Handpicked Rwanda

No trip to Rwanda is complete without a visit to the country’s most talked about inhabitants: gorillas. Our favourite spot to see these remarkable creatures is the Volcanoes National Park, a strip of five volcanoes that runs along the border with the DRC and Uganda.

Once there, grab yourself a guide and get trekking. One of the magical things about Rwanda’s gorillas is that they’re never in the same place for any stretch of time. That means that, in order to spend time among them, you have to trek – sometimes for hours – to find them.

Trust us, though, it’s worth it. An hour in the company of these animals will have you entranced by everything from their eerily human thumbs, right through to their loo habits. A once in a lifetime experience.

At Rwanda’s heart is its gorgeous capital city, arguably one of Africa’s most lovely. Set amidst the sprawling ridges and valleys of the surrounding area, Kigali boasts long, lazy boulevards, bustling central streets and avenues of flowering trees.

The beautiful surroundings bely a dark past, though, one in which one of the most brutal genocides in recent history was perpetrated over the course of 100 days in 1994. The Kigali Genocide Museum is a must for any traveller who wants to understand some of this horrendous history, its walls of victim photographs a stark reminder of the brutality of the near-past.

For a lighter activity, we love the Nyamirambo Food Walking Tour, a 3 hour romp through 5 different culinary locations that will have you begging for more – or perhaps less. Take the 6.30pm tour for a particularly lively experience.

There are museums and arts centres galore, too, and the ever-present temptation of street markets and vendors. Take some cash, get exploring, and prepare to dive headfirst into a world of colour and culture.

Perhaps the most scenic way to see the country, Rwanda can boast some of the most spectacular hiking in the region. In the west of the country in particular, rainforests share the landscape with dramatic peaks, meaning there’s a hike for everyone here.

Some of our favourite is in the Nyungwe National Park, an area with the country’s most extensive network of trails. For those who prefer to take things a little easier, try out the Igishigishigi Trail, a comfortable trek that climaxes in magical views of the Canopy Walkway.

For the more hardy, the Imbaraga Trail is another highlight. The 10-kilometre trek takes hikers on a forest journey – with four scenic waterfalls dotted along the way for those who need to cool off.

There are fabulous – and demanding – mountain hikes in the Volcanoes National Park, too, as well as a coffee hike on Lake Kivu. All in all, Rwanda is a hiker’s paradise of beauty and nature.

Rwanda’s largest lake – and the sixth largest in Africa – is an emerald slice of paradise in the country’s west. There’s something for everyone here, from lazy beach days to the famed Congo Nile Trail, visitors to Lake Kivu’s main problem will be fitting it all in.

Rubavu is one of the larger towns on the lake, a trendy beach resort with restaurants and sundowner spots galore; the perfect spot to kick back after a long day with the gorillas. Another, arguably more traditional, spot is Karongi, a beach-side town where local anglers still haul in their catch by dawn and dusk.

We love the kayaking on offer at the lake, everything from gentle paddles around the shoreline to more demanding journeys across the water. For those whose sea-legs aren’t as strong as they’d like, the 227-kilometre Congo Nile Trail might bash them into shape. Take in everything from eucalyptus forests and steep hills as you wend your way through the Rwandan countryside – all lakeside, of course.