Rwanda (/ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/), officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y’u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a sovereign state in central and east Africa. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is highly elevated; its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate of the country is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year.
Boarding Crossing
Crossing the boarder was not a complicated issue as long as your passport is up to date but there can be a long line at times. Some interesting things we observed. We had been travelling on a dirt road but as soon as we hit Rwanda it was paved and well maintained. Also, in Uganda they drive on the left and in Rwanda it’s on the right. I am glad I was not driving. 🙂
There are only seven gorilla groups in the park that are habituated to humans and each group gets one 50 minute visit per day of one group of about ten people, plus Rangers. When I went the gorilla viewing permits were $500US/day/person but I hear the price is much higher now. When I visited they estimated that there were only around 700 mountain gorillas left on the planet, now they estimate it is slightly more than 800 (2014 figures). Proof that conservation can make a difference. 🙂
When you get to the park the Rangers split you up based on your physical abilities to decide which gorilla group they will take you to. I had told my guide that I really, really wanted to see the Susa group and he made sure the Rangers knew.
Susa Family – Volcanoes National Park
Susa Group (Susa A Family) – the gorilla group that was famously studied by Dian Fossey in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda.
It derives its name from the Susa River which flows through their home range. This family is the hardest to trek as it tends to range high into the mountains but RDB’s Tourism & Conservation trackers will know well in advance where the group is located the day before in advance for the next trackers. Sometimes tourists have been barred from tracking the group because of its distant location. This group is very impressive with a family size now of 28 gorilla members with 3 Silverbacks.
For the second day, yes another $500US each, we let the Rangers decide which gorilla group we would see.
Kwitonda Family – Volcanoes National Park
Kwitonda Family–A mountain gorilla group in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Kwitonda—this 18-member group is led by a silverback known as Kwitonda which means “humble one” and has two silverbacks and one blackback. Having migrated from DRC, this group tends to range far making it a moderately difficult trek. Together with Susa B this is one of the difficult groups to track.
Kigali
No trip to Rwanda or specifically Kigali would be complete without visiting the Genocide Museum. I have gone to a number of museums that touch on the atrocities that humans do but this one did an exceptional job of leaving you upset. Perhaps not the best way to end a wonderful vacation but it is important that we understand what happened here so that we don’t let it happen again.
Logistics
This trip, organized by Mountain Travel Sobek, was the second half of our Uganda/Rwanda trip. Check out the pictures from the Uganda portion of the trip. We crossed into Rwanda via road from Uganda and spent a couple of nights just outside Volcanoes National Park and then drove to Kigali for two nights before flying home.
It was a great trip, we had a super guide that adjusted to our desires and had lots of fun.
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