use the small islands as grazing grounds on the fresh grassy pasture so the farmers have taught the cattle to swim across the river rather than packing them in a boat, this is tremendously fun to watch as you sail a cross and also get to see the local way of fishing.
Once at Kinunu you will get to be walked through all the production processes of coffee from the moment its grown, washing it, getting the beans out of the cherry, drying, sorting to roasting stage and up until the brewing, this gives you an opportunity to learn plenty about coffee production in Rwanda.
The questions are also welcomed as the workers can answer all your questions while you keep enjoying the process. You get the chance to taste a cup or two of the very coffee produced before your very eyes known for its vibrant taste with sandalwood, peach and pecans. From all this Rwanda has got more to mesmerize your travel.
EXPERIENCE AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK.
Get on a darling adventure in one of Africa’s largest protected wetlands and this is Akagera national park. After the 1994 genocide the environment was impacted in a devastating way but this park has reformed very differently over the past 20 years.
It’s the park with the most amazing history behind its establishment. Akagera national park is under Rwanda development board who works with African parks in partnership.
Poaching was the main reason why the park was established and trespassing, the animals were being killed including lions and the elephants and so an electric fence was constructed all around the park to avoid the poachers who used to cross from Tanzania.
While on the adventure in the park you can hire a guide to take you through the park. Akagera is home to numerous wildlife from the 30 population of the southern rhinos that were recently relocated from south Africa, black rhinos, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, baboons, impalas, buffalos, hippos, zebra.
Lions are being reintroduced as well as different bird species around the park. There are two activities that you should not miss out while you’re in akagera national park, that’s a game drive and a boat trip and here you can get to explore all the animals in the park as well as those that live around the water banks of lake Ihema, the biggest one in the park and these include the Nile crocodiles, school of hippos feeding
with numerous water bird species such as malachite kingfisher and fish eagles, snake bird among others. In conclusion for those who wish to plan there adventurous holidays/safari in Rwanda we easy the process by making it all stress free for you since we craft trip itineraries that are suitable for any length of stay as well as the tourist comfort and affordable prices as well as travel at a good pace as you enjoy your stay and discover more about the land of a thousand hills , much more has not been mentioned in this article about else to dejavu in Rwanda.
